I was buying a new computer in Southlake this past weekend. I told the salesman it will support a business I’m involved in with my son. He said that was so cool, and started asking questions. I shared that:
We invest in multifamily housing … and the passive cash flows enable investors to stop working for someone else … and retire or work for themselves.
This 22 year old young man shared that he didn’t know anything about being a business owner … but was fascinated. He shared that he grew up poor and his parents worked their whole lives since age 15. He shared how he’s worked since he was 15 … and didn’t want to work for someone else his whole life like his parents. His dream is to own his own car engine company. He shared that he’s studying computer science at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton … where he lives … and hopes to someday take advantage of a convergence between computer technology and engine technology. I mentioned that my son is also 22 … and also goes to UNT.
This young man asked how I learned to run my own business. I shared:
I ran businesses for my employer … and made billions of dollars for them … but not for me. Four years ago I walked away … became a full-time dad … and put in motion my plan to work for myself and my investors … buying and operating multifamily real estate.
He asked how he could learn how to work for himself … and I introduced him to the book Rich Dad Poor Dad … the #1 best-selling book on personal finance by Robert Kiyosaki. I shared that I had been my son’s “Poor Dad” … as described in the book … but learned to become my son’s “Rich Dad”. We talked about that book … and how it explains that society teaches us to encourage our children to get good grades, go to college, get a job, and save for retirement. The book calls those dads “Poor Dads” … like the author’s own dad. I went on to explain that:
‘Rich Dads’ teach their children to be business owners and investors … by working for business owners and investors … and to ‘work to learn not to earn’.
I shared how I learned to become a “Rich Dad” for my own son … and at age 22 he has worked for multifamily business owners since age 19 … and now has experience in all three components of a multifamily real estate business … finding and underwriting potential property acquisitions; raising money from investors; and operating properties. I shared that he’s now positioned to be his own boss … and has been offered an ownership stake by the business owners he’s currently learning from.
This young man was amazed. He realized that my son will never have to work as an employee. He’ll be his own boss … control his own schedule … and decide who he works with … while his passive cash flows will give him financial freedom. This young man then told me:
No one’s ever taken the time to talk to me about investing and working for myself … and I’m just so surprised it’s happening between us … because we’re so different.
I asked how … and he said:
“Me being black and you being white.”
I shared that I grew up in an all-white environment … skin color wasn’t relevant … my parents taught me that everyone was a child of God made in His image … so it was easy for me to appreciate Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. when we learned in school how he preached character over color.
This young man hugged me.
I asked if he was aware of what was being taught in the Southlake’s schools. He said he was not. I shared how:
The schools were teaching that America is systematically racist … that white children are racist … and non-white children are oppressed. This goes against what Martin Luther King Jr. preached. I have mixed-race children … and this teaches them that their half from daddy oppresses their half from mommy.
I shared that this has created mistrust and division by race. He thought that was awful and asked what can be done. I shared that we should reject division … and that we were doing just that with our very conversation. His eyes lit up again. He smiled and said … “I see”.
He realized he didn’t have to believe that race determined how people saw him.
I told him I liked him for who he was … and that he had the ability to be his own business owner too. He was eating this up … so excited about our conversation.
This young man was fascinated about how to learn to start his own business. We talked more about real estate, and how the principles used to buy, operate, and sell multifamily real estate can be applied to run any business … even a car engine business. I could see the light bulbs going off in this young man’s mind. He said never learned anything about this … and I pointed out:
They don’t teach how to become business owners and investors in school … but should.
I mentioned that if he really wanted to learn how to own a business … he could take real estate classes at UNT. I shared how my son had been following in my footsteps … by studying engineering. Meanwhile, I started investing in multifamily real estate … and learned to become a “Rich Dad”. I began inviting him to visit properties and attend investor meet-ups. Then, when he realized he didn’t enjoy studying engineering … he changed majors to real estate at UNT’s business school. I could see this young man’s mind thinking.
I told this young man that he already had the foundation to be a successful business owner … even a multifamily real estate business. I told him his computer expertise would help him with all the computer systems used in multifamily investing. His passion for car engines gave him the aptitude to understand property maintenance and capital improvement projects. His ability to talk to customers and sell would help him communicate with investors. He was so appreciative of our conversation.
We still had the matter of buying that computer … so we completed the sale. As he worked, I felt our conversation needed a call to action! I liked this young man … and made him an offer …
I told him if he reads Rich Dad Poor Dad … I’d take him out to dinner after one of his shifts … and we could talk more about this. I’d invite my son … and he could ask us anything he wanted.
He looked at me and said:
“Are you serious!
All I have to do is read Rich Dad Poor Dad?”
He hugged me again.
Do you think he will read Rich Dad Poor Dad? Does he seem like the type of person I’d be willing to mentor? Today more than ever:
- Children need to know we care about their character… not their color.
- Schools need to teach children how to become business owners and investors … not just employees.
- Children … and young adults … need mentors.
Jeff Bartlett is based in Southlake, TX and founder of Dragon Prosperity LLC, which brings investors together to acquire real estate assets once out of reach to individual investors. If you want to learn how to …
- Take money off-the-table in the stock market without paying taxes
- Diversify your portfolio with real assets people need
- Receive years of 9%+ cash flow tax-free
- Achieve an outstanding total return-on-investment
- Multiply your returns as today’s ragging inflation increases
… then take action … Schedule a 30-minute Virtual Coffee … and take a Video Tour of our latest project.
