I am in a small ladies investment club
that meets monthly. We each have a stock that we study and report on
each month, as well as reporting on any good information we have
found on stocks worth considering for purchase. Yesterday, as I was
reviewing the news of the stock market, I stumbled upon an article on
Warren Buffett. I say I “stumbled”, but I actually Google him
every month to see what he is doing, and if he has done anything
notable. I like to learn from successful people, and when you are
looking at improving your financial health, he is a good one to
follow. The surprising thing I learned about this man is that he
seems to be remarkably normal: He has a favorite chair with a stack
a books piled up next to it that he refers to and reads daily, he
reads several newspapers every day and he eats ICE CREAM for
breakfast! But when I hear the word “billionaire”, I think of an
untouchable celebrity that lives in a mansion, drives an expensive
car, and has a different Rolex for every day of the week. However,
for this billionaire, what I found out is that he has lived in the
same house for over 60 years. He bought his current home in 1958 for
$31,500. He drives a 6 or 7 year old car. And, he reads a LOT.
Interestingly, a good amount of the information he acquires is from
the internet. FREE information, which he would gladly pay half his
net worth just to have the information available.
We had a wonderful sales meeting this
week at Golden Key Realty. My broker, Gwen Giles, does an exceptional job sharing
good advice with her agents, and this week was awesome. Her ideas
are practical and easy to implement, if you will just follow up and do as
she suggests. The best information in the world won't do you any
good if you don't do anything with it! If you refuse good advice,
your plans will fail. But if you take good counsel, you can watch
them succeed! The bottom line for this week's sales meeting, in
summary: READ. Every day. Pick up a book and read 10 pages every
day. Not the fluff-stuff, the trashy novel, or latest celebrity
magazine. Pick up a good non-fiction book that will help improve
your business, whether your business is selling real estate in
central Georgia, flying a C-17 for the United States Air Force or
building and leading a high-performing team to have a successful
Black Friday sale!
I love to read. I always have. I have
stacks of books in my office. I have stacks of books on my bedside
table. I have a Kindle in my purse that I pull out when I am stuck
in traffic, waiting on an appointment or sitting at a home
inspection. I love that we have such easy access to so much
information! As I read through the daily Facebook posts this month
of Thanksgiving, I enjoy reading the shared blessings and thanks of
my internet friends. I realize how thankful I am for all that I have
and all that is yet to be. But I am also thankful for the basic
foundation I got in Kindergarten: Reading, writing and arithmetic; skills that allow me to absorb and use the loads of available information
and apply it everywhere. I am especially thankful that I learned how
to multiply double-digits in the 70's. If I had to learn it using
today's math, I would never get out of 5th grade!
So I want to leave you with a
recommendation of one of my favorite books, The
Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy
by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. In
these times of economic struggle, it is a good read for anyone that
wants to learn some good, practical financial tips. You might be
surprised who could be living next door!
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