No Cash - No Credit

Hello! David J here again bringing you more of the steps on my journey toward financial independence.

"You can do this even if you're dead broke!"

If you've ever read anything in print or on the web from a real estate or internet wealth "guru", you've probably read that claim in nearly every one of them, seen or heard it in their webinars and/or teleseminars, etc.

Trouble is, of course, their statement is only true AFTER you've purchased their home study course, coaching program, etc., and not before.

See, to them, "No Cash, No Credit" doesn't mean "No Cash, No Credit". To them, it means, "Just kidding - my family is doing just fine! I've really got up to $2000 or more burning a hole in my pocket, and I can afford upwards of $200 a month for on-going coaching services."

This is truly disappointing, naturally.

Most - if not all - of the gurus claim to have come from the humblest of beginnings: children of working class people barely living from day to day, much less paycheck to paycheck... penniless immigrants... homeless and substance dependent, ... Think of a challenging beginnings story and at least one of the gurus has "been there".

Now, understand: I'm not saying that their claims are untrue, their claims are probably accurate.

What I AM saying is that they've forgotten their beginnings, where they came from, and what it took to get started.

Wealth frequently causes even the most noble among us to quickly become jaded. This is documented in society over and over again. I remember a joke from the old "Dick Van Dyke Show" where Rob Petrie is telling his wife, Laura that he doesn't want his son to become jaded by them throwing a professionally run birthday party for him because Rob doesn't "want to live with a kid who is turning green". Well, many of the young nouveau riche have "acquired a 'rich' patina", pun intended.

If they did remember their roots they'd understand the challenges of supporting a family on unemployment pay, or working a minimum wage job just to feed the family while also conducting a job search, which itself is a full-time job, and they'd be bending over backwards trying to lift people up out of that quagmire rather than pushing them down deeper into it.

Most - if not all - of the "gurus" make an offer like this: "Give me the food out of your family's mouth, the roof from over their heads and the clothes off their back and when you've achieved your first success and given me a testimonial, I'll give it all back to you." They call this getting their stuff "for free". They also call it being decisive and "taking massive action". You and I would call it being fiscally irresponsible in the hope of not only recovery but also future gain. Isn't that the definition of "gambling"? Sounds like how the U.S. and the world got into the financial fix we're in, doesn't it? Ever heard the expression "Wall Street Casino"?

The challenge is obvious, I'm sure: They want money up front that they'll give back to you later. How do you take something which isn't there out of an empty pocket?

...and they all say the same thing, as well: The "barrier to entry is necessary to filter out (fill in the blank). Ask someone else to front you the money." Guess they haven't heard about The Great Recession, as it has come to be called.

See, they and all of their fellow gurus are loaded with cash, so they think that's the norm because, in their platinum-plated world, it IS the norm. They've forgotten what it means to be wondering how you'll pay this month's bills while some guru is asking for the money you need to keep your household going for the next two months.

When you ask them to take their money out of the proceeds of the first deal, they view that as "being asked to work for free". Personally, I am hard-pressed to identify another profession where fees are paid before services are rendered. Doctors, dentists, surgeons, ... none of them get paid until they do something for which they can bill. Likewise, attorneys - although they can negotiate retainers. Hourly and salaried people also do not get a check on - or before - their first day at work. They have to earn it first.

In future posts, I'll tell you about my plan to not only get people started in real estate investing, but do it WITHOUT putting them out of their own home first. Rather, I'll even put them back into the workforce. That is, instead of a "student" fronting ME HIS/HER money, I'll front HIM/HER MY money, and (s)he will pay me back out of the proceeds of the first deal or two they do while earning a salary with benefits.

We'll talk again soon!

Take care - be well!

Much Success!