“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”
— Epictetus
Sometimes, I get asked: “If you were to go back to when you were 20 years old, what sort of lessons would you teach yourself?”
When I was 20, I was actually preparing for ministry.
I was a youth pastor and wanted to impact the world.
At that age, I was getting ready to travel to Africa and serve for five months.
I knew I loved real estate and business.
When I was 26, I actually bought my first house.
Back to the present, though, I do have lessons I would share with my younger self.
Today, I’m going to share them with you.
Let’s jump into it!
1. The Value of Relationships Over Wealth
You should always value relationships over wealth.
I have always valued relationships, and I’m very grateful for that.
I do wish, however, that I would have learned more about how money worked.
When I was younger, I was not interested in that at all.
I wish I had learned about syndication sooner.
I wish I had learned about building a brand sooner.
It’s also worth remembering that your brand is not just having an online brand.
Your brand is how you show up and impact others, including creating value for them.
I had relationships down, so much so that I was neglecting money.
I wish I had started raising funds a lot sooner than I did.
Now, I know guys in their early 20s who are raising millions for real estate.
That’s incredible to see!
But it does remind me that I wish I started sooner.
If you choose to do that, though, make sure you never prioritize money over relationships.
These relationships can be both personal and professional.
All the money in the world can’t buy true connections and trust.
2. Mistakes That Shaped Your Philosophy
Many mistakes have shaped my philosophy.
When I was a youth pastor in Montana, I had a house there.
I ended up fixing it up with some friends from the floors to a kitchen remodel.
It was a good education on what it’s like to work hard on something.
At the time, I also thought that everything in life, God would provide.
There’s nothing wrong with that idea!
But now, I feel it’s important to be a planner myself.
God Himself is a planner.
If you’re a spiritual person, you can take that as inspiration.
Regardless, it’s important to make plans for the future.
Maybe if I had done that, I would have started shadowing successful investors.
I could have learned from them and started growing my wealth.
If you have more wealth, you can give more.
John Wesley, a famous preacher from the 1800s, is quoted as saying:
“Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”
Giving more money can not only help people, but is also proven to increase personal happiness.1
There’s also a saying that it takes money to make money.
When I was younger, that’s where I was.
I thought that when I had the money, I could invest it and earn more.
Then, I could give more.
I was partially right; it does take money to make money.
But the money doesn’t have to be yours.
It can be other people’s money.
That’s where the idea of raising capital and bringing other people to deals can be really powerful.
3. Why Purpose Always Wins Over Profits
Purpose always wins over profit.
There’s a personality test called StrengthsFinder.
You may have heard of it or even taken it.
If you’re skeptical of these tests, that’s totally fair!
Many people, including researchers, are mixed on their validity.
However, there are studies that state the tests can correctly estimate personalities to confirm and consider certain traits.2
When I took the StrengthsFinder test, the results shocked me.
My top strengths were competition and achiever.
I was actually a little ticked off.
The strengths weren’t very spiritual, which was one of my top priorities as a youth pastor.
But over time, I realized that I can embrace the way that I was wired.
With my competitiveness and desire to achieve, I can create great things.
I can impact so many people’s lives.
That’s pretty awesome!
Bob Berg, who wrote The Go-Giver, says to never use people to get money.
Instead, you should use money to help people.
The more people you help, the more you create value for other people.
When I was 20 years old, I was focused on helping people spiritually.
If I knew the things I know now, I would have incorporated the financial help as well.
This is where financial education comes into play.
Read books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad or Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant.
Teach yourself about what money is.
There are books and courses aimed at younger people to help them become entrepreneurs.
I’m doing some of them with my daughter as she gets older.
When it comes down to it, you should value people and put relationships first, but also learn about money.
Find ways to not only make money but also give money.
Learn from other people by finding good mentors.
If you’re somebody who has more experience, share the lessons that you learned in life with other people.
This is good practice for money but also for many other of life’s wisdoms.
Now I want to hear from you!
What lessons do you wish you had learned earlier in life?
Let us know in the comments.
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Disclaimer: I am not your investment advisor. This is for educational purposes only. I am not giving specific advice on what you can do. I am simply giving my opinions.
Works Cited
1. Hajdi Moche and D. Västfjäll. “To give or to take money? The effects of choice on prosocial spending and happiness.” The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17 (2020): 742 – 753. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.1940248.
2. R. Tett and Neil D. Christiansen. “Personality tests at the crossroads: A response to Morgeson, Campion, Dipboye, Hollenbeck, Murphy, and Schmitt (2007).” Personnel Psychology, 60 (2007): 967-993. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1744-6570.2007.00098.X.
