Transcription
I didn't buy my first property till I was 34. And today, I own over 10,000 units and run a company of more than 300 employees. But I need you to hear this.
Most people don't fail financially because they're reckless. They fail because they drift. They work hard, they save, they invest, but they never stop to ask, "Am I actually on track or am I just busy?" I've seen this over and over again. They check the boxes, but they're all in the wrong order. and they follow advice without a target and then they wake up one day and then they realize time did what the market didn't.
So in this video I'm going to walk you through nine financial goals that I made sure that I hit before I turned 50. So if you're anywhere between 30 and 50, you can still hit these too.
The number one goal that I had to learn the hard way is liquidity. This is your peace of mind. This should be your number one goal. So, let me slow this one down for you because this is where most people get it wrong. Liquidity is not about return. It's not about yield and it's not about being efficient. Liquidity is about optionality.
And I learned the hard way back in 2008. Like a lot of people, I got hit. Not a little uncomfortable, not tight for a quarter. I mean hit. The kind of deals that you thought were just solid stop. Lenders disappear, the phone stops ringing, and every assumption that you've ever made about how money works gets exposed. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and doing the math in my head. Not net worth math, but survival math. How many months can we float this? What happens if the lender pulls back? What happens if the tenants stop paying? And that is a very different kind of stress.
And here's the thing that most people won't admit. On paper, I look fine. Assets, equity, deals in motion. But liquidity, that was drying up. And when your cash dries up, your brain changes. You stop thinking strategically. You stop thinking long term and you start to make defensive positions. Not because you have to make dumb decisions, but the pressure makes you develop shortsighted decisions.
So during this time I watched guys completely unravel. Some of these people were worth millions on spreadsheets. These are people who had given advice six months earlier to everyone. And now they were dumping their assets, begging for extensions and selling good properties just to stay alive. And not because the deals were bad, but because they had no margin. They had no cash buffer. And they had no breathing room. So they were rich until they weren't liquid.
So I remember sitting there thinking I never want to feel this exposed again. Not scared, not desperate, exposed. So I made the decision that changed everything for me going forward. I decided that I would never again chase returns at the expense of resilience or cash flow. I stopped asking what's the highest return that I can get and started asking very different questions like what gives me the most control when things go wrong.
So, here's what liquidity really buys you. It buys you time when everyone else is rushed. It buys you clarity when everyone else is emotional. It buys you leverage when everyone else is forced. Liquidity lets you say no. And no is power. Because the best deal that I've ever done didn't come when the markets were hot. They came when other people needed liquidity and I had it.
And so, let me be very clear about something. High earners are the worst at this because they confuse income with safety. And this is where ego kicks in until they're not. Income stops, businesses slow, and markets freeze. That's the truth. That's the reality. And those cycles will happen again. Liquidity doesn't care how smart you are. Liquidity doesn't care how disciplined you are. It only cares whether you planned for stress or assumed that it wouldn't happen.
So, here's the real test that not one of the people like to talk about. And now, a word for my paid sponsor, Padsplit. Look, if you've been trying to make single family rentals pencil out in this market, you already know that the math can be tight. With high rates, properties that would have cash flowed 5 years ago now often break even at best. So, what do you do? You wait on the sidelines and miss out, or maybe you find a better model? That's why I want to talk about today's sponsor, Pads Split. Here's an example of the math in some markets. A four-bedroom renting for $2,700 as a traditional rental may be able to gross over $6,000 a month in a co-living setup through Padsplit, depending on location, occupancy, and costs. The same house can potentially more than double the gross revenue in the right market. And before you think that sounds like a headache, Pads Split helps with member screening and rent collection while still allowing you to operate the property and make management decisions. This is one strategy investors use to try to make deals work when traditional rentals don't pencil. If you want to see the numbers for yourself, go to padsplit.com/hosts. I'll have a link in the description. Just run the math on the property you already own and see if it's a fit. You might be surprised. [music]
So, if your income stopped tomorrow, how long would you stay calm? Because calm people make good decisions. Panicked people make permanent mistakes. This is why liquidity is goal number one. Not because it makes you rich, but because it keeps you in the game long enough to win. Once you've lived through that moment where cash dries up, you never forget it. You just build differently from then on. So, here's the test. If your income stops tomorrow, how long could you stay calm? High earners forget this because they confuse income with stability. But income doesn't protect you. Liquidity does.
The number two goal is debt. And of course, I mean good debt. So, not all debt is bad, but all debt has a cost, of course. And it's not just the interest rate. It's the mental weight, the constraint, the invisible stress that it can create for some people. But if it's covered by somebody else, then you sleep better at night. Have you ever tried to make a smart decision with a monthly payment breathing down your neck? I have, and it doesn't work too well.
So, I am over $750 million in debt right now. And I sleep like a baby. And why would that be? Because I don't owe it. My assets owe it. The bank uses those properties as collateral for the debt. And the tenants pay it off. And the people living in those assets, the tenants across our 10,000 units, they're paying it down each and every month. Now, I personally don't have debt on my house. I don't have debt on my cars. I don't have debt on my jet. Why? Because that's personal debt. That's lifestyle debt. And I don't finance my lifestyle. I only take on debt where there's actual cash flow behind it and when somebody else is paying it off. When there's a plan to pay it off that doesn't involve me showing up to work.
But what do most people do? They use debt to pretend that they're further ahead than they really are. They call a boat loan good debt because that rate is low. They open a heliloc to fund a vacation or remodel a kitchen, for example, and tell themselves they're leveraging their equity. It's just a lifestyle inflation wrapped in a financial language that it makes you feel smart. But here's the rule. If debt is tied to a cash flow producing asset that pays for itself, it's good debt. If debt is tied to your lifestyle and you have to earn the payments each and every month, it's bad debt.
So goal number three is to know your target. Here's a question that most people never answer. How much is enough, not in theory, in your actual life. See, wealth isn't about a number. It's about what that number funds. When my wife and I had kids, our target changed. And when my health hit a bump, it changed again. I had friends hit $10 million of net worth and then they burned out. Why? Because they had undefined finish lines. If you don't define the life that you want to fund, the game actually never ends. And what starts as ambition becomes a prison. So, I have friends that have made billions of dollars and are desperately chasing the next billion. In no way will that change anything that has to do with your life. The game of business is so fun, which is why I still love to play. But what I value most is spending time with my loved ones, my health. I don't just chase more. I get clear on what enough means to me and then I build my life around that.
So goal number four is a real plan. The big idea of course is a vision without a plan is just entertainment. Dreaming is easy, but executing is rare and that's where wealth is built. I'll tell you what I've seen. A guy with the most energy in the room, a guy who owns six businesses, 12 properties, and drives a G Wagon, for example. He's usually the one that's the most out of control. Years ago, I knew a guy just like that. He was magnetic. Everyone wanted to be in that room with him. He made a lot of money and he spent even more. He had properties. He had plans. He had no targets, no tracking, and no accountability. He ran his entire financial life on momentum. And it worked for a while until life hit him hard. One divorce, one bad deal, one downturn. And that vision that he had, it wasn't a plan. It was a story. And it all collapsed just like so many others.
So, let me show you what I do and why it matters. Every single year, I sit down with my team and map out what's called an EOS, an entrepreneur operating system. This is just not a business tool. It's how I run my entire life. Now, we start with a 10-year vision. Big picture. What are we building? Why does it matter? And who does it serve? Then we break it into a five-year target, then a three-year target, and a one-year target. And here's the key. We do not stop there. That one-year plan breaks down into quarterly goals, which we call rocks. And those rocks get broken down into monthly execution. And from there, you know exactly what you need to do every day to stay on track to that 10-year vision.
So, most people don't fail because they're undisiplined. They fail because they're unclear. You cannot be disciplined if you don't know what you're aiming at. Every quarter I know what I need to hit. Every month I know if I'm on track or off track. Every week I can see where the cracks are forming. And every single day I can choose, am I closer or am I drifting off course. I look at my net worth the exact same way I look at my business dashboard. Not to feel good, not to brag, but to steer. It shows me where I'm exposed, where I'm concentrated, and where I've stalled. I don't take it personally. I treat it like feedback.
So, if you don't know your numbers, you don't know your life. You might feel like you're doing well, but are you actually even moving? Is the economy moving faster than you, or are you moving faster than the economy? And are you on track for what you said you wanted 3 years ago? Or are you hoping that you will work hard and eventually it'll all work itself out? If you feel behind, just face it. Don't flinch. Clarity brings you power, but being vague steals it. You don't need to be perfect, but you do need to be precise. Because the earlier you track, the cheaper the mistakes. I've managed real estate through every cycle since the8s and now I have over 10,000 units and a $2 billion portfolio. What's coming in 2026? It's going to create millionaires and wipe people out. Which side you're on depends on what you do in the next 12 months. I'm doing a free master class that breaks down exactly what I'm doing to protect and grow my portfolio right now. Just click on the link below.
Go number five. No one likes to talk about this one because it's not easy, but it's the backbone. You build wealth for decades. One lawsuit, one diagnosis, one family dispute, one car crash, it could disappear. I saw this when somebody close to me got a sudden cancer diagnosis. Their whole family was in chaos of course, but the thing that gave them peace, they had protection in place, an estate plan, insurance, health care directives. It did not make the diagnosis easier. It was still extremely hard, but it made the decision simpler. You don't want to build a mansion on a foundation of sand. Protection is not fear-based. It's structure-based. When you do it right, you sleep better.
Goal number six, everyone on the same page. You know what breaks families? Assumptions. People avoid the money conversations like the plague because it feels awkward. But silence costs more than the discomfort. I've watched families with very strong financial positions fall apart because they've actually never had clarity on who gets what, what the plan is, and what matters most. And I've seen the other side. Families who sat down, hashed out, got clear, and there's relief in that process. There's unity. The goal is not about the numbers. It's about alignment. So, if you want the people you love to be protected, start taking action now, not after it's too late. So, with my own personal family, I have all this set up with wills, estate plans, with trust, irrevocable, revocable trust. So, it's a very complex system, but I went to a team member to help me assist on that. And now it all is set in motion.
So, the goal is the right team. So, as your wealth grows, the complexity grows. Try to manage it all yourself and eventually something will break. Or worse, you don't know it's broke until it's too late. One bad CPA, one outdated trust, one missing filing, the wrong team is expensive in invisible ways. I had a client who thought they were saving money, managing everything themselves until a single missed deadline triggered a tax nightmare. He saved over $2,000, but it cost him six figures. Now I have a team of CPAs, attorneys, insurance pros, estate planners, not salespeople, advisors. I have 300 employees, and they do more work in a day than I can do in a year. Your team should give you leverage, not confusion. And when things go wrong, you want one phone call, not everything reliant on you.
Goal eight, values and legacy. Legacy is not just what you leave, it's what you teach. I raise my sons with one goal to be a good steward of money, time, and people. Because wealth amplifies whatever's already in place. If you build entitlement, wealth makes it worse. If you build discipline, wealth makes it powerful. Some of the people that I most admire never pass down money. They pass down behaviors and principles. And I'll tell you that stuff lasts longer than any trust fund. Your kids need half the money and twice the time. You want a strong legacy? Live it out loud. Make it visible. Let them see you earn it, use it, and protect it.
Goal nine, skill sets before assets. So money without skill is fragility. That's why I don't believe in silver spoons. You don't protect your family by handing them assets. You protect them by teaching them how to manage, multiply, and recover from losses. I've watched wealthy families crumble in one generation. And why? Because they pass down their assets, not competence. Meanwhile, I know bluecollar folks built from scratch like my own parents because they understood that money is earned, managed, and protected. And it's something to be grateful for. And here's the paradox. If you build the right skill set, the money always finds its way back to you, even after a loss. But if you just inherit a pile of cash, it disappears faster than you think. So before you obsess over your balance sheet, ask yourself, what skills are in place? What are the habits that you have ingrained? Because families don't rise on inheritance. They rise on capability.
These aren't rules, they're filters. You miss one, you're not a failure, but you're exposed. The people who thrived at 50, even after setbacks, they didn't avoid pain. They've structured for it. Time is the multiplier. Whether you're behind or ahead, the real question is, are you building a system that protects what matters most? And if not, you've got time, but not forever. And in this next video, I'm going to go over the three levels of wealth and how to achieve