With apologies to my international friends, for whom the dream may be exactly the same thing, I want to ask--who among us is living the American Dream?
I guess first we have to define our terms. So what does that mean to you? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as the Declaration of Indepence declares to be the rights of all? Universal homeownership, as the National Association of Realtors would have you believe? A vague and very subjective concept called "Freedom"?
Actually, if you think about it, those are all linked together. Who among us doesn't want to be free of want, free of unreasonable restriction on our ability to earn a living or pursue our recreational choices (assuming those don't impinge negatively on others), even free of worry over whether we can continue to keep a roof over our heads.
And what the heck does all of this have to do with Money 101 anyway? Well, doesn't money drive most of it? So it comes down to whether we are earning sufficient money to satisfy our needs, much less our dreams.
I actually thought about calling this thread The Big Lie. Maybe it would have generated more readership if I had, but it wouldn't have quite been accurate. You see, I want to talk about what has brought most of us to AdlandPro. We are all here to promote our businesses, and most of them are home based.
We have all bought the concept that it is possible to market a product, service, or intellectual property on the internet. We have been told that it is inexpensive, easy, anyone can do it. Those who are involved in MLM pay plans have bought the concept that it's better to earn a little bit from the efforts of a lot of people than a lot from just their own efforts. Those who are involved in marketing services which promise free or low-cost viral advertising to the others have also bought the concept that all you have to do is put your claims in front of enough people and those who believe you will be enough to earn an exceptional living. The Big Lie, as I see it, is the belief that everyone who joins an opportunity (even mine) will make a fortune.
It's interesting to me that almost everyone here at Adland is implying, if not claiming, that they are making big money with these vehicles. And yet, time after time I have seen posts that mention money problems, or the lack of a person's ability to take advantage of an opportunity because they can't afford it.
So which is the lie? The dream? The potential to make the money? The reality of making the money? Or are people actually doing well with their marketing or advertising and just don't want to admit it because they don't want to be bombarded by other requests to buy, buy, buy. And how could we possibly know who here is authentic and who isn't?
For me, the dream is certainly not the lie. I have my life, the freedom to do as I choose each day so long as what I choose is a lawful activity. I have this freedom because I am self-employed--I am accountable only to myself and my goals. I have the lovely home that I have always wanted (and now a vacation home as well, thanks to the community I work with) and for me that's a big contributor to happiness. No, the dream is not a lie.
The potential to make money is a given. I know my product works--my colleagues aren't faces and profiles on the internet who could really be anyone--they are people that I see in person, many of them on a weekly basis. I can observe the positive changes in their circumstances, just as I can see the positive change in mine.
My challenge in marketing my product to you here on the internet is to make you believe it, just as your challenge in marketing your product to me is to make me believe it. Fortunately, my success doesn't depend on marketing my real estate investment education product to you (or anyone else, since the real estate itself brings financial gain).
However, I came to care about many of you when I virtually lived in this community before. So I'm here not for my success, but for yours. To offer you the opportunity to live the American Dream (if you haven't reached it already).
My product isn't for everyone. Real estate has risks, as does any form of investing. It's true that all of the great fortunes in America have been either founded in real estate or retained in real estate. It's also true that many of the lesser fortunes, the successful, carefree, financially stable retirement of people like you and me depend on real estate. Not everyone is passionate about real estate, but most real estate investors are.
If you are passionate about real estate, but haven't been able to find your way, we need to talk. This may still not be for you, I don't know and can't decide for you. Here are some truths:
- It doesn't depend on whether you can afford it--it depends on whether you want it.
- It doesn't require you to stop what you're doing and do this instead.
- There is no ceiling on the wealth you can build by investing in real estate. There is also no floor on what you can lose if you don't know what you're doing.
- There is a correct strategy to make money in real estate investing in any given market, even when values are supposedly declining. (Maybe especially when values are declining.)
- Yes, you can do it without your own money, with no time, and with no credit. But you need one of the three.
- You can buy a book, hire an agent or just wing it all more cheaply than you can buy my product--unless you count the cost of the 'school of hard knocks'.
- If you don't have a retirement plan, the quickest way to build a nest egg for your retirement is deploying the correct strategy and the correct vehicle for real estate investment. It's beyond the scope of this thread, which is too long already. But I can absolutely tell you how to do it, and would be happy to in a private conversation--free of charge. To actually do it, you will probably need the educational product I promote.
- No one cares more about your success than you do, and that includes me. However, I care a great deal about the success of someone who puts their faith in my information and buys my product. That's one of the blessings of the community we have built--the stakes are too high for us to leave anyone behind if they are willing to hold themselves as accountable as they hold us.
I welcome commentary on this thread--it's meant to be a conversation, not just a claim. Feel free to challenge me. If you want to make counter-claims, all I ask is that you do so in a generic way as I have done in the foregoing remarks. Please don't just post spam-vertisements. I will delete those. You are, as always, welcome to use your signatures to showcase your products and/or your forums, as I have done below to showcase mine.
Cheri