Discovering Myself While Researching for You

I am continually blown away by discoveries I am making about myself and my own life daily now. May seem odd, for a 59-year-old, as this is even way past a “mid-life crisis” stage in life!

Tripping Over Truths

In my research for writing my Reboot book and course, an ongoing project and process for me currently, I am “tripping over a lot of truths.” A wonderful and unexpected benefit of working to prepare these content products to share with all of you, I am learning amazing things about myself.

That is encouraging, as it means 1) I am learning and growing, and 2) I am on the right track to be more able to help others with all of this.

I am reading so many books and papers and articles/blogs these days, my head is spinning. And I LOVE it! This alone illustrates one of my “discoveries” about myself: That I value learning and growth as much now as I ever have. All good.

I am now, what I was when

One thing I wanted to touch on today, is how my early childhood development and experiences have essentially charted out my whole life direction. In my case, it is all about 1) Money and 2) being an authority to influence others.

If I combine those two, it paints a clear picture of how I have lived my life to date. My career has been based on sales. And the sales profession is all about money and being influential. What impressed me most as a child and teenager, and thereafter too, are people who had charisma and spent their lives teaching others how to become the best they can be. Often, for me, this meant how to become financially successful. But it is broader than that.

Motivational Speakers and trainers were my mentors and my heroes. Always have been, and still are today. This is the most consistent dream I have ever held = to become a Motivational Trainer and Speaker “when I grow up.” Well, the time has come. Not sure why now, for me. But in the last 12 months, it has become the focus of my life, not merely a dream any longer. And I am on the path to make this a reality finally, as I enter this new phase of my life.

Everything I have done in my life has been motivated and driven by this dream. And during the prior phases, making Money and Learning was my main focus. That was appropriate both to my stage in life, and to my goals and dreams.

My father was a career Army officer, and my entire childhood seemed to be painted with Dad’s financial ambitions, as well as the monthly stresses of there being too much month left at the end of Dad’s paycheck. He did all kinds of side gigs I can recall, even as early as when I was age 5. Dad earned an MBA while teaching ROTC at West Texas State University in 1963 – a clear indication he had ambitions beyond the military. MBA degrees are about making money, plain and simple.

I Learned to Value Making Money

I was a full “partner” in Dad’s financial adventures from 1970 onward, my being steeped in Dad’s financial dreams, business attempts, and ambition. The only thing I recall my parents “fighting” about, was the shortage of money every month. This impacted me deeply, without realizing it at the time. I apparently decided I did not want to be in that position when I grew up, hurting for money, etc. I am thankful for all of those lessons. And by the way, Dad did make a lot of money with his side businesses before he retired from the Army! And I soaked it all in, willingly and enthusiastically, always participating at every step.

My entire life was influenced by this early influence, and focus on making money. And it is as much a part of me today, as my genetics.

What is your Intelligence(s)?

I read an article recently about a book which discusses the 9 types of intelligence. This resulted in my reading that, and other books on the subject, and performing my own self-analysis to determine what my own strengths are. What an eye-opener. It confirmed exactly what I alluded to above, and what my wife, Ande has ALWAYS stated about me! That I have highly developed skills and “intelligence” in the 4 areas which most contribute to making money and becoming an influential speaker. And this realization, confirms how useful such introspection is, and how important it is for each of us to know ourselves, and understand how aligning our lives with these personal predilections is crucial to our happiness and living a meaningful life. AND, we can change if we want to.

Stay tuned for updates as I continue this journey and the writing of my Blog posts, book(s) and training materials on How To Help Anyone accomplish this type of Life Reboot through real estate investing.