What If You Could Make a Million Dollars with Just One Phone Call?

What do you think is more likely: getting struck by lightning or making millions off of a single phone call?

Clearly, the odds on favorite would be getting struck by lightning. No questions asked. Making millions on a phone call seemed less realistic than basically any other option you could propose to me. In the past week or so, my world got flipped upside down when the impossible happened.

Like any other out of the blue lottery story, my father pulled me aside and said “you won’t believe what just happened.” My father had facilitated a real estate deal with a developer after finding a tear down property on two acres of land in a highly sought after town. Once new houses are placed on these lots, they will sell for a total of $2.2 million. I was speechless. For context, my father’s name is not Donald Trump. He's happily self-employed with little experience in real estate, yet a single phone call he made will ultimately create millions of dollars in wealth.

The way this transpired seemed out of the clear blue, but upon further examination it makes complete sense. Although only a fraction of this deal will go to my father, he was able to create an opportunity for all parties involved that will make each person’s life better. There are three things he did that brought this experience about, let me show you how he did it.

Build Relationships

Building relationships is crucial to anything in life, whether it’s business or friendship. It seems like people understand that “your network is your net worth,” yet anyone reading this article has probably been spammed by businessmen trying to get you to buy a product in your first interaction. Not only is this off-putting, it rarely works. True relationships are formed over time from genuine interactions.

The real estate transaction I referred to earlier started decades before any papers were exchanged. This deal started when my father began his own business detailing cars. Over time, he built up a loyal customer base, eventually one of his customers brought him the opportunity that led to the big real estate deal. Prior to ever discussing real estate, my father always talked to his customers, asked how their families were, and gave honest opinions about their vehicles. He built his relationship with the real estate developer in a similar fashion. Even without making a profit, my father would’ve still treated anyone he spoke to with kindness.The relationships he built up over time were the results of genuine interest in other people. By having a reputation as an honest man, he was eventually given the opportunity to facilitate a deal; all because he had built trust.

Think about your relationships with other people. Do you add value or just take?

If you give without any expectation of receiving, you will in time be rewarded by the universe. Consider how you can help others reach their goals and go out of your way to help them even if there’s no financial gain. The genuine relationships you build over a lifetime are invaluable.

Find Opportunity in Unlikely Places

Are you familiar with Los Angeles, California?

Today, when you think of L.A., Hollywood probably comes to mind. The rich and famous in all industries seem to settle there because it’s perceived as a paradise on Earth. It wasn’t always viewed that way, in fact, just 100 or so years ago people would’ve called it a desert wasteland. Once the railroad came and people figured out how to transport water to the valley, it was transformed into what we see today as one of the epicenters of American culture. These opportunities were brought by visionaries who could see what others did not. There are opportunities everywhere, we just need to look for them.

When my father heard that his customer was selling a house in bad condition, he looked past the house. He knew that the land value was significantly greater than what was already on it, he also knew that there were two lots, not one. These two distinctions made a house that was unimpressive into the bell of the ball.

In your own life, there are things you probably take for granted that have far more value than the eye can see. It could be a skill that you have, it might be a relationship you’re building, or it could be an idea. By training your eye to see what could be rather than what is, you can create wealth in unlikely places.

Creating Wealth Out of Thin Air

After the shock had worn off from hearing about the million dollar phone call, I began to question my father’s decision to transfer it to a developer rather than keeping it for himself. Then, I realized that although he didn’t have the cash to buy the deal, he was still able to create wealth out of thin air. It made me think of this quote from The Richest Man in Babylon:

“If a rich man builds a palace, is the gold he pays out gone? No, the brick maker has part of it and the laborer has part of it, and the artist has part of it. And everyone who labors upon the house has part of it””

Before this deal, my father had no streams of income outside of his business. In other words, he made money off of something that literally didn’t exist before, turning $0 invested into a profit. The person selling the house wanted cash, so he also got money from an opportunity that hadn’t existed before. The people who work on the house, the real estate agent, and the developer all also profit from this transaction. Then, in the end, there will be very happy home buyers. All of this was created out of nothing but imagination.

Most business transactions are a part of an expansive ecosystem that benefit all parties involved. When you create a new product, generate an idea for a business, or facilitate an agreement, you are providing value to an entire group of people. The more value you provide, the more you will be paid.

Final Thoughts

The odds of hitting the lottery and being set for life are stacked against the player, yet there are in fact people who still win. By building relationships,finding opportunities hidden in plain sight, and learning how to create wealth out of thin air, you drastically increase your likelihood of success.