Billy Keels  0:01  

What this one amazing question made me respond. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels advisory services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to makeitoptional.com. Once again, that's makeitoptional.com. What this one amazing question made me respond is inspired by a strategy call that I had with a high ranking executive in a very large enterprise software company. And it's really for anyone and everyone who has ever been stuck trying to figure out what is the next move and looking to gain clarity, and I guess, and I'll keep this one, this episode really, really brief, because the question that I received in this strategy call was phenomenal, and because it was not the first time that I'd received this type of a question, I want to share it with you here. Because while you're driving in your car, maybe you're swimming in the pool, or you're running on the treadmill or walking on the street, whatever the case may be this same question I'm sure you have had in your head for yourself, for somebody else, and the response that this one actually helped me to respond is something that I know will be very helpful for you. As you know, constantly connected to people on LinkedIn, you know, speaking at corporate engagements, and also, you know, interacting with people on direct message. And eventually, many times, I will have conversations with people and in these executives that have these questions, it's, I feel like these questions come over and over, and so one of the ways that I can share them with you, because I want to give you the insight, because if you're thinking these questions, you're not alone. As you're exploring the path to figure out what is the way that you are going to get to optionality, meaning that you enjoy the role that you're in, and at the same time, you want to figure out how you can take more control over the outcomes of your life. Because you know that you are just one merger and acquisition away that you are just one boss who's had it in for you, away from things changing in your corporate life. And you want to be able to have more security. You want to be able to have more control over that. And so you're you're looking for what is the next way that you can have that control, maintaining your role, your your corporate role, and at the same time creating what I like to call that second source, that second source of income. And just like I did, I mean, I remember following my passion, I eventually I really, really liked, and I've talked about it multiple times here, liking the area of real estate that was the area that was the single source that I decided to get my education around, to learn more about to really become an expert in that field, so that I could take the next step, take decisive action, following my passions. It started there, and then, you know, I wanted to be able to make that passion convert into revenue. Because if you have a passion, but you cannot monetize it, you can't make it turn into revenue? Well, then you're not really giving yourself any other options. You're not giving yourself true optionality, because you're gonna constantly be dependent on the paycheck, and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you're willing to accept that. But this isn't the case. This is someone you are, the executive, who is enjoying your role, and at the same time, you're looking to create that second source, and you're looking to create it in a way that makes the most sense for you. And I don't want to divert too much, because eventually it was, as you start to see that there are other people that have done it, myself included, you start to realize that there are POCs proofs of concept that are there, and you understand that it's a matter of coming up with your own game plan and making it sure that it's contoured to you, that you feel comfortable taking the next right step. You don't want to do it in a way that every single person is trying to follow the exact same path, because it's your path is unique, and you want to be able to understand that. And so coming back to this, and I said, I want to keep this episode brief, because the question is such a poignant question, and it was an amazing question that made me respond in a certain way, and I want to share that response with you. But when you find yourself in very similar to why I was I was beginning to have some success. Early on, I'd had some, let's call them failure events in what I was doing, and I realized that, hey, in this real estate game, specifically, I was missing a couple of things because I started losing money in ways that other people that had been before me were not losing money. I think I've even talked about that specifically, but I started realizing that I wanted to my situation was unique. I was living in Europe. I was investing back in the United States. I was in a corporate role. I was an executive who was a high achiever, young father, so many different things that were unique about my situation. I wanted to speak to somebody who actually understood my situation, so that I could get the answers to my specific situation that helped me feel more confident in taking the next step. And so as I started looking. And seeking for more guidance, I then realized that, hey, there were some things that I could have probably done differently. So let me take you to the question specifically that I got asked in this in the strategy call, because this question may have come to you, and if someone else has asked the question, I'd rather just give it here to you so that you have it and you can mull over it yourself. But the question was in the strategy call, and I'd spoken to this executive a couple times, and the question that was asked was, Hey, Billy, knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? And if so, what would you do differently? And so I just kind of thought there and I stopped, and I thought, well, you know, I'd been blocked in paralysis analysis a long time. I wanted to move forward. I wanted to do this. Want to do that. I just went quiet. And I thought, You know what? Actually, there are two things, and in this conversation, I'm going to add a third. First of all, without a doubt, is there anything that I if I could do anything knowing what I know now, would I do anything differently? The answer to that is absolutely yes, I would do something differently. And there are three things that I'm going to share with you, with this specific Exec. I shared two things, but I'm going to add a third. Hopefully the Exec is listening and we'll and then we'll hear to this third or if not, I'm sure we'll have a chance to talk about it sometime soon. First of all, the answer to the question is, yes, I would have done something differently. Number two, the most important thing that I would have done differently is, rather than waiting for four and a half years to take action, to be the, you know, get caught in paralysis analysis, come up with the perfect answer. Number one, I would have taken action sooner, without a doubt, because the thing that I've learned is the time is what you can never get back. That four and a half years that I was thinking about pontificating, hypothesizing on what could be, I could have actually gotten the feedback positive or negative, and then adjusted along the way, because that's what high achievers do. That's what I would have done. I don't know well at the time, I have an idea why I was stuck, but now I just take action and figure it out, move forward. So I would have taken action sooner. Number two, because I come from a working class family, I thought that money was a thing that solved all problems. I've talked about that multiple times, and so what I used to do is I would stack money in the bank and it would just go up and up and up and up and up and up and up and up what I didn't realize is that money was eroding quickly or slowly in front of my face, because the purchasing power of those dollars, that fiat currency that I had in my bank account, was actually becoming less and less every day, so it was giving me a false sense of security. So rather than having the money to sit in the bank, I actually made the decision to start to deploy it. And I started deploying it, it directly into assets, buying purchasing assets that produce cash flow, because that was what made sense for me. For other people, is different. Maybe you want to store it in value. Maybe you want to do something that is a long term hold, and eventually you're going to be able to make money. This. All that depends on you. But the the second thing that I would have done is, I would have taken more of the money out of the bank that was just sitting there, doing nothing, eroding in front of my face, and I would have put it into something else. And then the third thing is, what that I want to share with you, I would have absolutely found someone to guide me along the way, for me and my specific situation, which was unique to me, focused on the goals that I wanted to get to. And I would have gone with someone who had been down the road that I want to go down, and I would have done that sooner. And a portion of the money that I took out of the bank that was just sitting there for some day not getting into the to the emergency fund. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about when you have your emergency fund and you have a lot more money on top of that, that a lot more money that's just helping your ego or just helping you feel safe and secure like that, should be moving, in my opinion, it should be moving in order to grow, in order to spread, in order to become more powerful, not just sit there in the bank and do nothing.

So the third thing like I said, I would have done, I was I would have found a guide sooner. I would have found a mentor. I would have found an advisor to help me in my specific situation, because when they can help me cut down time, because that's the thing that I wasted four and a half years of before. Remember, that's the first thing that I said. I would have taken action sooner. I would have gained access to that excess capital that was just making me feel good and keeping my ego fed. And thirdly, I would have found a guide. I would have found an advisor Much, much sooner, because it would have helped me cut time to get to the results that I want to get to. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that, but just because I had a guide that I still didn't get things wrong, because even when I had a very, very, very high, almost six figure paid mentor, paid coach, there were still mistakes that happened, but those mistakes were mine, but I just had somebody that I could go to sooner to get an outside in perspective and be able to course correct along the way right. That was just. To be able to have someone that is there that knows and was familiar with the incident, that I didn't have to go and I didn't have to put a question in a group that's in any of these different communities, and there's nothing wrong with the community, but at that point in time, I needed someone that could give me a response quickly, into my specific unit, my specific situation. I didn't want to wait until the leader of the group got to the community to answer the question, or somebody else chimed in, because that's where I was at that point in my life. So I just wanted to share that, because this one amazing question made me respond in a certain way, and that response is, if I would have done something differently, absolutely yes, what would I have done? Taken action sooner, and then from there, I would have also move my excess capital to start to get it to move, rather than just sitting stacking in the bank, especially when it went beyond what my emergency reserves were. And then lastly, I absolutely would have found a guide, a mentor, much, much sooner. So because the question has come up multiple times, I like to use the platform here the go along podcast is share it with you, because if you have the question and you want to know, well, there you go, you know. So, um, hopefully this has been helpful. If this isn't for you, and you know that someone has gone through you talk to somebody who still feels like they're blocked, that they want to be able to do something, share today's episode with them. You're going to be the person that helps to be a positive influence on their life. And while you're doing that, guess what I'll do? I'll be right here preparing for the next episode. So until then, go out and make it a great day. Thank you very, very much. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels advisory services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to make it optional.com. Once again, that's make it optional.com. Free.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

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