Had to take a break to batten down the hatches and get things under control at the home front.
Like many other folks out here, I had to stop everything and readjust to life in the pandemic.
March 13, 2020 will go down as a day in infamy.
It went from getting up and going about my day to lock everything down, close up shop, HIDE the wife, HIDE the kids, and LOCK THE DOORS!
Who would have thought that this would still be wreaking havoc on so many of our daily lives almost a year later?
The year 2020 sink into the abyss.
While the fat cats on Wall Street got richer, many of the regular working stiff got the shaft. I ain’t here to put anyone down. I’m here to lift people up.
I want to get you to the places where you want to go. So I am going to show you how the rich are doing it. I know that talking about building wealth during a pandemic may seem callous, but know this, one day the pandemic will end.
And if you are tired of living hand-to-mouth and paycheck-to-paycheck, then you better listen up. I’m trying to change your money mindset to one of sheer hope and abundance dammit!
I feel like Kanye and his song Jesus Walks when he rapped the lyrics,” I ain’t here to argue about his facial features. I’m here to convert atheist’s into believers.” Many will doubt me. But some will listen. And to those that do, your life will change.
I have so many posts on ice that I didn’t even know where to start. So I figured I would just dive right in.
My 5-step plan for surviving COVID.
Number One you need shelter.
If you are beefing or in any type of conflict with your roommates or partner, now is the time to kiss and make up.
This cannot be over-stressed that you need a roof over you head. I saw a ton of chatter online about people not knowing they need to sign a form and submit it to their landlord to stop any possible eviction due to limited funds or no income.
Reach out to local housing authorities, neighbors, 7 on your side or even your Congressman if it will help you. If you can’t afford an apartment, see if you can rent a room. This is top priority. You cannot stay safe without 4 walls and a roof.
Number Two you need food.
Whether it is a local grocery store, Instacart, or a food pantry, doesn’t really matter. You must have food to live.
Stock up on fruits, veggies, milk, bread, and eggs. Anything that helps you make a quick meal. You just need to survive this.
This too shall pass.
Number three you get the household in order.
Forget putting water in the pool, watering the grass, or landscaping.
You have to conserve everything.
You never know when a freak storm or accident could make things more difficult. So limit and cut any unnecessary spending and home maintenance.
Number four you need an emergency fund.
Don’t kid yourself into thinking the government or unemployment is going to save you. It’s not.
Any place you can pull resources from do it!
Even if you do cash advances on a credit card, a cash-out home refinance, or personal loan.
You need MONEY IN THE BANK!
Money is the only legal tender with which to pay bills.
My suggestion is to have a minimum of $5k at all times just in case.
Number five keep stacking that dough.
If you are one of the lucky ones that still have a job or are working from home (about 30 million Americans lost jobs), then you have something to work with.
Keep contributing to your retirement and savings accounts. Do not stop. This fund will be what allows you to one day retire.
Don’t slack now, if you do not have to.
I’ll leave you with this tidbit.
The stock market has averaged over 11 percent from 1975 to 2015.
Over those 40 years, the stock market has minted many millionaires. You could be one of them, as long as you keep stacking and stay the course.
And if you need motivation, tweet me. I’ll be @mjp2520 on twitter.
If you grew up watching cartoons like I did, then you may remember this one from the 90’s called The Pirates of Dark Water.
The Pirates of Dark Water is an American fantasy animated television series produced by the dynamic animation team of Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, Scooby Doo) and created by David Kirschner, which first aired in 1991.
It was part of the Saturday morning cartoons line-up.
Fun Fact: CBS
Storybreak was also produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
A young man, seventeen-year-old Ren, learns that he is a
Prince with an urgent quest to save his world by finding thirteen magical
treasures of rule.
Ren is a very likeable hero much like Luke Skywalker. And
for every yin there is a yang.
The pirate lord Bloth is a savage alien pirate and Ren’s mortal enemy. He is Ren’s Darth Vader.
The show had action, adventure, sword fights, and of course humor.
This show was unlike many other of that time as it was way more serious,
well-written, surprisingly mature, very developed with memorable characters, imaginative
worlds, plot driven, and involved a high degree of morals. I still think of this
show and those lessons to this day.
You get to go along with Ren and his shipmates, Tula and Ioz, on a quest to save the world. However, no cartoon by Hanna-Barbera would be complete if they didn’t give you some life lessons along the way.
The premise and the opening credits spoken over the theme music.
The alien world of Mer is being devoured by an evil substance known as Dark Water. Only Ren, a young prince, can stop it by finding the lost Thirteen Treasures of Rule. At his side, his allies on this quest are an unlikely, but loyal crew of misfits. At his back, is Bloth. The evil pirate lord, Bloth, will stop at nothing to get the treasures for himself.
When Ren, a young son of a lighthouse keeper, rescues a stranger foundering in the rocks near his home, he learns the man was an aide to his true father, a great king. Ren is given a magic compass crystal that guides him to a dragon who shows him that the only way to claim his heritage is to find the Thirteen Treasures of Rule. Unfortunately, a pirate ship captained by the evil Bloth is also aware of this treasure and is relentlessly pursuing Ren for it. On his side, Ren soon acquires companions like Ioz the Pirate, Tula the Eco-Mage and Nibbler the Monkey Bird who help him in his quest. That quest becomes all the more urgent when Ren learns that the Dark Water, a carnivorous form of water that consumes anything it snares, threatens to envelope and destroy his world and only the treasures he seeks can stop it. Written by Kenneth Chisholm
The show’s opening credit ending theme song tagline: It’s high adventures with The Pirates of Dark Water.
Let’s go!
FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD
The rich are bold. So seek adventure.
Think Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey or Walt
Disney.
The characters in this series are also very outrageous,
bold, and at times, reckless, but they get the job done.
This show is packed with great dialogue, fun characters, and
on the edge of your seat action. The storyline was driven by its protagonist,
Ren (voiced by George Newbern), the leader of this group of pirates. His
unabashed furor over the treatment of people, eloquent way with words, and
logical reasoning made him a good leader.
Accompanying him on his quest were Tula (voiced by Jodi Benson aka The Little Mermaid Ariel) and Ioz (voiced by Hector Elizondo of Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride). Ioz is a fortune hunter and mercenary swayed by Ren’s noble quest and throws himself in the fracas to help them. They also had a talking monkey-bird, if you can picture that, by the name of Niddler (who is also the comic relief).
Wherever they go, trouble sure follows. Not surprisingly, as
every successful person always has something or someone nipping at their heels,
vying to claim the same victory to hang up on their mantelpiece.
Ren and company also receives help, guidance, and encouragement
along the way. From this I learned that people are usually willing to help you,
when you’re doing the right thing.
There is nothing
impossible to him who will try. – Alexander the Great
There is no shortcut on the road to success.
All things that are good and important take time.
You have to put the work in. Once you do that, then the
money seems to follow.
In the show, Ren and his crew had to find the lost treasures of Rule and this takes time. After 21 episodes of the show, they still had only found seven treasures. And they had to guard them with their lives. This odyssey would no doubt take years.
Tula:
This is going to be a long trip…
You got that right!
Everyone was chasing those treasures. Kind of reminds me of the Legend of Zelda (which they also turned into a cartoon, as was the norm in the 80’s and 90’s).
If you remember that obscure animated series, then you know his famous line after he felt he should be rewarded by Zelda for keeping the Tri-force of Wisdom safe, “Well, excuuuuuse me princess.” Hilarious.
There is no story I have ever read that did not take the
victor time to complete their journey to the finish line. Even Odysseus, didn’t
make it home for ten years after leaving Troy and twenty after joining the
Trojan war expedition, but that’s another story. If you like Greek mythology,
then check out Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Alexander the Great went on a military campaign for over a
decade to conquer one of the largest empires in ancient times starting from 336
BC. William the Conqueror let nothing stand in his way to victory as the first
Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death. His conquest took
six years. Don’t even get me started on The Crusades or Napoleon.
If you want something, then you have to be willing to put
the time in.
When I decided I wanted to be financially independent, I
studied hundreds of blog, reads dozens of books and started reading about conquerors
of ancient civilizations and the self-made.
Over the course of seven years, I did the following:
Went form saving $1 a day to $13,000 a year.
Increased my savings rate by 2% or more per year.
Calculated my FIRE number (Financial
Independence/Retire Early) $750,000 and figured out a way to get there in less
than 10 years.
Started setting impossibly high SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable,
Realistic, Timely) goals, tasks, and deadlines and meeting them.
Figured out the date to retire my credit card
debt (which is some of the worst you can have).
Determined that all credit card debt is the worst
kind of debt to have and found a way to get rid of all revolving debt.
Reading a minimum of 2 books a month.
Established a six-figure retirement.
Started saving $15,000 a year in 2019.
That took years! However, as you can see from above,
patience, hard work and determination get results. This blog takes you along on
my quest and all the things I do in the pursuit of financial independence. And
ultimately, earn back my freedom as time is one thing you can never get back
once it’s gone.
Success takes time.
There is no getting rich quick.
It took Disney 15 years to create Disneyland.
It took Nike 16 years to become profitable.
It took Apple 5 years to create the iphone.
Remember: building anything including wealth takes time.
Remember upon the
conduct of each depends the fate of all. – Alexander the Great
One of my favorite things about this show was the kinship of
not only the show’s stars, but the people in that world. They were always
willing to lend a hand to help one another. Especially, in those dark times,
people just banded together. As it should be. They also forgave.
Lend me some sugar, I
am your neighbor! – Outcast, Hey Ya!
Treat your friends as if they are worth their weight in
gold. The ones that truly have your back will be there in good times or bad.
Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. – Oprah Winfrey
Got it?
Good.
RESPECT
It takes 20 years to
build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll
do things differently. – Warren Buffet
Everywhere Ren went he received respect whenever he name
dropped his father’s name, King Primus. It was awesome to see people help him because of the reputation built by his father. Wow.
That taught me reputation is everything.
Keep a good name. Keep your promises. Overcommit and over
deliver.
You want respect? You have to earn it.
I like to write. And it’s exciting to write new content. I
try to keep this blog informative, but fun. It’s like Sesame Street for adults!
Ha ha!
So, if anyone ever namechecks Greenbacks Magnet, I know it’s
because they like what you read.
MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING
Havin’ money’s not
everything, not havin’ it is. – Kanye West, Good Life
The show is constantly filled with pirates talking,
stealing, earning, or wanting gold and treasure. It’s all in good fun. However,
there are times when Ren and his friends are in grave mortal danger. His companions
mean the world to him. The circle of trust is very strong and real with them. They
never leave one another behind. Not ever.
Ren never chooses money, things, or any possession over
people. A fine quality to have indeed.
You can get more things, you can earn more money, but there
is only one You! Never forget that.
BEING EVIL ALWAYS MEANS LOSING SOMETHING
50 told me, go ‘head,
switch the style up. And if they hate then let ’em hate and watch the money
pile up. – Kanye West, Good Life
On the show, the pirate lord Bloth was always trying to lie,
cheat, steal, and con his way in and out of everything. His ego could suck up
all the air in a room. However, Ren and company always thwarted him in the end,
to his chagrin.
Here is some dialogue from the show.
Onda, The Dagron
Master:
What about my gold? You promised!
Ioz:
A pirate’s promise. I lied.
ETHOS, PATHOS, AND COMPASSION
The protagonist, Ren, is kind to everyone. He is also loyal
to a fault. Therefore, he values honesty and loyalty. And this becomes his reputation.
His good natured ways and good name takes him far in the world.
The sheer amount of emotion he evokes and passion for what
he does is inspiring. He acts without malice, but steadfastly and with courage.
Ren also takes the advice of those he trusts most and not just anyone.
Here is some more dialogue from the show.
Ren:
I can’t ask you to continue with me on this dangerous quest.
Name the port of your choice and I’ll take you there.
Ioz:
Which way does the compass point?
Ren:
[Ren picks up the compass and spins it around] The second
treasure of Rule… East!
Tula:
Then east it is! For adventure!
Ioz:
For treasure!
Ren:
For Octopon!
Niddler:
For crying out loud! When are we gonna eat?
They would throw in some humor once in a while as you can
see.
I have also learned to take good advice when it’s given.
It’s not about the messenger, it’s the message.
One of my favorite episodes on the show as entitled, “The Beast and the Bell,” episode 8, which aired on November 2, 1991.
Ren is tricked into freeing an imprisoned evil creature by the name of Keroptus.
He makes a promise to re-imprison the monster to the people who guard him. I will never forget what he said to an optimistic Ren about this dangerous foe as you should never underestimate an enemy.
King of the Guards:
Keroptus is nobody’s
fool boy. He will not be easily deceived by parlor tricks.
To this day, I feel that way about every person I meet. You do not know what or who anyone knows. You should always proceed with caution.
Well, that concludes this latest post.
I enjoyed revisiting this show from my childhood.
It always gives me a great feeling when I watch this show.
The swashbuckling, seeking of treasure and adventure. Personally, that’s how it
feels to pursue wealth. I go for the gold. And I play to win.
I know a credit card company has a saying; don’t leave home
without it. However, this show taught me
how valuable having morals are and I learned to never leave home without them.
John Legend is a Grammy and Oscar Award winning musician. The singer-songwriter won his first Grammy Award with 2004’s Get Lifted. The album went platinum, thanks in large part to his hit single “Ordinary People.”
He was a child piano prodigy. He skipped two grades and graduated from high school at 16.
He sang in the church choir (which he joined at 7 and was leading it by 11), was head of the music department in his church, served as a music director in college and also worked as a wedding singer.
He has done numerous interviews in his career and much of the information in this post comes from them. I discuss multiple ones in this post.
John has an estimated net worth of $40 million dollars.
He did an interview with Katherine Schwarzenegger for her 2014 book I Just Graduated… Now What?: Honest Answers from Those Who Have Been There. You may recognize the last name. Yes, she is the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver (Kennedy).
Here is some of what he had to say. (Not every word or quote is from her book, but numerous interviews) I highlight his advice in her book with KES (Ms. Schwarzenegger’s initials). There they are (KES) on the board right behind her.
“I had followed the path that the Penn graduate was supposed to take, but I didn’t fall in love.” – John Legend
KES: John directed theater productions in school and performed in talent shows. He wanted to be a big star, but did not know the steps to get there. John said he had a fire in his belly. No one was coming along to make him a star as he learned along the way. John had to put together a demo and have it produced by the right people. Anything that he was doing that wasn’t music, was going to be temporary.
Although, music is his first love, he worked a safe corporate job for three years while hustling to get his music off the ground. He received lots of rejections, but continued to side hustle as a musician playing anywhere he could.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL
“Fear of failure stops too many people from doing things. It’s not wrong to be afraid, but you have to fight through fear to overcome it.” – John Legend quoted as saying this in Katherine’s book (KES)
Many of his friends became bankers and consultants so he did too. However, after following in their footsteps he found that was not meant for him. He was not cut out to be a consultant.
“I couldn’t shake my passion for music.” – John Legend
He made savvy moves to make his dream a reality. During the day he did PowerPoint presentations, but at night he wrote and performed music.
Fun Fact: While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend. He played piano on Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything.” That was his first album appearance.
WHY SIDE HUSTLE?
“I needed money. I lived in New York and had to pay my rent.”
KES: John didn’t have any financial support from his parents and he had student loans to pay back. He found that you could make good money in consulting.
He was rejected by all major labels. All the heads of these labels all turned him down.
KES: John paid his own way through college, racking up tons of student loans in the process. He had to deal with them after graduating college. He rolled the dice, took chances, and worked his butt off to follow his dreams, and never lost faith along the way.
Basically, he moonlighted his way to a music career.
BREAKTHROUGH
Havin’ money’s not everything, not havin’ it is. – Kanye West
KES: John would go to the studio straight from worked dressed in his business attire. He said he definitely stood out from the way everyone else was dressed in the studio. He ended up getting a manager and a lawyer that were also well-connected. This was in 2002.
If you want to be treated like an adult, you have to dress like one. – Diane Kruger (actress and star of National Treasure) See my post on the film.
Through his collaboration with Yeezy, he was able to parlay that into a record deal. His first album was produced by Kanye. He got a deal with Sony.
That album would go on to earn eight Grammy nominations.
Years of toiling and hard work had paid off. It just goes to show, it’s not only what you know, it’s who you know. If you want to be taken serious, then you have to act like you do.
John Legend joined the elite group to have earned Hollywood’s most prestigious awards – an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – on Sunday. At 39, he is the youngest person to achieve EGOT status. He’s also the first African-American man to win all four awards. https://t.co/5YSh5rYfPUpic.twitter.com/AUK3Kgh1S0
“When I got my first big check, I paid [my college loans] off. No more debt!” – John Legend
As you can see, his biggest earnings are from his music. It goes to show that passion can pay off big!
KES: John quit his job and started working part-time so he could focus more on his music. He struggled for a while, living on credit cards and skating by. Then he started making money touring with Kanye. In 2004, he got a deal with Columbia Records and when that happened he didn’t have to worry about money anymore. As soon as he got my record deal, he paid off all his student loans and credit card debt. He said no one ever told him about college loan debt and how to manage it.
Preaching to the choir here with not knowing how to manage debt. And in his case, that is literally speaking as he was in the church choir singing, which would become his meal ticket.
INVESTMENTS
“I bought a place [in Manhattan]. I just bought some art—some abstract stuff—and some collages are coming too. A friend who works at MoMA is like my art consultant. I just wanted nice stuff that would hold value.” – John Legend
You should always invest and buy things that go up in value. It just makes sense.
PASSION MAKES A GRAMMY WINNER
“But that cool detachment only gets you so far. Passion gets you a lot further. It makes you a better entrepreneur, a better leader, a better philanthropist, a better friend, a better lover.” – John Legend
He chose to pursue his interest. This made him his fortune. I call it the House that was built on a piano. 😉
