Happy New Year All!
Welcome 2024!
Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I sure did!
I set out to have a quiet and relaxing holiday, and for the most part, mission accomplished.
So much so, that I even forgot to snap some pics to share in this newsletter.
But if I had, it would have been of the five of us all sitting on one couch and playing a Luigi’s Mansion on Nintendo Switch, way past the kid’s bedtime… good times!
Pretty sure if you ask my kids, they will tell you that the Nintendo was more of a gift for mom and dad then it was for them lol.
I’m a fan of regularly updating your goals, but there’s something magical about the fresh start of a new year.
I also like to take this time to reflect on the previous year, and what I was able to accomplish.
2023 was a big year for me and my family…
- My wife and I both turned the Big 4-0
- We built and moved into our dream home.
- I left my corporate job to own and operate UCC.
Both the house and UCC are a direct result of setting goals and putting systems in place to achieve those goals.
And these were not goals that I set in 2022 (the previous year). These were goals set in place long before.
My goal wasn’t necessarily to own a mortgage business.
But I did have a goal to escape the corporate world and be in business for myself.
Truthfully, this had been a goal for many years prior to actually “pulling the trigger.”
It hit me some time in my early 30’s. Although up to that point, I had been enjoying my corporate career, and doing very well in it…
…when I extrapolated my life forward 10, 20 years… I didn’t like what I saw for myself.
I saw a life of reporting to someone else, always asking permission to spend extra time with my family, working a job where I could be “outsourced” or replaced quite easily, a lot of stress and no personal freedom.
I saw a 50-year-old who may have become dependent on “the system.”
A 50-year-old who wouldn’t have an asset base to have personal freedom, and a 50-year-old who wouldn’t be able to live his own life as he pleased.
A 50-year-old who couldn’t spend much time with his family… to me this would be an absolutely unacceptable way to live.
So that’s when I decided to put systems in place for myself that would eventually produce for me the lifestyle that I was looking for.
And the system I put in place for myself was quite simple… acquire assets.
First, I focused on generating passive income… naturally this led me to rental properties.
The approach that I took was to purchase vacant building lots and construct my own rental properties. People these days are calling this the “build-to-rent strategy.”
Rental properties allowed me to feel confident about my future. They didn’t necessarily allow me “today freedom”, but I knew they would provide me “tomorrow freedom.”
Next, I focused on business assets. Assets that would generate sufficient income today.
In addition to a few other businesses that I am partnered in, this is what led me to UCC.
Why do I bring this up?
Every new year I see tons of people setting out new goals for the year.
New dreams, new ideas, new plans…all get mapped out for that year.
My advice on this would be: STOP IT.
Forget this year.
What do you want your life to look like in 2034? What about 2044?
Where do you want to be living?
What do you want to be doing?
What does your daily life look like in 2034 and in 2044?
Are you running the systems today that will produce that result for you?
What systems are you running for yourself? Have you really thought about them?
Where will your current life systems lead you in 10 and 20 years?
If you want to have a great 2034, it’s best to start planning for it today.
Choose, very consciously and deliberately, the life systems you are running.
As masses run around reading headlines, freaking out about the latest financial news, or just running in circles, you can have a plan.
And having that longer term plan gives you peace of mind.
So if you want to live your best life, it’s best to start focusing on the long-term right now.
- Extrapolate forward
- Choose what life systems you want to run for yourself
If one of those systems happens to be building an asset base of real estate or even passively investing in real estate by way of private mortgages, then we would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss ways that we can help you achieve your goals.
Maybe this is the year we’ll begin working together to make 2034 and 2044 the best New Year of your life.
Happy New Year, everyone!!
Vince
