Fakers

Usually when I come up with a topic, I am super motivated to talk about that topic. 

I like to go off what I am feeling at the moment, and what is currently on my mind is fake.

What I mean is people who fake it till they make it, like the super popular phrase.

We have all done it at some point in our lives.

50 Cent made it popular when he was declaring bankruptcy, saying he had no money, and we didnt believe that.

I was a model for a while, and when I had to come up with my own clothes or portfolio, that stuff wasn’t cheap!

I would wear stuff with the tags on and then return it, I would rent cars to impress people I was trying to work with. 

I never actually said that I made all this money. 

If you are gonna be a full time faker, there’s nothing more annoying than sitting with cash.

I’ve seen other people get called out at like the end of the  month, because they collect rent from their roommates then take a picture of like $3,000, but really it’s just rent money.

It’s such a good and bad thing, obviously the faking is motivated by some kind of hustle.

The only thing is sometimes you get so focused on the faking, that you actually start to believe you are successful.

The problem with feeling successful is you give yourself credit for something you won’t do. 

You need to set realistic goals and make a plan of how to be successful.

People get so caught up in showing they are successful they forget to actually be successful.

We have been in certain industries where you make phone calls to clients, and if you just talk about making the calls and making yourself look busy, you are being fake busy, and you won’t actually gain any clients or work.

I get the idea behind faking it till you make it, but the difference between doing that at 21 years old and renting cars to impress potential bosses, and now being 30 years old and actually having the money, and putting some toward a new bentley, and I want to invest in real estate, is that it’s boring.

Compared to my friends who are flashy and their bank accounts pay for that flashiness, I feel for them because I was also caught up in this kind of rat race to look good online, and for your peers and clients. 

The truth is that people know.

People know if you aren’t making money, for example, if you rent a car, now you can’t afford the $100 meal you are eating. 

The other person will have to pay and they know.

Also, people that know you, and know your situation, will know that you are lying. 

On one hand, I get so angry when people get credit for work they aren’t doing, but at the same time I have done it too.

I think people are doing this unintentionally and with good intentions, thinking it’s a part of the process of hustling.

There’s a balance between being rich and boring, and being broke and flashy. There’s a balance where you can live comfortably, and still be wealthy.

Goals and Spending

The problem with faking it till you make it is you always have to be flashy, you can never just save and act as the millionaire next door.

Instead, you should set goals, like if you get $5000 in savings then you can buy yourself a belt.

You need to reward yourself for accomplishing something, it will make you more excited.

We hit some crazy goals this past month, and we bought some shoes, a purse, a wallet, and that was it.

We didn’t go crazy, we didn’t empty out our bank accounts.

We made up what we spent the next day.

We were smart about it, instead of saving up $400 and spending all of it.

It’s not in my DNA to sit at home with nothing.

Jesse’s stepdad is really into stocks, and he’s been teaching us about stocks.

He is so humble, and since he has been helping us, we gave him a really nice bottle of scotch. 

He is very successful with his money, and the epitome of the millionaire next door type, and he told Jesse’s mom he never thought a bottle like that would be in his house.

It’s all about discipline.

He is a traveler and he spends his money on travel. I’m not a traveler, so I spend on things in my house.

If it’s important for you to be flashy, then you can always merge between the two.

You have to learn the disciplines and do the boring work first.

If I were to talk to my former self, who was hustling, I would explain that while it worked for me, my goal was to be successful and wealthy. I would focus on making money, instead of trying to be famous.

A great example of this is when I was in my 20’s and I got this opportunity to be in a movie.

If I could invest $10,000 into it I would get the main part.

The thing about movies is you don’t ever make money in the beginning, you lose money.

A lot of celebrities bought their way into hollywood.

The rich are always getting richer, so focus on getting rich first. 

If you build the wealth, you can then become famous later.

It comes back to building the discipline and principles to not always be flashy, but focus on building wealth.

A habit I had was to look at my bank account every day, even if I was uncomfortable, because you need to focus on your money.

What you focus on grows.

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If you are looking for a side-hustle, I have my classes to learn graphic design. It’s $20 a month.

See you for the next episode!