Kaleb Martin

Real Estate

being, books, Real estate

To Be Or Not To Be?

Dramatic voice: ‘To be or not to be?‘ Words spoken in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Hamlet is contemplating whether life is worth living or dying. This statement has been interpreted a thousand times over. While I realize there is a lot to be said about life vs. death, I want to take it in another direction and consider what it means to be, more importantly, what it means to be happy. We all strive to be happy. So, why does it seem so many people are unhappy? Are we all able to achieve happiness? Is the goal of being happy truly achievable? Is it logical to be happy in a world with violence and destruction? You could argue ‘being happy‘ is not the goal of life. To that, I have no real answer (you may choose to be unhappy; that is your decision), but I would offer the following questions: What is success without happiness? What is freedom without happiness? What is health without happiness? In my opinion, all goals are derivatives of the desire to be happy. Many believe that once you have that physical object or experience, you will then be able to be happy. I am not going to sit here and say I do not strive to have nice things. A big house, a nice car, quality clothes, healthy food, comfortable travel accommodations, a beautiful woman to call a wife, healthy children to call my own, close friends to laugh with, etc. These things are all great, and I do strive to have all the things above, but one cannot base their happiness on anything external. They alone can not bring you any happiness.   Happiness is a state of being. It is a choice. To piggyback off of Hamlet, I would change the phrase to ‘To Be Happy or not to Be Happy.‘ You make the decision to be happy, content, blissful. No outside circumstances can control your happiness. Once you truly understand this, you become unstoppable. Nobody can touch you. You realize you are the one and only person who has any say over whether you are flying high or down in the dumps. The universe grants us free will to feel however we want at any and every given moment. Choose to be happy. Choose to be abundant. Choose to be fulfilled. Do not let someone else determine your level of happiness. Find it within yourself to choose to be happy. It takes time, but it is also instant. You must choose to be happy at any and every moment. I will not lie; there are times that you may feel sad, angry, frustrated, etc. That is natural; feel those moments, realize you are out of your natural state of bliss, and let them go. Easy as that. Return to happiness. Rely on happiness to guide you through your day; do not let external circumstances rule your life. Place happiness above all else and watch what you are able to create. ‘To be Happy or not to be Happy?‘ That is the question I pose to you. I rise every morning and choose happiness. What path will you choose for your life?  

books, Real estate

5 books to set you up for financial freedom. number 5 may surprise you!

Discover 5 books that will set you up for financial freedom. The fifth book may surprise you! 1. The Millionaire Real Estate Agent Gary Keller’s The Millionaire Real Estate Agent guides you through establishing a real estate business worth millions. Viewing themselves as mere contractors, most agents overlook the potential of building a business that operates independently of their constant oversight. This book equips you with the necessary tools and information to build your business from scratch, emphasizing lead generation, listings, and leverage as key to success. Co-founder of Keller Williams Realty, the fourth largest brokerage firm in the U.S., Gary Keller offers invaluable insights.   2. 100 Million Dollar Offers 100 Million Dollar Offers by Alex Hormozi highlights the importance of crafting offers so compelling that customers would feel foolish to decline. Hormozi discusses how to enhance the value of your offers, carve out a unique niche for your business, and price your offers attractively for both the customer and you as the seller. This book presents a fresh approach to business in a competitive landscape.   3. Rich Dad Poor Dad  Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, often hailed as the “purple bible,” advocates for its inclusion as mandatory reading in high schools. It simplifies financial literacy, teaching the significance of understanding assets versus liabilities, leveraging corporations, and more. As my first business book, it remains among the most impactful I’ve read, with Kiyosaki also offering advanced books and courses for those wishing to delve deeper into financial literacy. 4. The Art of the Deal Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal is more than just a political discussion. Before his political career, Trump was a successful businessman. This book offers a glimpse into his life as a billionaire real estate mogul, covering topics from private jet negotiations to air rights controls. It provides insights into masterful negotiation, branding, and leveraging techniques, valuable to anyone in the business world, irrespective of political affiliations.   5. Breath Breath by James Nestor may come as a surprise. Unlike the other books, this one focuses on something more fundamental: breathing. Life hinges on the act of breathing, from birth until our last breath. This book emphasizes the importance of breathing properly for health, wealth, and happiness, offering a comprehensive guide on improving breathing techniques. Here’s a quick guide on breathing effectively: Inhale through your nose. Make your exhales longer than your inhales. Aim for a slower breathing rate, about 5.5 seconds per inhalation and exhalation, totaling 11 seconds per cycle. Happy reading and breathing!

Market Updates

How do you want to look back on the decisions you made in 2024?

2007 vs 2024: How do you want to look back on the decisions you made in 2024? Today is the day to start preparing for your future. Many people in the business world have grown accustomed to low interest rates. For many years, 2-3% was the norm, and people would scoff at the thought of a 5% interest rate. Money was cheap, times were good, but as we have experienced lately, that is not always going to be the case. Rates go up. Numbers go up. Many young people like to believe they are entitled to cheap money because that is the reality their parents got to experience. We are always quick to remember the good times and say things like, ‘If I just would have invested in 2008, I would be loaded.’ Yes, that’s true, but in 2008, you were scared to death that the entire world was going to crumble to pieces, so the thought of buying and holding cheap assets for a couple of years and reaping the benefits was far from most people’s minds. We have a hard time looking at things on a grander scale. Do you know what the interest rate peaked at in March 1980? 20 percent!!! Think about that; people were buying properties at 20% interest. There were most likely some amazing seller financing deals at that time, around 15%, a value today which we would only feel comfortable paying to credit card companies, but that’s another story. My point is, relative to the last 5-10 years, today’s economic landscape feels alarming, but when we zoom out to 50-60 years, the numbers are a little more reasonable. With that being said, NOW is the best time in your life to start looking at investing in real estate. It is not going anywhere. Real estate is REAL; nobody can take it from you. Stocks are like pulling the lever on a slot machine; you have zero control of the outcome. I think Warren Buffett put it best when he said: “Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy only when others are fearful.” This perfectly demonstrates the sentiment today; consumers are plagued by fear of the unknown. Unrest in the Middle East, looming political changes, social media scandals, food shortages, etc., all these play into our fear and cause us to feel separate and lost in a scary global landscape, but that doesn’t have to be the case if you don’t let it. Find it within yourself to step outside your comfort zone. Write that offer, start that business, invest in yourself, and the universe will pay dividends to you. Invest in the fear mongered by social media, lobbyists, governments, and others, and the universe will keep you in that place of lack because that is obviously what you prefer. I don’t wish to work with people who don’t want their lives to change. I want to work with people who want to create a new world. A better world, for themselves and those around them. A better world for our children. Invest in yourself today. I want you to be able to tell my children you were brave when others were scared. You didn’t know what would happen, but you trusted yourself enough to know that trying and failing was magnitudes better than not trying at all. Thank you for reading. I hope that some of this resonated with some of you. I truly wish you all the best. Happy investing in 2024 and beyond!

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