STICK WITH THE WINNERS

Just the other day I wrote a letter to my sister at her request. I emphasised the part where she should surround herself with great people. I really should have written that in caps lock, bold and highlighted in red. It doesn't really matter how strong you think you are, bad company does spoil good character.

Stick with the WINNERS

If I ever give my son only one advise, this is it. In everything you do stick with the winners. That is in relationships, in finances, in your Spiritual walk, in your career, in life in general… Life is hard work as it is, you don’t have to add toxicity to it.

Let me get too personal a bit.
Cash is King
One of my best friends is a big part of the reasons I never fell into the debt trap really. We spent so much time together and fled from people whose lives were about the next pair of shoes. This friend of mine paid her first property within two and half years. That’s 2.5 years. We were both in an entry level job at the time. And NO, she got no help from her parents. She delayed buying a car and paid everything she could into the property homeloan. She went on to build a house of her dreams CASH within a residential estate years later (she is still in her 30s). That’s what I’m talking about when I say stick with the winners. She is a true winner. She now drives a brand new big and expensive car and dresses up really well. Not forgetting how she continues to build on her savings and investments. And her now fully paid rental apartment in a high rental demand area is her source of extra income.

Living on your Assets
I also have a friend who managed to upgrade her home into executive levels and just decided to rent it out to corporates at way more than her business made at the time. After renovating her house, she realised that it has become too big for her family. She rented the house to a business and went ahead to rent for about 15% of the gross rental she collects. Read more about how this diva lives on her assets.

An Investor's Lifestyle
My other girlfriend left her cushy corporate job for property development. She is not doing badly for a new developer. It gets tough at the beginning, as expected. Accessing capital is not easy but this diva started with rezoning her own home into a commune. They moved to their granny flat as they start. She is now completing her first block of flats. I'll try to get her to guest blog here. I will plead with her. Lesson for you and me: It is completely doable. These are people I know and love. We all have it in us to do it.

Taking a Break
I wont count all my friends here but this one is worth mentioning. She just came back from a luxurious holiday. She is a single mother of two. She went away to think about what she will do next. Having a few properties that now cover ALL her expenses. She quit her job and is now throwing herself into entrepreneurship. Having made all those sacrifices, she can take the risk I think. She prepared herself well before quitting her job.

It is a long list of winners I surround myself with. I only listed women here, on purpose. I also remember family members and almost everyone else, as I was blindly starting out in life, stating that "you cannot live without debt". What a bunch of hogwash. Off course anyone can. It will be tough initially, but it gets better and then way better. You can retire early and live comfortably doing exactly what you want to be doing. The main important factor in anyone's life is time. They are not manufacturing any of it if you haven't noticed. You lose time to do the right thing, and that time is gone forever.

Whatever your plan, implement it. Most people will say "it wont work", just keep moving. I make an effort to surround myself with winners. Winners are people who set goals for themselves and follow with implementation. It may be a guy selling tomatoes in the street corner or a teacher that lives on the fraction of her income. A winner is the girl who owns all her stuff... no consumer debt. Stick with the winners. Stick with someone who knows they do not need to fit in. Someone who is their own person. Peer pressure is for the weak. All lifestyles are contagious.

I may be boring, but one thing for sure, I sleep like a baby, when a lot of my peers are thinking of where they can get a Daisy to rob in order to pay Jane. Juggling credit cards to pay loans and store accounts. You deserve way better. Choose the winning team for yourself.. That is where we all belong.

Very well said! take that first step.

 Ask me any question. I actually love those.

Many Blessings,
SISA

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