Way back in May of 2021, I sent an email to my list indicating that it was better to buy a home than it was to rent a home. This is true even when it's cheaper to rent than it is to own. Why do I believe this so strongly? Because when you own your home, you have control over your home. Whoever owns the asset controls the asset.
Nobody
can tell you to move. Nobody can send you a letter increasing your
rent. Nobody can dictate any rule about what you can or can't do in
YOUR home.
Want to knock a non-load bearing wall down? Knock it down. Want to install a pool, install a pool. You don’t need to ask your landlord for permission! (Unfortunately, you will probably do need a permit of some kind.)
Soon after sending that particular email, I happened to read a news story about a 271-unit building in Miami that recently sold. The new owners just terminated every single lease and every tenant is now forced to move.
Whoever owns the asset controls the asset.
If someone else owns your home, they have control over your home.
You're not in the glorious position of F-You if someone else has control over any aspect of your life. The more control you have, the more strength you have. The more control you have, the more choices you have.
The opposite is also true.
The less control you have over important aspects of your life, the fewer choices you have in life.
The key to the glorious position of F-You is CONTROL.
This would suggest that the fastest way to move into the F-You Position is to increase the control you have over important aspects of your life.
How much of your work do you control?
Do you control when you work? What you work on? Where you work? How long you work? Do you control the revenue generated from your work? Do you have control over your salary... what you get paid for the work you do?
These are extremely important questions to think about because...
Whoever controls your income ultimately controls the majority of your time - HOURS OF YOUR LIFE!
And... whoever controls your income ultimately controls also has control over your entire financial situation.
Taking control over every aspect of your work is the fastest way to move into the F-You Position.
I understand this isn't easy to do if you're currently employed full-time. I also understand it may seem very risky to let go of a nice paycheck.
The two best ways to increase the control you have over your work are:
1. Systematically increase your ownership of income-producing assets.
IF (yes, that's a big if) you continue stacking income-producing assets every month, you'll be increasing your control over your income with each passing month.
Several years ago, I began purchasing one manufactured home investment property every month.
Since I own these assets, I have control over them.
2. Start a positive cashflow business.
As you build this business, make sure you maintain complete control over the key systems of your business.
When I first started my real estate brokerage years ago, it controlled me.
In fact, it controlled many aspects of my life. It controlled when I worked. It controlled how long I worked, and it also controlled what I did when I worked.
To gain control over my business, I implemented automatic lead-generation and lead-conversion systems. I also created systems for hiring, training and managing new team members.
Do you control your employees, or do they control you? Do you need your employees or do your employees need you? If you have systems in place to hire, train and manage your employees, you have control over your employees.
If you don’t have these systems in place, your employees have control over you.
Do you have control your clients, or do they control you?
Do you need your clients, or do your clients need you?
If you have systems in place to generate and convert new clients at will, you have control over your clients. You also have control over what you charge for your services. If you don’t have these systems, your clients control you.
They also control the fees you charge for your services.
Many real sales professionals are controlled by their clients. Their clients literally dictate when they work and how long they work.