1260: Fleeing High Taxes & The Happiness Prayer with Rabbi Evan Moffic

From the initial market recommendation from yourselves and the choosing of the property right through to the leasing process of the property manager. Everyone has been just totally professional and the communication is excellent, especially with being such a long distance away.

Welcome to the Creating wealth show with Jason Hartman. You're about to learn a new slant on investing, some exciting techniques and fresh new approaches to the world's most historically proven asset class that will enable you to create more wealth and freedom than you ever thought possible. Jason is a genuine, self made multimillionaire who's actually been there and done it. He's a successful investor, lender, developer and entrepreneur who's owned properties in 11 states, had hundreds of tenants and been involved in thousands of real estate transactions. This program will help you follow in Jason's footsteps on the road to your financial Independence Day. You really can do it. And now here's your host, Jason Hartman with the complete solution for real estate investors.

Welcome to episode 1260. 1260. Thank you so much for joining me today. Today we have our client Rabbi Evan Moffek on the show. This is a tenth episode, so we're going to talk about something of general interest. But I have a little bit of real estate, so stuff for you first. So hang on for that. But today, the main topic of our 10th episode today will be the happiness prayer for investors. The happiness prayer for investors. So see, it always ties back to success and financial security and this one, even income property. But before that, I actually want to talk to you about another one of my predictions actually coming true. They don't all come true, but most of them do. Actually, you know, this is where I talked before about how, you know, of course when you attack something, you get less of it and if you subsidize something, you get more of it. And this is yet another example. I predicted that people would be fleeing the high tax states and New York, just like California, these socialist republics are making it. You know, they're just incentivizing the wrong behavior every time you turn around. And so this article and the accompanying video, I'm going to play the video for you and comment on it a bit. It's entitled Florida, my new home state. For a little over a year now, Florida is raking in billions of dollars as Americans abandon high tax states. Now remember we had Meredith Whitney on several years ago and that episode, of course, all this stuff. By the way, are you using the search engine enough? No, not that famous search engine you've all heard of that is abusing your privacy and in trouble in Europe and the U.S. thankfully, not that one. The search engineasonhartman.com Are you using that? Because when I reference something like this, you should say, hey, you know, I want to go back and listen to that Meredith Whitney interview that Jason did a couple years ago. So I'm going to go to Jason hartman.com I'm going to use the search bar at the top of the website and I'm going to type in Meredith Whitney or the State of the States and listen to that very prescient interview, very telling about what's happening. But this is more of it. Without further ado, I'll just play some of this video for you and let's see what's happening. Now this is from, this is from the most trusted name in news. And he starts out by talking about how New York imposed this mansion tax, right, for any home over a million dollars and again, perverting the markets, screwing it all up. The news anchor says, well, a lot of homes are going to be selling for $999,999. Right. Just to come in under the $1 million threshold that triggers the tax. So here we go.

Mansion tax went into effect on July 1, which levies a one time fee on home purchases of a million bucks or more. Going to be a lot of homes selling for $999,000. Joining us now is Samantha Bianchi, DebianChi Real Estate. Samantha, glad to see you. Good to see you. This, this has got to be pushing more New Yorkers to Florida, right?

Well, of course, of course I'm going to say that. And of course I'm very happy.

I don't, I don't think there's any question it would, but go ahead.

Right. We have the highest population migration between states, which is no news, but it's going to continue to get stronger between New York and Florida. In 2018 alone, we've seen over 63,000 people move to Florida. So those are very big numbers. And on top of that, the people from the Northeast are driving our home sales. So as opposed to last year nationwide, we saw a decrease from 1% nationwide from home sales. But in Miami Dade, Palm beach and Broward counties, we actually saw home sales increase anywhere from 3.9% to 6.6%. And that is because of all of our New Yorkers coming down to here, sunny south Florida.

Now, on the other hand, Samantha, I'm sure you saw that Wall Street Journal piece saying that price of real estate is going down in Miami beach because people are fed up with the crowds with the noise, et cetera. What's your response to that?

I mean, look, that's what happens when you have a world class city. Whether it's here, you have Paris, New York City, Sydney, Toronto. You know, when you evaluate, people go to Miami Beach.

People go to Miami beach to chill. They don't come to New York to chill.

Oh, come on. Maybe you. But come on, have some fun. Enjoy the nightlife, the entertainment, the dining, the restaurants, whatever it is. I mean, it is what it is. But what I will say something to look out for for is the amount of time from a home that's listed to a home that has sold. That has been slowing down slightly. In Miami Dade county, that time period from last year has increased by 34%. And that might be because these people from, let's say, New York, they're trying to sell their properties and it's taking a bit more time. Maybe they need to sell before they buy or something to that extent. Maybe they don't truly realize the tax, tax benefits that we have here in Florida. But you know, I think later on this year we're going to see those numbers increase from that 63,000 to quite a few more.

You know, I come to New York to chill.

Oh, come on, me.

So isn't that interesting? You know, one of my friends just did this, moved from New York to Florida, from Brooklyn to Tampa. And it is amazing how much the quality of one's life improves. And that's the oddity. You know, I look at the quality of my own life and how I lived in a really great place in California. Orange County, California voc, otherwise known as Orange on the Riviera, a really high end place. And moving in 2011 to Arizona. When I crossed that state line, I remember doing it and I remember seeing the sign as I was driving that night when I moved, seeing the sign and thinking my state income taxes just dropped by 69%. It was a 69% difference from the state tax I was paying in California to the state tax I would be paying in Arizona. A phenomenal difference. Not to mention that the cost of living is lower. The crowds are much more mundane. You know, just a very easy place to live. I really did enjoy living in Arizona quite a bit. You find a parking space. The government in states that are better managed than say New York and California is not predatory on its citizens. I mean, basically in California you have this environment, you'll hear people complaining about it all the time, where every year they're instituting a bunch of new laws, right? And We've talked about that over the years. You know, it's January 1st, there's 863 new laws in the state of California. And so many of those laws are designed literally to increase revenue, to increase fines, to make things illegal that were not previously illegal so that the state can collect more money. The states that are broke, that are poorly managed, they basically become predatory on their citizens. It is not pleasant when a government is starving for money. And that's the kind of thing you see. So New York institutes this mansion tax, people are fleeing. There's already with the new tax bill because of the SALT, the state and local taxes, SALT taxes only being deductible to $10,000 per year. Now, I mean, if you own a high end home in New York or California or any other place for that matter. But I'm just using those as example because there's expensive real estate markets and you know, you're paying property tax on it and then you want to buy something with a mortgage for more than $750,000. We talked about that under the new tax law. Well, hey, it's not so new anymore. It's been over a year and a half. But you get the idea. I mean, the incentive is to leave these places and really it's counterintuitive. Improve the quality of one's life when they leave these places. You would think, you know, the general thinking would be that when something is more expensive, it's better. When a place to live is more expensive, it's going to be a better place to live. But that's not necessarily true. That's not necessarily true. Now of course there are some really good things about places like New York and California that you don't get other places. I get it. But on the whole, it's just a much better deal. Okay. And again, I want to encourage people listening. If you live in one of these places, as I did for so many years, make it a plan. Make it a, you know, maybe it's not something you can do soon, but make it a plan to in the future to move your life out of there. Make your life a little more portable so you're not as tied down, so you have some flexibility so you can move, get yourself into a lower tax rate environment. Think about this. If you live in California and you pay that highest state tax rate of what is it, 13.3% or some crazy, I mean, in addition to your federal taxes, it's absolutely insanity, right? Think about it. If you move to another state and you can accumulate wealth at a rate of 13% more every year. Wow. Over the course of five years, 10 years, 20 years, you're going to be dramatically better off. And of course, all your other expenses will be much lower too. And you may not go above that $10,000 a year limit of the SALT tax deduction on your federal tax return. So this is very significant. Okay, let's just finish up the video and we'll be on to our 10th show guests. We'll talk to the rabbi here.

It's for you. But. But it could be the best of both worlds because at the same time that New York is making it tougher to live in, the prices are getting even more inviting down in Florida. So it could be the perfect combination of buyer and seller, right?

Exactly. I mean, now is a great time to buy for anyone, whether you're in the luxury market or a first time homebuyer. I mean, with rates as low as they are, prices I think are slowly coming down a bit, which, you know, it's a win win for everyone. And it's a market that we generally don't see where sellers can make money if they're priced correctly and buyers can really get a good deal and lock in great mortgage rates.

All right, Samantha, you make a great case. Thank you for being here. Appreciate it.

So she alluded to the softening market on the middle and higher end. Certainly not softening in the lower end. Inventory still very scarce. You know, again, as we've talked about so many times coming out of the Great Recession, the builders have just not been building affordable homes. And it's funny, because one of our contractors who does some good work for us on the YouTube channel, he left me a message the other day. And he's a younger guy, maybe you met him at Meet the Masters. And he said, well, all of us millennials, we want to buy homes. Why don't the builders build homes, you know, in the lower price ranges, in the starter home price ranges? And I said, well, why would they? It's not economical, you know, it's just not economical for them. Believe me, if they saw an opportunity there and they could make the economics work and afford to build those homes, they'd build them like crazy. But the cost of construction is so much higher. The cost of land is so much higher. You know, there's just a huge shortage. That entry level market, the market in which we like to invest and you like to invest, all of you listening like to invest. So that's going to bode very well for you in the coming years. Of course it already has because there's just no new construction competing with your product. I mean, when I say no, I mean hardly any in the big scheme of things. Almost non existent, statistically insignificant amount of new homes in the lower bread and butter entry level price ranges. There are a few, but very, very small number when you look at it on an aggregate basis. Okay, without further ado, let's get to our client, the Rabbi Evan Moffek, as he talks about the happiness prayer for investors. Here we go.

It's my pleasure to welcome Rabbi Evan Moffick to the show. He is the author of several books, including the Happiness Prayer, Ancient Jewish Wisdom for the Best Way to Live Today. Evan, welcome. How are you?

I'm great, Jason. How are you?

Good, good. It's good to have you. And this is a bit of an impromptu interview, I have to say. We connected a few days ago, and you told me you were coming to look at one of the properties you're buying through our network. I didn't realize you were an author. And you are our first rabbi client, I believe so. That's just awesome. And so you have a lot to say about the scriptures and what they can teach us about happiness, of course. And prosperity actually, as well, right?

Absolutely. I mean, one of the things, I know a lot of your clients, they're successful professionals, They've perhaps made some money, make a little bit more money, but we're all looking for a kind of happiness. Right. And anyone who's been around the block a few times know that money doesn't equal happiness. I mean, it's nice to have. Of course you'd rather be rich than poor, but it's not the end all.

And be all right. And by the way, I want to tell you, I'll second that motion. I just think money gives you a better chance at happiness than poverty, but it does not make you happy. In fact, in some ways, depending on how complicated your life is, money, really, it's kind of a burden to, like, keep it. Because you become a target. Yeah. You know, that's kind of how I feel. Like everyone's taking shots at me, you know, competitors and it's a chore, you know, I'll be the first to admit, but it does allow you a lot of freedom and a lot of choices.

Exactly. I mean, people. I'm sure when you were starting off as a realtor, I mean, we haven't talked about this before, but you were probably successful pretty quickly and pretty young. And I imagine that there were older realtors who'd been in the business who probably were a little jealous, I think.

Totally. Yeah.

Huge issues. And that's just natural. That's human emotion.

Yeah, yeah, it is. No question about it. I mean, they used to have. At my REMAX office where I worked, they used to have meetings about me. All the old jealous realtors who didn't work very hard, they were thinking that I must be doing something to get all this business. I must be cutting my commission. That's what they thought I was doing. Right. I was a commission cutter and I was just undercutting everybody to get people to list their homes with me. And of course that wasn't true, but they had to justify it to themselves to make themselves feel better, right?

Well, yeah. And you know, I mean, we're not talking politics strictly today, but actually in a free market, people are happier people. When you have opportunities to work hard and produce, you're actually. There are all kinds of studies about this. You're actually in a much happier place. It's when things are driven by kind of laziness and protected unions, kinds of status, and there's send it to work hard. People are not happy. They're. They're miserable. They get jealous of everyone else.

Yeah, you know, that's a funny thing too. Well, it's not. It's a tragic thing, actually. But people in environments like government jobs or in socialist or communist countries, you know, I think of it like this. Racehorses, they want to run. That's what they do. And humans, they're creators. Humans are creative, you know, all of them. I mean, I'm not just talking about creative people, as we dub them, but just all people are creative beings. And if you don't get to create, you're just not going to be as fulfilled.

Right. I mean, this is a religious idea. I mean, God begins the world with creation, creating heavens and the earth. And essentially one of the Jewish interpretations, when it says God created human beings in God's image, what does that mean? And the rabbis interpreting it say it means man is a creative being that we can. We create children, we create art, we create civilization, we produce. I mean, there's actually this whole interesting notion of in Judaism, what is human nature? Is it good or is it evil? And they say, well, it's actually both. But if we didn't have the evil inclination, if we didn't have aggressive instinct, we would never produce. In fact, when we're creative, when we produce, we're actually happier because we're taking that energy that could be used for aggression and for War and turning it into something productive.

That's interesting. So what is the happiness prayer then? I mean, this is a Jewish tradition. What is it? Did you just pray for happiness? God, please make me happy. I mean, what do you mean?

I actually coined the phrase the happiness prayer. It's a prayer that comes from the Talmud. So the Talmud is sort of like the second most important book in Judaism. It's kind of commentary on the Torah. And the happiness prayer is a list of actions that these Jewish sages, 2000 years ago, many of them were contemporaries of Jesus. These sages believed that these actions would lead to a happier life. Things like studying, learning, kindness, acts of kindness, hospitality, you know, welcoming people into your homes, being with people in times of need. I mean, one of the most important, as a rabbi, I probably conduct one funeral a week, and I see that friends, people showing up for a funeral really mean something. No matter how old someone is, when somebody dies, their survivors are in pain and just be. There is such a great deed. And so these kind of religious commandments, actions that the rabbi said, ultimately lead us to a happier life. Notice it's happiness, not pleasure. Pleasure, happiness are different.

I'm so glad you mentioned that, because so many people in our culture and throughout the ages, I'm sure, confuse hedonism with happiness. Like, when I become successful, when I get rich, I'll be able to have pleasure all the time. And that life sucks. You become a disaster. Anybody who has too much hedonism, you've.

Talked about buying a boat, buying a Tesla. They seemed great at the time, but ultimately they don't bring that much happiness.

Yeah, no. In fact, they bring a lot of extra hassles. I had two Teslas. The second one was an absolute lemon. And the boat, well, just a boat by the name of boat. It boat means bring on another thousand. You're throwing money in the water all the time. It's terrible. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, okay, so. So in the in book, you talk about the structure, right? And I think you just alluded to some of these things, but I want to just go over all of them. Right. The prayer begins with a statement of purpose, a financial metaphor. Our actions represent investment of our time. The interest on this investment is our happiness. That's so interesting. Don't comment yet. But it's like the happiness is just the interest on. It's not the investment itself. It's the interest on the investment that's really interesting. Like financial interest, it compounds. In other words, the longer we follow these lessons, the more our happiness grows. And then you talk about how to find happiness in this world and peace in the world to come, learning these wisdom practices. Honor those who gave you life. Be kind. Keep learning. Invite others into your life. Be there when others need you. Celebrate good times. Support yourself and others during times of loss. You certainly just talked about that. Pray with intention. Forgive. Look inside and commit. Yeah, that sounds like great advice. What do you want to elaborate on there?

Let's elaborate on the first point about the financial metaphor. It's really true. When you were just reading it again, I was thinking about real estate in some ways. Who likes all the whole process of qualifying for a mortgage. I mean, who I can't stand.

Come on. It's so much fun. Just kidding.

I actually think that probably turns off a lot of people.

Oh, it does? Yeah.

But once you do it, then look at the benefits you get. These low interest rates for 30 years.

Yeah. And it gets easier every time, you know. Yeah. Because you just know how to do it.

And I think that that is true. Life in our deeds. You know, in any job, you have to put in a lot of work, especially initially. I mean, you always have to work hard, but you put in that work and then over time, you see the fruits of your investment, of your labor. I mean, parenting is like that too. You know, the early years are really tough. You know, there's been studies of happiness of parents. Their happiness declines for about 18 years.

That doesn't sound. You're not convincing me to be a dad with that kind of speech, but okay.

It'S really tough. And then you're happier in the long run. There are actually conflicting studies about this, that some people are more miserable. But there is something about that pleasure is sort of short term, Getting a massage, having a great meal, and that's. We need that. But happiness is looking back at your life and saying, I'm proud of what I did. I'm satisfied with how I lived.

Yeah. I would like to go back to the creative metaphor. You know, I think happiness is about what you create. You know, I remember years ago reading a Christian book by Stu Weber. It was. It was a men's book. And I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was just. It was so poetic and brilliant. It really influenced me. And I remember it this day, and he talks about, like, a man's purpose in life is to leave a legacy, not a monument. And then Ayn Rand, interestingly, who was a devout atheist, which I think she's kind of crazy for that, but I love her work. Otherwise she has an essay called the Monument Builders in her book the Virtue of Selfishness, which is a great essay, and talks about how all these dictators and, you know, people throughout history, you know, they build monuments to themselves, Right. Kim Jong Un and Kim Jong Il and Stalin and Lenin and Hitler and, you know, all the rest of them, Right. They all build monuments to themselves rather than leaving this legacy of a better world. Right. Obviously, those people are quite evil that I mentioned, but it's creating something that goes on. Dennis Waitley said it great. He said, plant a shade tree under which you know, you'll never sit.

Yes. Well, there's a Jewish story. I've used it in sermons. And it's a story about a guy who is planting a tree, but he's an old man, he's 70 years old. According. This is a Talmudic story, so it's commentary, why bother?

You're 70, you're not going to be here to enjoy it.

Right, Exactly. The kid says that to him and the old man says, well, when I came into the world, my ancestors had planted trees for me, so I'm leaving trees for my descendants. And it's true. And, you know, I ask myself, you've talked about the FIRE movement, financial independence, retire early. There's some great tips in that. But the truth is, I know so many people who could have afforded to retire 10, 15 years ago. And they still work hard. They still. Because there's something wonderful and meaningful about being creative, about adding value. It's not about the money, it's not about the power. I mean, so, okay, so there's some status issues. Everyone likes to make some extra money for travel and things like that. But that's not the motivating force.

It's not the thing that's really going to motivate you long term. You know, you might want to make some money. Certainly we've all got egos. There's a little bit of ego gratification. There's a little bit of like, oh, I love that I'm winning the race. Right. But long term, that stuff is hollow. I think that tends to influence us more when we're young, especially young males. You know, when you're like in your early 20s, all you want to do is conquer the world. Right. But when you get a little older and more mature, that changes. And hopefully, hopefully we figure it out, you know?

Right. Some people don't. Some people don't. We all know people who are in their 50s and 60s who name drop all the time. You know, I know this person. I Know that person and you kind of feel sorry for them because they're just. They identify themselves. And I think that, that having a faith tradition, whether it's Judaism or Christianity, you actually see yourself in a larger context. You've talked about context versus content. This is the broader context of our lives. Are we here simply for ourselves or are we part of a chain of tradition? Are we connected to the people who came before us and the people who will come after us? And then when we see our lives in that broader context, we make different choices. That's where Ayn Rand is so interesting and important. But she was a militant atheist.

She was militant, yes.

Even though she was born Jewish. Actually, she was born in the former union. Very interesting person.

Yeah, very. She. She was definitely an interesting character. No question. I love a lot of her work, is just awesome. Okay, so more on the happiness prayer. What else do you want people to know? Maybe an action step too. You know, what do we do? Is this just a conceptual framework or it's all action?

Yeah, it's all action. I mean, that's one of the reasons in Judaism, deed is more important than creed. What you do is more important than what you believe. And these are all actions. Like, for example, kindness. That's been my focus. You know, kindness. There's this scientist, University of Pennsylvania, Martin Seligman, he basically invented the field of positive psychology. And he said, when you're feeling down, the best thing to do is to do something kind for another person. He said, not only does it make you happier in the short term, but also in the long term, you've done something. And that may sound cliche, ish, but it's true. And so I. Kindness. You know, in real estate, this is another thing that your reputation is everything, right? I mean, when we buy real estate that that's already been rehabbed or so forth, we oftentimes, you know, you don't do these cutthroat negotiations. There is a sense of kindness, like there's doing business together, there's trust. And doing something for another person builds deeper ties that ultimately make us happier and more successful in the long run. Kindness is one of those things. I've often asked myself, why aren't we more kind to other people? And I think it is sort of. We live in this competitive society. So when you're a high powered attorney and you're going up against somebody, you don't want to be perceived as weak, so you're not as kind as we could be. Kindness also makes us vulnerable. I remember when my daughter she started a new school, and she went up to a kid on the playground the first day during lunch and said, hi, you know, I'd like to be your friend. And the kid turned away and said, no. And now I think to myself, my daughter will never go up to another kid again and say, even though nine times out of ten that's a good way to open a conversation, but makes us vulnerable, so we avoid it. Nobody wants to experience rejection. So I think if we can take concrete steps to just, you know, it sounds cliche, ish, but it's true. Do something kind for another person. Visit somebody who's been ill. Call somebody who's experienced a loss. It doesn't take much time and it's really meaningful.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It is. And, you know, I'll tell you, you are so. Whenever you are feeling. I don't think it's even possible to feel down or depressed when you're doing something for other people, you know, I remember years ago, I was having a tough time. I was feeling pretty depressed about some things. And I was a Junior Achievement instructor, and I had volunteered in their program for like three and a half years or so. And they had a special program where they said, you can go and teach Junior Achievement inside juvenile hall. So I went to juvenile hall to jail. Okay. To teach Junior Achievement for the kids in there. That was just an awesome experience. I mean, I did it in the normal classroom too. You know, that was fine. But it was really, I think, much more impactful teaching it in juvenile hall. So, you know, you would go in, like. I think I went in maybe like once a week for a few weeks or something and taught the classes to the kids in juvenile hall. And it was awesome. That was really fulfilling. I hope. Although, I don't know, but I hope I really changed some lives and got some of those kids on the right track.

I mean, it's amazing. You never know. I mean, that's that idea that, you know, one action leads to another. Pay it forward. It's true. I think that kindness is so essential. The other thing that I find very powerful is this idea of lifelong learning. The exact Hebrew in the happiness prayer is visit the house of study morning and evening. I think that is something. People who read, who travel, who experience more of life are happier. I read somewhere that our brains stop growing at age 25. Yeah, we can build new connections, different parts of our brain. And so eating, traveling, experience, that builds new connections. It builds empathy. We can understand other people's situations better by traveling. And so that actually Makes us happier because we have a range of human emotions and we're also more educated, more successful. I mean, one of the principles of Judaism and I think of the Bible, I mean, we all can read the Bible in certain ways, but I do think the Bible is a very sort of pro wealth teaching because it teaches us that when we produce and we create, we serve others. We're actually building wealth and building human connection. I mean, wealth, connection, go together. I mean, in Israel today, Israel is the seventh happiest country in all the world and second most companies on the NASDAQ exchange. Outside of the United States and China, it's behind the United States and China.

And when I was in Israel, I got to tell you, that is such an amazing place because it's got enemies on every side. And if that can be considered one of the happiest countries and look at the success of that little tiny country, that's pretty amazing. I mean, can't we have that happiness? We don't have that kind of adversity, but maybe the adversity is what creates the happiness. Right.

Without question. Nobody wants adversity, but sort of forces. It clarifies your choices. Human beings are in some ways defined by how you respond in moments of crisis.

It shows us what we're made of. You know, one of my favorite quotes, and I can't remember who said it, but people are like tea bags. You can never tell how strong they are until you put them in some hot water.

Isn't that a great point?

Like that one?

Yeah, yeah. We don't want that situation. But you know what I found? Life, it always happens, you know, you can't avoid it. Anybody who goes through life, you're going to experience downs, you're going to experience a loss, you're going to experience times and succeed.

And the more you try to do, the bigger the risk you take, the more failure you're going to have. You know, if you just work in a toll booth, okay. And don't try to do anything in life and don't make any waves. Yeah, you'll have a peaceful life, but you also won't get to create much. So those people who are in the arena, as the saying goes, right?

Yes. And it has to have a balance. I mean, one thing I hope to talk about in future, Solomon, success shows is this idea of the Sabbath. I think the Sabbath is something that begins in Judaism but can help people of all faith so deeply. You know, six days of the week we're producing. We're constantly creating and doing something but on one day, we can just sit and appreciate and see. And there's a kind of balance. I have found that I can get more done in six days than I could in seven. That, that rest, that stepping back, that perspective reminds us of what the work is all about.

And do you not use electricity or technology during that time? Do you really celebrate it, or. I mean, are you lighting candles and everything?

Well, we like candles. Yeah, we like candles. We have a meal together. I'm not as good with the electronics. I mean, I'm as addicted to my phone as anyone else.

As we all are. Yeah. Good.

Glad you admitted could do better. Sometimes I'll test myself and make sure that I can. Like, I have gone days without it, but I justify it to myself. I say, well, there might be an emergency in my congregation and they'll have to reach me. So I can't really turn off my phone. But I definitely try to take a different perspective. One thing, I try not to spend money. That's one thing.

You know, we're always spending one day without commerce, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

There's something beautiful about that. And it actually makes you appreciate even more a world of commerce, a world of trade. You know, you take a break. It's beautiful.

Celebrating the Sabbath. Although I don't do it. Kind of reminds me of Thoreau's Walden. Right. Henry David Thoreau went to Walden, and that's a classic book, obviously. And the way he describes the incredible detail of nature and just his experiences where. And again, I'm terrible at this. I don't practice it, but I can appreciate it from afar. I need to do that at some point in my life.

What do you do to sit back and refresh, Jason?

Not much.

Not much. I try to take it a little easy on weekends and, you know, sort of do more reading and things like that and just quiet time. But I think it's important to do that. It really is. Yeah.

Our society doesn't encourage it. I mean, you know, there is a kind of sense. I mean, one of the reasons I wrote the Happiness Prayer is something like, every one of us sees at least 3,000 commercials a day now. What they count is commercials. Like seeing a car and seeing that logo on the back. The basic premise of every commercial is you need this. You buy it, you'll be happier. And to say, actually, let's say that's really not true. Here's what truly leads to happiness. One of the reasons I wrote the book, because I would prefer capitalism and consumerism to every else, but it's not a recipe for happiness, right?

Yeah, good point. Good point. There's definitely a balance. Wrap it up for a seven on the Happiness Prayer. You know, any action steps, especially that you can share with our audience and give out your website, too.

The website is Rabbi R A B B I MAFIC M-O F F I C.com I think the most important action point, especially for real estate investors, to show kindness to build relationships. You've heard, we've all heard, that real estate is relationship business, and it really is true. I mean, I've, I formed relationships with some of the local providers that you've referred us to, formed relationships with my investment counselor. And that makes a big difference. And lifelong learning. I mean, you've got five days a week of this podcast, so take advantage of that and learn. I mean, even if you're not investing with the network, you're learning so much just by listening. So that makes us happier.

Good stuff. Good stuff. Rabbi Evan Moffek, thank you so much for joining us. The book is the Happiness Prayer. You got some other great books out there and they're available in all the usual places. And thanks again.

Thanks, Jason.

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