209. Buying a House with the Infinite Banking Concept

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Today in our client series, we're joined by the Marshall. Adam Marshall's been kicking butt and taking names for 20 years with ReMax in Ontario. If there's houses being sold, probability, Adam has seen it all. He's been through the whole gamut. And as a real estate investor with a whole bunch of cash flow indoors, we're gonna have a really fun conversation with him today. A little bit about his journey on creating a successful real estate career, buying some of the properties that he's done, what he sees for some of the trends coming up in the Ontario region. And of course, how does infinite banking, as a practitioner of that concept implementing in his life, starting to take hold? Adam, so excited to have you here with us and I think we're gonna have a ton of fun. Welcome to the show.

Well, thanks so much for having me, Adam. I'm excited to be here.

A pleasure to, to be introduced to you and again, a warm welcome to the show. Go ahead, Rich.

Well, we, you know, I'm, I'm curious before we jump into, you know, how you discovered and, and got connected to the infinite banking concept. Walk us through. Let's go back a little bit further. Talk us a little bit about how you got started. What, what was the catalyst to get you started in the real estate game early on? Now being with ReMax for over 20 years, what, what led you down that path to say I'm going to be selling a whole bunch of real estate all over Ontario? Where, how did that come about for you?

Well, I'm, I'm one of those really or really weird people. I always like to tell people I was raised in a family where my dad was a, he was a contractor in town for over 40 years. And my dad always bought real estate whenever he could. And so he bought real estate, you know, in the 90s when, you know, it wasn't a great time, in the 80s when it was a good time and didn't, he didn't own a lot, but he owned a few. And so I was raised around that ever since I could. I could sign a receipt book, I was collecting rent from tenants and interacting with tenants of all sizes and descriptions.

So I can. I kind of grew up with that in my blood, so I loved it. So as it progressed through my journey, through my life, I. I would say I'm really weird because I, I always wanted to be a realtor. I always want to be around real estate. And.

So once I was, you know, got to a certain age, I went ahead and I got licensed and I jumped in and. And as soon as I got my license, I gave notice at my work. Two weeks, I'm out of here. And you jump. Right. Wow. And into the wacky and crazy world of 100 commission sales and, you know, sink or swim. Wow.

Well, obviously you swam.

Yeah.

And that. And that's great. And, and what inspired you to. So when you, when you reflect back on what that domino was, that tipped over for you, your introduction to the infinite banking concept. What inspired you to pursue your learning about it before you implemented it? What was it that. That piqued your interest in the sense of, okay, this. Something's clicking with me here. I've got to do a little bit more research. What was that?

So you'll love to hear this and love to know that before I, I was converted, I was anti.

Not this method, but anti, you know, life insurance in general.

Wow.

I, I was the, I was indoctrinated in the, you know, the buy term and invest the difference.

Yeah.

And that's what I live by. And I was, I was, I was a hardliner.

Right.

I was like a real estate guy. They're crazy. Don't buy the other crap is what I tell people. You know, you buy the term and invest the difference, in my opinion. And, and, and I was really strong on that.

And then, so what happened for me is I. As. You know, one thing I've noticed is that the older that you get and the more liabilities you have in terms of family, in terms of loved ones, in terms of everything, get a little bit older and you start to view the world a little bit differently.

Yeah.

And, and as I started to get on, I started to realize, like, I have life insurance and I'm good. So if something happens to me, I'm covered, I'm good. Right. Everything's paid for, My wife can survive. She's got the rentals to live on. You know, I'll be as good as it can be. But then as I get along and start to realize more and more into the game of Taxation and looking into retirement and talking about leveraging, you start to ask more questions. And so that's where I began. So I, I researched. I was, you know, I was a YouTuber, I guess you'd say, and that that was my main research tool. Dove in, I researched the infinite banking system for two and a half to three years.

Wow.

Just, you know, because I'm a, you know, I'm one of those guys where I'm like, I was hard to switch. I, I couldn't get my head around it and I wanted to be sure. But as a YouTube, it went deeper. And that's actually how I found Richard. And so I started watching him for quite a while. I'm like, I got to do some more, some more research. And I did more research and I ordered books. And so I've got a stack of books at home and, and even here with me that I ordered and I read and I poured through them and I read them and I'm like, I gotta find out what, like, if this is really the thing they're talking about. Yeah. And so I finally came to the conclusion, and then I, one day I reached out to Richard, so I reached out to him. And then I think Richard and I, we had what I think four meetings over the course of, like, another year.

It's probably a couple.

Yeah, right. And before I did anything, and we talked and we talked and we talked and I'm like, ah, you know, belly ached over it. And then I, I finally took the plunge.

To be fair, some of that was simply because Adam was too busy selling real estate that it was hard to get meetings with him. And so being a recovering realtor myself, I mean, the old expression is you make, you make hay when the sun is shining. So, you know, I, I, I was patient, but I, because I believe that he would, he would do what was necessary when the time was right.

Well, this is a sharp example of the, the one frequent piece of feedback that we receive being that. So, Richard, how far along are you in your journey with, with the process since 2009?

Yeah, this will be, I think, year 15 or something like that.

And so being this far along, I'll be in my 16th year with this process. The most common feedback that we receive from people is that they had hoped that they would have discovered the process sooner, so they could have implemented it to a higher degree sooner. And that.

Being in the business that we're in, thank goodness, that's the most common piece of feedback that, that we receive. And so now that you've Been on this journey for some time.

What is your thinking as it relates to that? How is. How has this been an advantage for you? How has this concept been an advantage for you personally?

Well, this has been a huge advantage. And I shared with Richard just not too long ago.

So it was a year ago last, this past December, a year ago.

You know, as we're going along, a house came up on the market. And it was on a street that my wife and I, we had. We had been watching in our community. And it's a street where, you know, the last house came up for sale 4 and a half years ago. So this house came on the market. It was on the market. And just when the market was. Was just kind of sliding and going sideways and the side house was just sitting there. And so. And it's this, this. This is just down the street from us. We were in a rural location, and this was in the village. So I said to my wife, okay, let's go have a look at this. Famous last words. We go, look at this house. Walked in there. And then we realized, this house is perfect. This is just what we're looking for. This is it. House has been on the market 78 days. I'm thinking, okay, right. Be able to get me a deal here. Perfect. So, of course, being the amazing realtor that I am, just at the same time that I want to make an offer, somebody else wants to make an offer. So now I'm competing for this house. Anyway, fast forward, I buy the house, cash, with no conditions. Okay.

Okay.

Now, for me, I've got some rentals, so I exceed the limit that banks are allowed to. Not allowed me in mortgages anymore without special exceptions.

Okay. And your wife always told you you were special, but this isn't the kind of special you were hoping for. Am I on track there?

Well, you know, as you know, when, you know, when you're talking about, you know, getting other, you know, borrowing more money from someone because they were going to upgrade. In our house, I didn't need a whole lot, but I needed some. I knew, you know, worst case scenario, I'm going have to pay private fees. They get expensive. I'm prepared to do that if I have to if the banks won't work something out. But then in the back of my mind, I thought, you know, Richard's always said that I could just call and, you know, actually get a loan and, you know, we'll see how true this is and how this is going to work. So when it came up to the closing, because I Had a long closing date. That's what I did. You know, I went through the process, fumbled my way through it because I'd never done it. I didn't know how to do it. And yeah, quite literally two days later, there's money in my bank account. I'm like, wow, okay, that, that, you know, a little bit of doubt still on my mind because I'm like, that's just seemed really easy. It's kind of, kind of seemed too easy. But it did. It was there. And I'm like, and then, so go collect the money and go to my lawyer and say, there's the extra money I done. So that's how it's most recently benefited me. I love that. I love that.

And, and a couple of things to expand on what Adam shared. So for viewers on the YouTubes, people listening to the podcast.

When Adam was saying, hey, like, this is really easy. So if you contrast this with, you have to go through a process, a lengthy, nosy credit application. You've got to qualify on income, you've got to have clean credit. So you have to be, basically, you have to fit the risk profile of, of the lender, but you have to be underwritten. The deal has to be underwritten. Whereas with the insurance company, because Adam co. Owns the insurance company, he can borrow against his accumulating cash value on demand, on his terms. And the insurance company itself is guaranteeing the collateral for the loan, which is why they don't need a repayment schedule from Adam. So that puts Adam in a position of total and absolute control. And so my question for you, Adam, is respecting that you mentioned this is easy, but I'd love to know, and our listeners and viewers would love to know. How did that make you feel?

How do they make me feel after the fact or during the whole process, throughout. Yeah, well, you know, it, you know, I, how I describe the policies to, to my clients and my family now, I tell everyone this is what makes me. And helps me to sleep at night. You know, even though I'm a real estate guy, even though, like, I have other things going on, it just helps me to sleep. It's that peace of mind that I have, that knowing that it's taken care of. Yeah. And that's the part that I, that, that I, that I can tell you that right here, you know, emotionally, it feels good. It feels really good just knowing every.

Single day you're in the house, your cash value still keeps going up.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, it's. Yeah, we just went over that. And my last Contribution that I, that I, that I put in, I mean, you know, was ex. My dividends. I screw this up, Richard, so you have to help me along. But my dividends exceeded what I put in, right? I'm at that point now. So I'm like, okay, awesome, right? Pretty cool. Or how much, how much that group. So that's when I, you know, and I've been looking on my schedule, in my policies, kind of, you know, not waiting for that time, but eyeballing that time when that level of efficiency would be reached. And so, you know, I'm there. So I'm like, wow, that's pretty cool.

It's cool how it happened, but also.

How, how quickly it happened. And, you know, I think, I think it's really interesting so, because when you were telling me this story here, it might have been a month or so ago, and we were talking about it, and I thought, wow, this is such a good story. I remember something you had indicated to me was, was about, you know, making the offer, having a competing offer and talking about how we're going to close on it. And there was a little bit of stress there about, you know, between your wife and you, about, like, there was some concern on how we were going to get it done. And of course, me knowing you, Adam, you're a get it done kind of guy, so you were never concerned, but the, the idea that, you know, you were going to use the insurance policy to, to close it was kind of like, oh, like we can do that. So it was kind of like an interesting almost family conversation dynamic that got created in the process, which I, I felt, you know, as you were telling it to me, it was like, wow, what an amazing bridge to start to really integrate now, having some conversations about this while you're living in the home with your four kids, about what helped buy the home. So you can start to maybe connect some of the, the tissue around family banking into your conversations now simply by buying the home and how. And what helped accomplish doing it.

Well, so I'll tell you, I just got back today from Northern Ontario. We went up there for a few days because this is what, around our house is what we, this is what we call birthday week. So we have four kids. Our first two are twins and their birthday's on Saturday. Our second son, his birthday was, is January 31st. So this is our birthday week. So my twins are now, they're in high school this year, first year, and they didn't want to go away because a little bit stressed because of, you know, missing out on, you know, tests and school and whatever. So this week is exams. So we. I've been kind of timing it, and I got this advice from a friend of mine. And so their exams, My son's last exam was Tuesday. So I said, okay, stop in the truck. We're going north. We're going to go skiing for a few days, right? Just to get away. And so while we're away, I said to him, hey, just so you know, I want to talk to you about this family bank that I started. And so I actually had the first conversation with them about this, about what we're doing, right? I took it up. We're sitting at a restaurant, right? And now, because now, you know, Cameron, Julian, they're going to be 15, you know, my other son just turned 13. They're at this age where they're starting to understand and grasp these concepts. And my, my twins are working, so they're earning money and I'm making them sa. Invest. And so, you know, when you start to see where, where the money goes and you start to see it accumulate when you're saving and, you know, good things are happening. And so I started to introduce the concept and let them know, hey. And I said, just so you know, the reason we have our house is because I was able. I. I started this a number of years ago, right? And. And I said, and they're still kind of like, wow, really? And so I explained it to them some more and I'm like, and it made it that much easier, right? I didn't have to. I didn't have to once again go to the bank and beg and plead and jump through flaming hoops like a lot of us real estate investors have to because they're, you know, it's got to be underwritten and they want to, you know, dot every I and cross every T. And that's what I would say to, you know, not that I couldn't get the money because I know where to get it, right? It's just how much is going to cost, right? And then, but. But having this, you know, storehouse of reserves kind of tucked away, that was there, I knew I could draw on that. And that's, that's where it gave me that extra confidence. Especially when I made the offer, I knew that the possibility was there.

Become your own banker and take back control over your financial life. Hey, is this even possible? You may be asking, can I even do this? Well, you better believe it. In fact, it's easy to get going. So easy that we've put together a Free report seven simple steps to. To becoming your own banker. Download it right now. Go to seven steps ca. That's seven steps ca. Now let's get back to the episode.

If you were to reflect on the time that you spent researching this process, all the great dialogue and conversations that you had with Richard before deciding to move forward and implement it. If, if you were, if you were speaking to someone else who said, hey, Adam, like, I came across this content on YouTube about the infinite banking concept, becoming your own banker. I remember you talking to us about something like that. But what would you say to encourage that person on their journey of learning? Knowing that you consumed a lot of great books and a lot of great YouTube content and so on? What would you express to somebody who's maybe just getting started on their journey of learning? What advice would you give them?

Well, once again, I mean, the advice I give everyone is I wish I would have started sooner.

Yeah.

You know, I wish I would have been a convert sooner because I see the power, when I see the other policies I've created for my, my children, I'm like, I see the impact that's going to have over a long term. And I certainly, I can tell you, I certainly wish I had that, you know, going through my adult life, if my parents did that, it's really powerful. And in my experience, know, I can say it's, it's not a lot of money, right, Because I've started early. It's, it's, it's, it's pretty profound, the, the impact it's going to have for them.

Oh, yeah.

So that's, that's what gets me excited when I see that, like, wow. Like, you know, and I, and I, I described to them just the other day, you know, we're having dinner, like just, you know, the, what we've started is going to be great. And I said, and I said to him, just so you know, your grandkids are going to benefit from this, right? And they looked at me, right, kind of like, because they're young, they're not thinking that space. But I'm like, I'm starting this now because I'm worried. I want to make sure that your kids are taken care of and you have to make sure that your grandkids are taken care of, you know, etc. And yeah, that's what I tell everyone. I wish I started earlier. I wish I started it sooner.

And kind of in a, in a way that I look at it and, you know, how I think about it myself is that I almost feel Like, I'm hedging my bet on the fact that I'm gonna die, right. That's how I always view it. I say to Richard, I'm like, I feel like I'm hedging my bet, right. Like, I know I'm gonna die. I just don't know when. Right. But I just keep on talking this away and have this little bit of insurance there because it's inevitable and it's going to happen and there's nothing, you know, nothing I can do about it. And no one's getting out of here alive, of course. Right. So. So that's the advice I give to people. And, and I think it's also part of, it's part of a, of a, of a plan, obviously, which you guys do a great job with, by the way, following up and making sure people are implementing it. People understand that. I mean, that that's, that's valuable. It's not a. It can't be a set it and forget it kind of thing. It can't be, you know, and much how I deal with real estate with people. I'm like, you know, hey, I want you to invest in real estate for all the amazing reasons that we can list.

But it's not a set it and forget it thing. Right. If this is a moving, living, breathing thing that's going to change over time, that we have to make sure that we're utilizing it in our life appropriately.

Well, and credit to any of our ascendant financial teammates who are listening. Our tribe, our family, Richard and I could not do what we do without our teammates supporting us every step of the way. And so all the credit to them for enabling us to operate in this unique ability and have these great conversations with people like you, Adam, and to hear your care for your kids and your care for your future grandkids and the fact that you can think long range and, and you're doing that and you're placing a degree of emphasis on thinking long range, but you're also taking the action steps now to make that long range vision of yours a reality. That's commendable. And as a fellow dad, as Richard being a fellow dad, I have four kids myself, two of which are twins, coincidentally. And being able to share this with them at an age where sometimes we, we. We can underestimate just how conceptual our kids actually are. And if we, if we explain it to them, as Nelson shared with us, to say, look, this concept is meant to be ridiculously simple. It's not meant to be sensationalized. Keep it simple. And we have to keep it simple to explain it to our children at an early age. And so credit to you for doing that. That's commendable. And your kids will be watching this video on YouTube someday, saying, I remember that dinner conversation I had with my dad and his grandkids are fine, you know, because these videos are going to live on the YouTubes forever. So kudos to you for doing that.

Well, and it's interesting, Adam, because, you know, getting started and getting you set up on your program, there wasn't a, there was a, there was an capital accumulation that needed to be deployed somewhere and it was able to be deployed and it. You didn't have the need or the use of it right away. And so life was going on, business is good, cash flow is good, family's going well. And, and so when the time arose, when you needed it and the opportunity present itself, everything just kind of came together. And you, you may or may not recall this, but, you know, one of the things I like to share with people through the conversations we have is, you know, it's okay to take a, take a, take a loan, take a small one, even if you don't need it. Take one, experience the process. Take 500 bucks, take a thousand bucks. Worst case scenario, you receive in your bank account, you send it right back. But now you've completed a loop. And the loop of that activity is the first piece of training. It's getting on the bike and starting to pedal. Right. And so the sooner that we implement that step, whether you need the capital right now or not, the quicker and easier you're able to do it the next time and then the next time and then the next time, and it starts to create a little bit of muscle memory. And so, and then likewise, the same result happens with loan repayments. So, you know, for myself, you know, I, I recently did a video, I think it went on our Bankers Vault channel, talking about structuring and amortization and, and how to set up a loan restructure and at least the way that I do it, and some, some tips on how to best think through that process so that we're not stealing the peas, as Nelson identified in his book. And I talked a lot about how there were periods of time where I wasn't very good at returning the peas and putting the payments back on the shelf due to, hey, the business wasn't doing what it's doing today. Like there was, there was challenges, economic challenges. So, but, but going back later, you know, years later, things are going well, now I'm replenishing the piece from years before where I wasn't doing a good job of it then. So you can still follow through in that process. And so I'm, I'm just kind of sharing that for our listeners to help them recognize your ability to control the repayment terms at your discretion. That's. The role of the banker is so liberating. And I, and I think you might have shared something with me, Adam, because the, the timing of when you found the, the property that you purchased and then when you were able to close on it, and then I think you, you, I don't know if you guys did any renovations or not, but you also had, you also then were, you also were getting rid of your other place, and there was a, there was a gap in time there because you were selling a rural property, different type of property for anyone's own rural property. I can tell you it's not as easy as many buyers, not as many lenders. And you were doing that in an economic time frame where in Ontario, things were starting to shift a little bit and interest rates are rising. So there's all these competing pressures making it more difficult for buyers to purchase the house. You're leaving. Am, am I on track there?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I, I bought this house cash, with no conditions, in December and, and first part of December, and my house wasn't ready for the market, you know, so, you know, you have to take your own.

You were living in a house with four kids on an acreage. I can't imagine what would have been going on that could have, could have caused some necessary changes to be taking place.

Right. You know, it's like, you know, four, four kids aren't easy on a house. I could, I can, I can share with you, as you guys know.

Yeah.

And I had some, some, some plans already that I was working on in my house that, you know, need to be complete. I had this workout room that was starting to get, you know, so I literally bought this house and I called my contractor, said, okay, guess what? We need to get this going. So over Christmas last year, houses tore apart. We're painting, we're doing this.

It's a great thing that I have the best wife ever because she's just, she loves that sort of thing. And she was right into it, but she just gets it done. And my contract was there, so we built an entire room, got that set up. We're doing flooring, we're doing a bunch of things, and we pull it together. So I was Ready for the market at the end of January. So we work. They worked for me through Christmas, all the way through January, built an entire room, long list of work, and I was done, you know, ready for the market, not to mention purge your house that you have. We've been collecting a bunch of stuff and it's done. So when I put my house on the market the end of January, I, I had an appropriate amount of time to sell it, but I didn't have extra time, you know, like, I was like, I, you know, I got, I'm pricing this, right. This is going to go, you know, and so, you know, I put on the market on Friday, accepted, got an offer on Saturday, accepted it Sunday. I'm like, okay, good, perfect. You know, so went together smooth and that's what we want.

But not, you know, not a moment to spare because they're the buy. Other buyers hadn't sold their house, and they're in a similar predicament where up until three weeks before closing, they hadn't sold their house. They had that. They had different sets of challenges. I'm thinking, oh, what's going to happen here? This is going to be interesting because I had already closed on my new one. I'm bridging the two. I'm like, this is going to be interesting. Right? This is going to be very interesting. So. And you know, you know, people and I mean, Richard, you know, I mean, from being a realtor, you do this every day and you haven't moved for a bit, even though it happens to other people. You know, we often forget how stressful it can be.

Yeah.

How many things that need to get done and, and whatnot. So it's a good process for me just to move personally every so often because, like, wow, like, all these moving parts and, you know, I've, I've got to take my own advice. And then I have, you know, I, I have some realtors of my own that I actually call in to talk me off the ledge to make sure that I'm being reasonable, you know, and that kind of thing. So it's all going to fit together and, and that. And so the policies, I mean, just knowing that was there, just I, I knew that was going to be covered, and so I didn't have to stress about that nearly as much. Even though, you know, I wasn't sure what the, about the process of, of getting a policy loan and things like that. I knew it. I could call Richard and, you know, throw up the, the white flag or whatever and say, give me a hand. I need some help, you know, so that's awesome.

And it just amplifies the simplicity of it. When you're dealing with all those other stressful things, last thing you need is another stressful thing on your plate. And so, yeah, that's really, really awesome to hear. And reflecting on what you shared earlier when you said, you know, it took me a few years to really grasp the concept. And so can you recall a few things that you had taken that extended period of time to process? Like, was there anything in particular about it that sort of caused you to pause and say, wow, I really need to dig deeper into this aspect of it? Like, was it anything in particular?

Well, so I, you know, I was. So I was kind of thinking about this and, and you know, I would say I. When I, I like talking about finances, I'm. I'm sick and I'm weird. I read financial books for fun. I read business books for fun. That's what I like to do. So when I'm talking to people about finances, you know, I understand that there's some people just, they, they haven't gone to any lengths to find out. They haven't gone to any lengths to research and ask questions. So over the years, how I've always structured my life is I've structured everything that I do, you know, we're going to say, in a very tax efficient manner, right? So being self employed allows me a lot of certain opportunities in terms of writing things off and etc. And so everything that I do, I've kind of worked and built around that. So when I started to dive into how, you know, using like the Nelson Nash method, when I started to understand that and grasp that, then I started to realize, like, wow, like that fits into exactly how I think that fits into exactly what I'm already doing, you know, and there's a. I think it's a Blake Shelton country song. And I just heard while we're away, and this is when I was. It kind of clicked with me. And the song's called the More the More I Drink, right? And the whole song was on says, the more I drink, the more I drink, right? And I thought, like, that's how I've set up a lot of my things in terms of being a business and whatnot is that the more I make things tax efficient, the more I make things tax efficient, you know, and that's what kind of rolls around my head because it's like when I go to do something or buy something, it's like, hey, you know, how am I going to leverage this opportunity to, to, you know, obviously reduce my taxes to, to get me further ahead and then make it make sense. You know, if I want to do dad or I want to go somewhere, then let's plan for that and let's have a reason to make that tax deductible or create different opportunities out there.

So good. So good. What's something that I think is interesting is, you know, reflecting on some of the things you share with us to Adam and when you started talking about, you know, how, how you transition from a different mindset, a different way of thinking. When you first learned about infinite banking and part of it was age, part of it was responsibilities of family that had shifted over time. But you, you know, you kind of identified as a, as, as the hardcore buy terminal, invest the difference model previously and, and now I would say the pendulum have kind of has kind of swung the other direction. I'll let you, you be the judge of that. But when you, when you consider, think about the people that you either meet or maybe someone who's going to watch this program, who maybe is, has had that same mindset or they've heard that adage time and time again, whether it was from their parents or marketing or maybe popular radio, TV personalities, and they're, they're kind of going down that route and they're almost like, it's kind of like there's a, there's a doorway but it's closed. And on the other side of this is it's a knowledge of, of infinite banking concept that could maybe help them in their life, but they're not even willing to open the door that they can see the doors there, but they're not willing to open it to explore what's even, even just take a peek around on the other side of the door. What would you kind of indicate or what would you suggest that someone who's in that position consider if they're, they were in, if they were Adam, you know, from four or five years ago and they were feeling that way and this door was right in front of them.

Well, you know, it's, it's so.

So back when I was 18, I believe it was 18 ish. 18, 19. I actually was licensed to sell life insurance. Okay. There's a company that goes around and I was licensed with them and they strongly, you know, in their whole mantra is buy term and invest the difference. And that's what they do. So I was indoctrinated with that right from the very beginning. You know, and there's a bunch of books that would also support that. And so that's where my journey began. So I was in, it was, it was a nugget in my head that that was the right thing to do, you know, and then the further you get along in life, once again I'm taking on more risks and seeking out more opportunities. And for me, know anyone that, that, that is working, say the Smith maneuver in their life, you know, by leveraging and, and, and, and investing and creating tax deductible opportunities in your life. It's a similar concept for me within the, you know, the infinite banking. It's, it's the same thing, only I believe that for me it's on steroids. You know, there's just so many more, so much more benefit to it for me and my family. Once again, you know, kind of getting, getting a little bit older, getting a bit more mature, getting through life and knowing that I have a bunch of other people that I need to take care of and I can't just kind of go willy nilly, you know, throughout the financial world without any, any strong foundation, you know, so, so, you know, that's where, when I, when I step back with people and I, I like to kind of recant kind of where I've been, I'm like, I get it, I totally get it. But there's certain, you know, Internet personalities or TV personalities that, you know, strongly give their opinion, which is all valid, but I think that's really good for the average person, you know, because the average person typically, and from my, my real estate business, I can tell you the average person isn't or cannot save, you know, and they're, they're, and they're not able to really keep ahead of what's happening now. So I totally respect. And so, so quite honestly, you know, I say people, look, it's not financial advice, but you need a plan because you don't, you don't, you're not working a plan now. So that, that TV personality that may, that's going to be a good fit for you for right now, that's going to get you on the right path because where you're headed right now is not working. So you need to do that. So I push people in that direction. Go do that. Yeah. And then I just had lunch with a, a good client of mine last week actually, and he's a pastor and a couple years ago he said to me, he says, you know, I, I have to tell you, I've been going along and of course, you know, being a pastor isn't extremely lucrative, you know, and he starts to share some of his story, right? And so I said, okay, well, here's. Here's what you need to do. And so there's always two books I recommend. I said, you got to start there, right? Read those books and let me know how you make up. Yeah. And I always do that to people because that's a way. Because people always. I've had people come and say, like, what's the secret? Like, what's the silver bullet? Right? Like, that's the question they ask, like, how do I. How do I, like, you know, get a bunch of rental properties? I say, no problem. And then so I would say to them, can you pull out a copy of your home budget? And they're like, like, can I see a copy of your home budget? And they're like. I'm like, you don't have one, do you? No. I said, well, that starts there.

Yeah.

Right. And they're like, what? And then they're like. And so now I'll give them a couple books. I'll hand them. I buy a few. Couple different types of books. I'll tell you. I buy two books, and I buy them in bulk. I buy Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Yeah.

And. And I buy the Richest man in Babylon. Yeah. Okay. And so I say to people, say, hey, I have two books, but I'm only going to give these to you if you read them. If you don't want to read them, totally fine. But I want to keep them because I'm gonna give them to someone else and bless them with. But I'll give these to you, but only if you're going to read them. And so I've had some people take them and they never read them and they never call me again.

Right.

They never go. They never have that conversation again. So that's where I personally always push people. Because once again, you know, you. Getting into people's houses and getting into people's lives, and you start to read some of their diary, and they share a lot of things with you, say, look, this is the only way. And. And this is. There's no other way. As far as I've been able to find. There's no other way. But it starts here. And then, you know, it spans out from there, and you figure out where you need to be within that. That. You know, that. That arena. So that's for anyone that's listening, for anybody that's watching, that's where it's going to start. So if you haven't, first of all, if you haven't read those two books, yeah, you got to get those books. You got to read those. There's no those. Those ones are fundamental. If you haven't read those, in my opinion, you haven't begun the journey. And then you have to start asking questions and you got to figure out what you want to do, where you want to be. Because whatever decision you want to do, you've got to commit to it. And you know, these decisions are long term. You don't want to do it for the short term because it's, it's hot and it sounds good, but you have to commit and you have to understand why you, you want to do this same thing with the one in real estate. I say to people, look, real estate's amazing. It's, it's blessed me and my family immensely, you know, in measurable ways, in more ways I'm still going to find out, but it's. Real estate is easy to get in and hard to get out. Okay. And we, we realize the second half when this market starts to turn and the market goes down, we're going to sideways and people start to realize I can't sell my house by Friday.

Right?

Like people aren't lined up around the block to, to make me an offer. You know, these are the sort of things where, you know, I've been with a lot of people over the last year, year and a half, and it's like it's wrong. Their bell loud and clear reality.

You know, realize that having a big fancy house to impress your friends that, you know, only come over once a year, it's like, has a price, you know, so this is part of it. And that's why, that's how I believe it. You know, you have to get that foundation set up. You got to work towards it. And then for me, once again, when I realized that leaving a leg, leaving a legacy for my family is.

At my core is, is fundamental also. And this fits into that for me. You know, just like with real estate, I said to my kids, just so you know, like, you know, I'm going to buy and sell. I'm going to get rid of the dogs, I'm going to keep the nice ones. But just so you know, you're not going to sell those, right? Going to take those and you're going to add to it and you're going to pass it on, right? Because that, that's, that's what, that's what the wealthy families do, right?

They long.

Yeah, right. And so it's the same concept with this. Right. Just add to it and move it forward. And, and I see the power in that. Just like with real estate, I can just see that.

Well, I'm glad you mentioned, you know, Rich dad or Red, both. Those are amazing books, by the way. And I, I would also encourage everyone to get them. And so you, you exemplify some of the principles, especially in the Rich Men in Babylon, about really fundamentally getting clear on certain amount of money getting put away, putting all of that as you were building your real estate portfolio, if I recall, Adam, you, you focused on generating your, you know, your revenue from your business as what kept the lights on, and then the cash flow from the real estate could go and build more on the real estate portfolio. So you're a little bit more specific about that. So you weren't, you weren't taking your foot off the gas pedal of trying to generate new revenue, which I think a lot of people do do as they start to build up passive income. But, but I just want to touch on the book Rich Dad Porter. That was a catalyst for me in 1999 when I first got that book. And, you know, very grateful to the individual, much like yourself, who had called and said, hey, Rich, I want you to go buy this book and, and send me the receipt and I'll take care of that book for you. And so it was, it was a similar model, and that really helped start my journey. And coincidentally, I actually bought that book for my kids for Christmas this year, and they now have $100 challenge that they're going to earn. Each have the ability to earn $100 for reading that book and having a conversation with dad.

Awesome. Yeah, awesome. Well, you're, hey, you. You're nicer than I am because I only paid 20 bucks.

Hey, you want to make 20 bucks go to read this book?

Well, at 8 and 6, I figure I'm going to make the extent of really high, and then I'm going to equate it to something that my son wants on the Nintendo Switch, which is probably going to be a similar value. So. But Adam, really, really awesome to be with you today. Thank you so much for doing this and, and sharing a little bit about your, your journey, your journey of discovery, about Nelson's message, your implementation of it, a tangible use case of where you've implemented it in your life. I think a lot of people are really going to resonate with the simplicity and, and, and the, the format of buying your own home and, and being in the challenge of being between two and an opportunity strikes. So what an incredible story. You know, as, as we. As we look to transition out here today, the last thing I really just want to know is based on everything that you've been doing, you've been helping people for 20 years buy and sell houses. You've been making their. Their literally their dreams come true on the advantage of home ownership, who would you say you most want to be a hero to?

Well, for me, you know what I mean, it goes without saying, it's to my kids, right? It's all about family. That's where it starts. And, and, you know, when I think about this system and think about what's available that I've been able to create, I know that as long as they carry that forward, they're going to be blessed by it, and it's going to be awesome.

Everything begins and ends with family. Adam, thank you. What an incredible show. Rich. So good. As always. Today's been a great content day and to all our viewers on the YouTubes, there's a video that just showed up courtesy of our editing team to continue your journey of learning. There's always something new to learn. No such thing as having arrived in knowledge. And so, gentlemen, this was a pleasure. Make the rest of your week outstanding and thanks again.

Thanks, Adam. Thanks for listening to the Wealth Without Bay street podcast, where your wealth matters. Be sure to check out our social media channels for more great content. Hit subscribe on your favorite podcast player and be sure to rate the show. We definitely appreciate it. And don't forget to share this episode with someone you care about. Join us on the next episode where we continue to uncover the financial tools, strategies, and the mindsets that maximize your wealth.