Jonathan Beasley
Having grown up dirt broke, and ALSO poor, I realized fairly early on in life that a lack of financial resources, can be a painful plight indeed. There IS a difference mind you, between being broke and being poor. One has to do with your wallet. The other has to do with your mind. For anyone who has had. . .let’s call it, “the character growth opportunity” of being broke, you know what I mean. This character growth is often associated with wondering, “will there be food on the table? Can we take a shower today?” etc. . .
Eventually I made a distinction. Having little or no monetary capacity simply means you’re broke. You may or may not be poor. The 2 are not synonymous and you don’t have to except either.
During my growing years, I was the youngest child of 6 (before we adopted my younger brother when I was a teenager.) Moreover I was raised by 2 children of the Great Depression era. . .who were also from the backwoods of Mississippi. . .who were also both handicapped (my father being completely and totally blind, and my mother having a series of chronic spinal/nerve issues due to a degenerative condition). The home my father grew up in, literally had dirt floors, no insulation/heating/cooling. It was a no-so-glorified shed. . . Needless to say, I hailed from a place where having “more than enough” was not something I experienced as a kid. And sometimes having just enough was not something I experienced either. Being blind, I never saw my dad do a day of work in his life, and only recall my mother working for less than a year. We lived off government aid and occasional support from folks at church.
The tone of the home was this. “we are broke and it’s not our fault. There will never be enough and we are helpless about it.” In many ways, these challenges shaped me into who I am. And so for that, I am grateful. At some point in my late teen yrs, I made a decision. I was determined to chart a different course for myself “in spite of” the circumstances, rather than become a product of the environment “because of” the circumstances. It was a real line in the sand and it was NOT going to be removed. It was years later, that I realized what I was preparing to fight for. I was declaring war on the tattoo of poverty stamped on our family, and in my mind. EVERY fighter is stubbornly clear about who they are fighting for, and why. It is this clarity that will sustain you when the road gets rocky and adversity mounts. There are way too many good folks shackled in lack and poverty, and to also put it frankly, there are way too many prick’s in the world with money. . .part of the reason I enjoy helping people acquire Real Estate, is because we need a few more good guys with financial means. . .
It also became clear, that for me, these financial ambitions were a representation of 3 things:
SECURITY
FREEDOM
ABUNDANCE:
Security for my family, freedom for self (which means taking back the MOST precious resource of all, TIME.) And abundance for everything and everyone around. You hear it quoted all the time that “money is the root of all evil”. Ironically this is not an accurate quote from biblical text! The actual quote is “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil” (1. Tim 6:10, ASV). Money, like scarcity, can and will magnify what is inside of someone. However money is a tool, just like a screwdriver, a hammer, a salad fork, a vehicle etc. It simply manifests and expands the decisions and the character of the wielder. With a fork, you can eat a salad. . .or you could stab somebody. Extreme? Yes. Plausible? Absolutely. Either way it is not the fork’s fault. For some, money supports greed, enslaves others, creates dictatorships on both small and large scales, it insulates the greedy and captivates it’s victims. Yet for others, money helps builds churches, money helps builds schools, money helps cure diseases, money funds orphanages, money helps rescue people from sex trafficking, money TOPPLES dictatorships. . .it CAN and WILL create security, freedom, and abundance, when placed in the right hands, and deployed the right way by mature, GOOD people. It is a wonderful servant, and a ruthless master.
It is LONG over due, that we get back to the great work of uplifting mankind. One of my all time favorite quotes (and one that is still on my email signature to this day) is by Edmund Burke. “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing”. I believe it is the responsibility of all good and able men and women, to make their lives reverberate around them with goodness, love, passion, clarity, energy, and yes resources. It just so happens, we live in a world where currency is a reality of life. And sure, you can have some measure of mental freedom even without immense monetary resources. But unless you have the skills to go Navy Seal style, living off the land, spelunking caves for bat meat, and sleeping in animal carcasses during the winter, I am not sure how much security you can expect to have or offer. Ok, joking aside. . .
Money is certainly not everything, and you could easily argue to the contrary that security, freedom, and abundance are not all they’re cracked up to be. . .or even more, that they are essentially illusions. And in some ways you’d be right. Even planet earth, this good ole piece of dirt we all call home, is physically orbiting around a ball of fire at speeds of 67,000 MPH. Some security right? But Armageddon aside, you cannot argue against idea that it takes money to survive in this world, particularly as the world has become more technologically advanced, and because of this, smaller and closer in nature. The idea of going “Grizzly Adams” completely off the grid, is dying. And in any event, how does the hermit life, secluded from our fellow man, improve the world which we all share…?
It is time we take a vital interest in the world around us, and how we can best go about contributing significantly to it. I found myself with a deep love and passion for Real Estate and Real Estate investing. But as Emerson said “the day is always his who works with serenity and great aims”. The aim has never been about money. The aim, is about the impact. Money is simply a means. In the movie “Gladiator”, the great General Maximus Meridius bellows to his men before battle. “Brothers! What we do in this life, echoes in eternity!”. A true statement indeed.
Happy Investing!