I’ll keep this short, cuz I am a bit tired…
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!I just flew back from Lithuania and, boy, my arms are tired. (Sorry… couldn’t help myself.)
So, why was I there?
If you’re in the Cash Flow Diary network, you already know that I was in Lithuania for Simon Black’s annual young entrepreneurs’ camp for the past week. This year’s Sovereign Academy was awesome, and I was grateful to be a part of it once again.
I got to play some volleyball and have some fun. Aside from the times I was in front of the students, teaching them about real estate investing and how to play Cashflow 101 to succeed as investors and entrepreneurs I got to take in the sights and sounds of the area.
As an amateur photographer and total image enthusiast, I gotta say that I really enjoyed that part! Here are a couple of shots I got that I like…
Like I said, this wasn’t my first time at the camp. I did this about the same time last year.
On trips like these to Lithuania, it’s easy to understand that real estate is part of everything we do! We all need a place to live, work, play and lay, right? No matter where we are.
I talk about international investing with guests in different episodes of my podcast. Here’s one…
It was good to be an educator at the camp again this year, because this time I knew more of what to expect. I could add to the learning experience that the “campers” had come to receive. Plus, I could add to my personal experience, making new memories.
What was really cool for me is that I learned that my information could have an impact worldwide!
By that I mean there were young entrepreneurs from all over the world at this week-long event. They all came to learn from seasoned entrepreneurs and business owners, so they could replicate what we have done in our lives so far.
I say “so far” because even at our level of expertise in what we do, we entrepreneurs continue to learn. I’ll get to that in a minute.
As entrepreneurs we must all continue to learn and grow… always! Share on X
One thing that surprised me is just how new the entire U.S. is compared to the rest of the world. That really hit home as I got to know some of the students at the event.
They shared stories with me about their home countries, what it’s like to live there, what they want to achieve in their lives and why they were at this year’s camp.
These young people were all there for the same reason: To gain new skills they can use on their entrepreneurial paths. That’s not to say their goals in business were all the same.
Hearing all their individual goals made me realize just how transferable the skills are that we instructors as experienced entrepreneurs were teaching these kids!
It is great to know that I can influence entrepreneurs of various kinds online and off. Some of the students were aware of Cash Flow Diary, which was excellent! They told me that they looked forward to learning how to be real estate investors.
Real estate is an easy place to learn a lot of entrepreneurial skills, no matter what your journey. For example, let’s look at negotiations.
We all need to know how to negotiate well in business.
As a real estate investor I have to negotiate deals all the time. In business, the deals may look different, but you have to understand the basics of negotiating to make it a win-win for everyone.
That’s not to say that “win-win” means “equal.” It is not. But there must be a fair exchange of value, which is just one of the things I got to teach the attendees of this event.
I talk about this in different podcast episodes and in my live Q & A episodes. You can find some of that in videos my team uploaded on the Cash Flow Diary channel on YouTube.
Another thing I was able to teach the students is that you are always in a negotiation mode.
For example, I told them that the next time they are standing in line to purchase anything, like at a coffee shop, they need to try something that will help them learn better negotiation skills.
I told the students that when the person at the register asks you, “Will there is anything else?” they need to respond with, “Yes, thank you. I would like a 10% discount, please.”
The fun part here is that I’ve been receiving texts from the kids who have been using this new approach telling me of their successes! They text me with how often this works for them and what type of discounts they are getting.
The next time the person at the register ask, “Will there be anything else?” ask for a 10% discount! Share on X
The last great thing about being at this year’s camp is that I got to hang out again with Simon Black, Craig Ballentyne and the other instructors. That was helpful because some of the same lessons we’ve all learned as entrepreneurs over the years still apply. We can still learn from each other, too… and we did.
After all, there are similar stories between us. We entrepreneurs may all come from different places, but our stories share similarities.
- We all faced some amazing challenges that we had to overcome.
- We all continue to grow and gain even more experience.
- We also continue to achieve the new things and will keep striving to do that.
Here I am with Simon and Craig…
As instructors and entrepreneurs, we all had a chance to share with other what we’ve gotten done over the past year. It was a lot!
The interesting thing is that none of us were in the same place we were this time last year. We had all grown and done so much that once we started talking about it we blew each other away. (We kind of blew ourselves away, too.)
But that’s the mindset we should all have as we go forth in our journeys as real estate investors, entrepreneurs and business owners.
We should always want to grow and morph into bigger, better, badder roles and keep adding to our capabilities and skill sets.
Further, we should have that same mindset not just for ourselves but also for those who work with us and those who work for us! That way, our entire team keeps growing in a variety of ways… personally and in the business.
At the event, we talked a lot about the “we” vs. “my” mindset that entrepreneurs can have, and how it always has to be a “we” mindset in order for success to continually happen.
Yes, it might be “my” company and “my” goals initially, but “we” get the work done together.
We as a team provide the products and services to help others; we make the customer happy.
My spirit around this truth was reignited in Lithuania. I was fortunate to have a chance to educate the young entrepreneurs at this year’s camp and to ignite their passion about real estate investing.
I am already looking forward to being part of Simon’s event next year and sharing my story once again with a new group of young entrepreneurs!
