RE N E W S

INVESTMENT

NEWSLETTER FOR
MID-AMERICA ASSOCIATION OF
REAL ESTATE INVESTORS

January 2016

CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE SUPER SUCCESSFUL
from Steve Cook

DEBT Sucks
Is there really Good and Bad Debt?

Lifeonaire Retreat
In Kansas City the first week in March.

PLUS
What Makes
You Happy!

JANUARY 2016

SUCCESS

TOP 9 CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE SUPER SUCCESSFUL
by Steve Cook
Photos from GraphicStock.com

There are all kinds of lists, and this is

certainly not the first one that covers
the characteristics of successful
people, however this one just may be
different than any other you have seen
published before. You see, Im the kind
of person that, if you ask me to give you
a list of the top ten most successful I
know, I would ask you to define
success.
I ask this because it isnt always going
to mean the same thing.
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MAREI.ORG

I know that most of the world that we live in

would define success based off of financial
achievement, or business accomplishments,
but I define success differently. I define
success by the abundance of life one
possesses. There are many people that can
make the top income producers list, or the
fastest growing companies, or the greatest
net worth, but if they do not possess the
following characteristics, I would not
consider them to be successful.

Learn much more about

what it means to be
successful to a
Lifeonaire in Steve's
best selling Book:

Lifeonaire,
Prosperity
Simplified.
Steve Cook is a Real Estate Investor,
Coach and Founder of Lifeonaire.

SUCCESS

I define
success by
the
abundance
of life one
possesses.

JANUARY 2016

Here is my list:
1) Love - Without love, what do you have? I
know of someone who made $875,000 in 90
minutes and then he broke down and cried.
They werent tears of joy, but instead tears
of sadness because he felt alone. He had no
one to share his accomplishment with. Is
making a lot of money without love success?
I would say no.
2) Joy - Why do we strive to climb the
corporate ladder, or achieve great things in
business? Wouldnt you all agree that it is so
that we can enjoy life? Without joy, you have
not arrived. If you find yourself constantly
striving, yet longing to feel fulfilled with joy, I
guarantee you that you do not FEEL
successful no matter what the exterior looks
like.

3) Peace - I dont look at people who are

worried all the time as being successful. Do
you?
4) Patience - Truly successful people are
understanding of others who try. Successful
people dont have the time for someone who
expects something for nothing, but they
always exhibit patience with those who put
forth their best efforts.
5) Kindness - Many people who are
perceived as successful are simply mean. I
think that this clearly shows their weakness
and it is a cover up for their lack of success. If
you are truly successful, being kind to others
comes naturally.
6) Goodness - A super successful person
wont be walked all over, but they will allow
others to get the better end of a deal. They
do this because they desire the best for all
they work with and they will oftentimes do
things that others think are crazy. As a
result, the super successful person develops
a great reputation among the people that
they work with.
7) Faithfulness - Super successful people
believe in something greater than
themselves. They have a vision of something
greater than worldly success, and they live it
in their lives.
8) Gentleness - Super successful people are
not harsh. They are firm when necessary, but
they are gentle in their dealings with all.
Others want to work with them, and help
them, whereas harshness is a means of
controlling and compelling people to work
with you. You will never get the best out of
someone when you are harsh with them.
9) Self Control - Super successful people are
able to exhibit self control. They do what is
right even when it is not easy. They take the
high road even if it may cost them to do so.
I call these people Lifeonaires, like
millionaires, but someone who is full of life.
Anyone can be a Lifeonaire. They have a
clear vision of what success means to them
and they pursue it with all they have.

RE INVESTMENT NEWS

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What Will Make

You Happy
Chuck Bauman debunks what it is that makes us
happy in life.

In other words, if you are below the

poverty line, every additional $1000
earned significantly increases the
subjective happiness score, once
above the line, increases only adds
the tiniest bit to well-being.
Between 1958 and 1984, real income
in Japan went up over 500% and
material comforts increased similarly
but the reported happiness scores
over this period remain constant in
Japan. This effect is so striking in
contrast to what we believe should
happen it has been named the
Easterlin Paradox after the
economist who first discovered it.
Many economist and psychologist
have tried to explain away this data
that continues to accumulate year
after year but none have made an
argument that stands up to scientific
inquiry. The problem is the world
simply doesnt work the way we
believe it should when it comes to
money and happiness.

Photograph by GrapicStock.com

We all want a good life to be

happy but our beliefs about what
it takes to make us happy are for
the most part just plain wrong.
Economist have been obsessed
with this for a long time and there
is plenty of research around the
relationship between money and
well-being. All of it says that the
relationship we all believe is
either nonexistent or at best
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MAREI.ORG

terribly weak.
Economist have been obsessed
with this for a long time and
there is plenty of research
around the relationship
between money and well-being.
All of it says that the
relationship we all believe is
either nonexistent or at best
terribly weak.

AVAILABLE ON
AMAZON.COM

Perhaps some other factor is

more indicative of our happiness
and more predictive in turns of
increasing our well-being scores.
One study of people who
volunteered once a week
increased their subjective
happiness scores by as much as
moving from $20K a year to $75K
a year would do.
Yet another study showed that
charitable contribution had the
equivalent of doubling ones
income in increasing well-being.
A third study showed that being
happily married was the
equivalent of earning an
additional $100k in terms of
reported well-being. And finally,
having a trusted friend that you
see or interact with raised scores
equal to a $100k a year increase
in income.
Those figures are staggering and I
would say unbelievable but the

problem is that study after

study continue to pile up that
we value a lot of things in our
social life way more that we do
money, we just dont want to
believe the data. Once we
reach a certain level of financial
stability, more money simply
doesnt move the needle the
way having a great social
network does.
So lets suppose that we just
choose to believe this and
examine the difference it would
mean in our life if we can
convince ourselves that the
overwhelming data is right and
represents the truth. It means
that once we reach a goal of
$100k a year we should start to
focus on building better
relationships and maintaining
our health (I didnt go through
all the research there but trust
me it is very similar) if we want
to truly be happy.

People ask me all the time why

Lifeonaire works, my opinion is a
complex one but I believe it works, at
least in part, because it focuses
people on what is truly important in
life.and that focus in on the things
that drive happiness and well-being,
not on the things we believe drive
those, but on those things that
actually move the needle.
There is much more to Lifeonaire
than just this piece, but after my
research over the past several
weeks, I would say if you got nothing
else out of the program this piece is
worth it.
When your coaches say, Those that
participate the most get the most
out of the program. Its not idle
words, we know it subjectively and
now we have the data to back it up
objectively. Get involved and get
happier, seems simple and a little
counterintuitive but that is how it
works.
Chuck Bauman has extensive experience as
an executive coach helping to develop
leaders and a documented background with
helping to develop profitable small and
medium sized businesses. His certifications
include SPHR, CPIM, SSMBB and CQM just to
name a few. His insights are profound and
often shock those unfamiliar with his skill
with their accuracy and wisdom.

DID YOU KNOW?

Once we reach a certain
level of financial stability,
more money simply doesnt
move the needle the way
having a great social
network does.

RE INVESTMENT NEWS

MAREI.ORG/CALENDAR

THE C A LEND A R
NETWORKING

COMMUNITY >

>

OVERLAND PARK
RENTAL PROPERTY

WIRE
Attention Women of Real Estate!

The City of Overland Park is drafting new rules

on Rental Property Inspection and
Registration. Next meeting January 6th at
7pm. City Council Chamber - 8500 Santa Fe,
Overland Park, Kansas.

In this group, we support, refer,

help and advise one another on
our real estate investing journeys.
Whether you are new or
experienced, everyone has
something to share, and we will
all learn from one another.
Join us at: January 26th, 7pm
Panera Bread
10606 Shawnee Mission Pkwy
Shawnee Mission, KS

1ST
SATURDAYS
Networking Coffee 1st Saturdays
February 6th
10 am to 12 pm
Panera Bread
7070 Martway, Mission

MEETING >

ST LOUIS FLIPPER, JASON ROBERTS

Jason is going to share with you
how just about everything you
have ever learned about investing
in the past has been wrong. Well,
let me clarify Its not entirely
wrong, but even the right things
in the wrong order is a recipe for
disaster.
If youve ever wanted to quit your
job, work less hours, travel the
.

world, have the freedom to give a

lot of money to excellent causes
you believe in and absolutely love
what you do every day, then DO
NOT MISS this months meeting.
Tuesday January 12th
6 pm to 9 pm
Holiday Inn - Top Floor
8787 Reeder Road, Overland Park
Pre-Register at www.MAREI.org
RE INVESTMENT NEWS

WORKSHOP

LIFEONAIRE
RETREAT
What is a Lifeonaire Event? First, you need to
know what a Lifeonaire is.

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MAREI.ORG

The first step to becoming a Lifeonaire

is to determine what you want your life
to look like. (Creating a Lifeonaire
vision) Believe it or not, 98% (or more)
of people dont know specifically what
they want their lives to look like. Most
everyone says they do, but very few
people have any amount of specificity
to their answer, nor have they taken
the time to put it in writing. Instead,
what they know is that they dont like
the way it currently is, and they
mistakenly believe that more money
will be the solution. This first step is
critical, since your Lifeonaire vision will
become the foundation that
subsequent actions will build upon.
Most people think of success this way:
Start a business, focus the majority of
your time on making it grow
financially, and then try to figure out
how to live life in the time leftover (if
there is any). For a Lifeonaire, we do
the exact opposite; we spend our
primary time on whats really
important and then fit our business
into the remaining time. This means
we must learn to design our
businesses to serve the life we want to
live, rather than serving our
businesses, hoping that one day it will
provide the freedom we so desire.

LEARN
MORE
MAREI.org/
Life

A Lifeonaire is someone who is full

of life. Many people equate living
life to the fullest with their financial
means to do so; they think that
having more money will
automatically enhance their lives.
At the root of a desire for money is
actually the desire for what people
think money will give them: a
greater quality of life. That focus
typically results in the opposite of
the goal, causing people to funnel

broken families, damaged friendships,

forgotten hobbies and interests,
crumbling marriages and troubled
children that result from neglect -- all
because their primary focus is on
being more financially successful.

their energy into earning more

money rather than living an
incredible life.
When someone is very
successful in their career and
spending a lot of time making a
lot of money, often times they
never really get around to
experiencing the fullness of
life for which they are working so
hard. This is evidenced by the

Many wont admit that life didnt quite

turn out the they had hoped it would.
Instead, they present a facade of
enjoying success, when deep inside
theyre frustrated, tired and feel like
failures. Why are they frustrated?
Because theyve been playing by all
the rules our society dictates to
achieve success. The problem is,
theyre playing the wrong game.
Entrepreneurs tend to be the worst
culprits since most of them play the
game of accumulating the most
wealth, yet dont have a life. (Many of

which are business owners,

authors, national speakers, gurus,
internet marketers, people you
likely already know or have heard
about) We have to get them to
change the rules.

people they know personally

who are truly free in every sense
of the word. And yet, all of them
are following the same recipe for
success that everyone else
around them is following.

We teach them to set

themselves up to win by
rewriting the rules they choose
to live by.

The sad truth about the American

Dream is that it is a sham. It
enslaves people. They pursue it
thinking that it is synonymous
with life, but it results in trading
away life to attain and maintain
the dream. Weve sold ourselves
(our time and our freedom) for
this dream that has no power to
give us the life we truly desire. To
truly live life to the fullest, we
must replace the prison of debt
with the lifestyle of prosperity
through simplicity.

Ill let you in on a little secret In

the end, most discover that what
they want is to experience life and
relationships. Currently their
mindset is that it takes money to
accomplish this, but as they
explore it further they come to
realize that it takes time, which is
the one thing that most trade away
in pursuit of money.
Heres proof: When we ask people
to tell us the names of all the
people they know personally
(Notice I said personally, not
someone you read a book about or
heard about) who are living the
life according to the way they want
to live, most people cant name a
single person. Many dont know
anyone who lives the lifestyle they
so strongly desire. Some may be
able to name a few friends or
acquaintances that have a lot of
money, but very few can name
8

So, in essence, a Lifeonaire event

is about winning the game of life.
But in order to win the game, you
must know not only consciously
choose the game you wish to
play, you must also write the
rules. Most people are playing
someone elses game entirely,
following rules they never wrote
or consciously agreed to in the
first place.
Take back the game. And this
time, win the right game. Well
see you at the event.

MAREI.ORG

NEXTEVENT

March3-5
KANSAS CITY METRO
Register Now - MAREI.org
RE INVESTMENT NEWS

11

WORKSHOP

DEBT SUCKS
Jason Roberts shares why it's not really a good
debt vs a bad debt - its all DEBT!

Do we really just do work one time, get

someone in one of our rentals and then
sit back and collect checks the rest of
our lives without ever having to do
anything ever again?
Heres the truth youve been sold a
lie. Actually, youve been sold a
whole series of lies.
Dont believe me? Think about this
for a minute Ive been speaking all
over the country for the past 7 years
now, teaching people how to make a
killer income in the real estate
investing business, and I have yet to
meet a single person that ever said,
You dont understand Jason debt is
a big part of my vision! I LOVE being
in debt!
Have you ever said that? Ever met
someone else that said it?
Ever met a debt free real estate
investor that went out of business?
Ever heard of a couple fighting at the
end of the month because theres
just too much money leftover?

Weve all heard the theory behind good debt and bad debt, right?
According to Robert Kiyosaki from Rich Dad Poor Dad, bad debt involves
borrowing money to buy stuff on credit cards, car loans, vacations, etc
(bad debt is considered debt will never actually make you any money)
and good debt is supposedly things like rental properties that are being
paid for every month by the tenant. (good debt is supposed to actually
help you make money.)
But what happens if you have a rental property and your tenant doesnt
pay this month? What if they move out of the house? Do you still have to
make a payment to the bank even though you didnt get any income from
the property until you get it filled again? Or do you get to call the bank
and say, sorry guys can you wait a couple of months until I get another
tenant in the house?
Um yeah, it doesnt feel so good on months like that, does it?
By the way, speaking of rental properties, weve been taught to believe that
rentals are passive income, right? Are they really passive though?

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MAREI.ORG

I didnt think so
Yet most people today are in debt up
to their eyeballs. Most real estate
investors borrow money every time
they do a deal, whether they're
flipping houses, buying up rentals,
whatever. The fact is, no one ever
wanted to be in debt, but most
people dont know any other way to
hit their investing goals without it, so
they continue to choose to go into
debt every month, trying to make it
big in the real estate game. Thats all
fine and dandy until something goes
wrong, (like a tenant moves out, the
rehab takes longer to sell than you
thought it would, or about a billion
other things that could go wrong
actually do go wrong.)

What if everything you learned

about good debt/bad debt was a
bunch of garbage? What if there
were other ways (vehicles) to
accomplish what you originally set
out to accomplish, only this time
around, you could do it without
ever borrowing so much as a single
dollar? That means no monthly
payments almost no downside
Would you be willing to learn?
What if debt was really just a
vehicle that people use to try to
build wealth, but what if I could
show you a different set of vehicles
that accomplish the exact same
thing without the down side if
something doesnt go exactly as
planned? Would you listen? Would
you spend 90 minutes of your life
at our next REIA meeting to save
tens of thousands (if not hundreds
of thousands) of dollars of wasted
interest payments this year to find
out how to do it?
If you want to learn how to run a
real estate business 100% debt
free, then you better not miss the
next MAREI meeting coming up on
Tuesday January 12th. Im going to

show you how I run my business

completely debt free. That means
never borrowing money again.
That means, when you make
money, you keep it. It no longer
goes to the lender. And if you
already have debt, Im going to
show you how to get rid of all of it
once and for all.
Listen, if you like making
payments every month to
creditors, this meeting isnt for
you. Or if youre one of the guys
that thinks you absolutely MUST
have debt in order to have write
offs on the books and not pay as
much in taxes, thats fine go
ahead and continue the mentality
that spending $1.00 in interest
makes sense so that you can save
$.30 cents in taxes. But if youre
someone whos sick of debt and
would rather live without it being
in your life, dont miss this
meeting.

Jason Roberts: Having built a

multimillion dollar business at a young
age to losing that same business and
everything he had worked for all by the
age of 30, there isn't much in the
business world Jason hasn't
experienced. Since being exposed to
Lifeonaire and its teachings in 2010,
Jason specializes in helping others to
create new, or improve existing
businesses to serve their owners
instead of their owners serving them.
His students benefit from his ability to
take something that could normally
take a 40 hour
work week to
accomplish
and turning
it into
something
that often
produces
better results
in just a few
hours per day.

Do whatever you have to do to be

there. Get a babysitter, call in sick
to work, bring the dog, whatever.
Ill see you there.

RE INVESTMENT NEWS

13

DIRECTORY

BUSINESS
ASSOCIATES
Find out more about each of these associates by visiting
their website.
Or go to MAREI.org and click on Business Directory.

ACCURATE TITLE

CONTINENTAL TITLE

A Full Service Title Company

David Green
www.AccurateTitleCo.com
913-338-0100

A Full Service TitleCompany

Sharon Bower
www.CTitle.com
913-338-3232

ALPHA TITLE

COPR SECURITY

Full Service Title Company

Patsy Archer
www.AlphaTitleLLC.net
913-498-8999

Portable Security Systems

Geoff Miles
www.COPRSecurity.com

APIA

CROSSROADS INVESTMENT LENDING

Asset Protection Insurance Agency

Lindsay Griffin
www.APIAProtects.com
877-752-2742

Investor Lending
Britton Asbell and BarakTschirhart
www.KCLend.com
913-766-2900

AZURE WATERFRONT
Luxury Waterfront Property Investment
Brad Reddick
www.AzureWaterfront.com
800-240-3606

14

MAREI.ORG

DISCOVER HVAC
Heating & Airconditioning
Complete System for $2785
www.DiscoverHVAC.net
816-500-2900

DIRECTORY

INVESTORS CHOICE FUNDING

LONGHORN III INVESTMENTS

The Flexible Funding Solution

L. Scott Ficinus
www.InvestorsChoiceFunding.com
816-668-7223

Private Lending Partner

Lawrence Hopkins
www.LonghornInvestments.com
214-420-7329

JAMIESON HOME TEAM

MERCHANTS MORTGAGE

Realtor & Property Management

Kevin Jamieson
www.KevinJamieson.ReeceNichols.com
913-384-8331

Real Estate Finance Company

Susan Aubin
www.MerchantsMtg.com
720-554-9480

KC INVESTOR FUNDING

PRIDE PROPERTIES

Hard Money Lender

JJ Pawlowski
www.KCInvestorFunding.com
816-916-4593

Real Estate Professionals

Marcus and Matt Bray
www.PrideProperties.com
913-213-5370

KC INVEST

REALTY RESOURCE

Investment Property Seller

Kim Tucker
www.KCInvest.com
913-735-0018

Real Estate Brokerage

Scott Tucker
www.RealtyResourceKC.com
816-406-0701

KCMO HOME BUYER

Property Buyer
Don Tucker
www.kcmoHomeBuyer.com
816-200-2198

RE INVESTMENT NEWS

15

AREYOU
REALLY
LIVINGLIFE,
ORAREYOU
JUSTPAYING
BILLSUNTIL
YOUDIE?
Quote from Lifeonaire.com