Don't Shoot The Guru... Yet!
*
_Want to get on the fast-track to INCOME-FOR-LIFETM?_
"THE AMAZING MONEYMAKING SECRET OF A DESPERATE NEW YORK CITY STREET
KID WHO'S DEEPLY _GRATEFUL_ TO HIS DEADBEAT-DAD"
From:
Joshua D. Shafran
Tuesday, 1:11 PM
DEAR FRIEND,
It was December 26th and my Dad hands me a check for $125.00 and
says _"I got a Christmas Eve 'gig' that I wasn't expecting and I want
you to have it since I didn't give you a birthday gift the last few
years."_
Sure, it was a nice gesture. But I'd been there so many times before
with him that I was the poster-child for disappointment. So, I told
him: _"Thanks Dad, but you should keep it because you need it more
than I do."_
But he insisted. So I took it (although I didn't deposit it for a
couple of weeks because that little voice inside told me not to).
Then, about a month later I get "THE CALL" from dear old dad. He says:
_"Remember when you told me that I should keep that check because I
needed more than you did... well, it turns out you were right and I
need it back."_
That _really_ sucked! I WAS CRUSHED.
See, my dad was a professional musician (_"was"_ because the
lifestyle killed him about 15 years ago). He was a great friend, but
he certainly wouldn't win any "Father of the Year" awards. He was
actually _PROUD_ of his parenting skills the day he made me promise
him that if I ever dropped Acid (yes, the dangerous drug) that the
first time I would do it with him!
The sad part is that he could have had it all. Riches. Fame.
Respect. Fulfillment. Freedom. The whole enchilada...
A New York Times critic called him a "dazzling trumpeter" and he
played with greats like John Lennon, Tito Puente, Count Basie, Bob
Dylan, The Band (he's probably on some records in your collection
right now). But in spite of all that , he _always_ struggled with
money. Struggled to get it. Struggled to keep it. There's no nice way
to put it: he was a deadbeat who constantly disappointed those closest
to him.
Anyway, by a strange twist of fate, one of his broken promises to me
actually...
Made Me Rich
(and, might just be YOUR
lucky break _too_)...
Life changed for me in that moment. I decided then and there that I
was either going to figure out how to get rich or DIE trying (and...
if I ever decided to have kids, I would make sure that I put keeping
my word and empowering them above everything else in the world). It
was...
One Of Those
"Defining Moments"
That Changes Your Life
Forever... In An Instant!
The decision was made. No turning back... not for 'ole Joshie boy.
But HOW? That's when the cold harsh reality hit me... I HAD NO
FRIGG'IN CLUE!
See, I wasn't just broke. I was desperate. So, I did what any self
respecting street kid would do... I LOOKED FOR THE SHORTCUTS.
You can't survive on the streets without knowing the shortcuts (or
the business streets too, for that matter). But there's a dangerous
(yet seductive) trap you have to watch out for with shortcuts: Never
look for shortcuts when you have "desperation" written all over your
face because the ones you'll find will all be _crap_! But, that's not
the dangerous part. See, if you're at all like me, when you find
yourself in "desperation mode" you'll talk yourself right into
believing almost anything. Suddenly the most cockamamie fairytales,
snake oil scams, schemes and outright cons seem to become real...
Even when you KNOW
you are being LIED to!
Desperation robs us of CLEAR thinking. At least it does me. I tried
EVERYTHING. Answered every ad in the back of those magazines....
ordered everything I could afford (and whole lot more I couldn't) from
the 3 AM infomercials... went to every "free" seminar and found out
they weren't so free as I ran to the back of the room to spend
_thousands_ of dollars.
You name it, I tried it. Yes, all the legit ones (like Real Estate
Investing, flipping discounted mortgages, direct marketing, stock
trading systems, bi-weekly mortgages, Internet), as well as the scummy
ones that have no way on God's green earth of ever working. I didn't
discriminate. If it said I could get rich with it, I tried it. BEEN
_THERE_, DONE _THAT_ AND _BOUGHT_ THE T-SHIRT!
Do you recognize any of these: _Make money from home stuffing
envelopes._ Or the one where this guy is just so _swamped_ with
business that he'll "hire" you (after you pay him to be "Trained"). Or
what about the one with the picture of the sexy woman in the black
miniskirt who said: _"Use Me And Get Rich!"_ I even tried the _"Secret
Forms" _deal (that's where they were going to teach me how to get
these special forms that every time someone completed one I'd get
paid). YUP, I FELL FOR THAT ONE (HEY, LIKE I SAID, DESPERATION DOES
FUNNY THINGS TO YOUR JUDGMENT).
And, oh, let's not even talk about the water filters, vitamins and
magic potion "pushers" who load you up with tractor trailer trucks
full of inventory (could've probably single handedly saved a small,
malnourished third-world country). I found myself thinking...
Why Are The Chips Always
Stacked Against You?
See, instead of breaking free, I was becoming _"A REAL CHIP OFF THE
