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"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
