Seizing Freedom Through Lifestyle Investing: Justin Donald's Blueprint to Independence

Ever dream of crafting the perfect lifestyle, where your time is your own and financial worries are a thing of the past? Justin Donald, the 'lifestyle investor,' graced us with his presence at the Createur Conference and Pitch Competition 2024, unveiling the blueprint to financial independence through low-risk cash flow investing. Discover the strategies that led Justin from his first investment in a mobile home park to empowering others to seize control of their financial destiny. His story is not just about wealth; it's about reshaping your life to align with your deepest desires, breaking the chains of job constraints, and savoring the sweet taste of freedom.

Picture this: an inventory of your aspirations, a 'dream list' that fuels your journey towards personal and family milestones. Donald opens up about this powerful practice that revolutionized his life, and how it evolved into a book-writing adventure fueled by sheer passion—a legacy for his daughter. This episode isn't just about setting goals; it's a deep dive into the art of trust-building and the magnetic pull of shared values. It's about connecting the dots between dreams, the people we meet, and the trust we foster, creating a tapestry of meaningful relationships and achievements.

Attention, aspiring moguls and entrepreneurial spirits! Are you ready to turn the grind into greatness? Donald shares the gritty reality of starting from the bottom—yes, a basement office—and the resilience required to climb to the top. Learn why your youthful years are the golden era for risk-taking, and how smart investing, like Donald's foray into the mobile home park business, can lay the groundwork for a prosperous future. Get ready to fuel your ambition with firsthand tales of triumph and strategic nuggets of wisdom for charting your own course to success.

To connect with Olivet’s Entrepreneurship Program, contact Program Director, Chris Perez at caperez2@olivet.edu.

To learn more about other entrepreneurship opportunities and the McGraw School of Business’s very own Createur Conference and Pitch Competition, go to Createur.Olivet.edu.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Creator Podcast. You're about to hear a very special episode that we recorded. Not too long ago at the Creator Conference and Pitch Competition, we had the opportunity to interview a very special guest, Justin Donald, the lifestyle investor, In front of a live studio audience. This is something that we have never done before. So sit back, relax and engage in this special episode live at the Creator Conference and Pitch Competition 2024, where faith and business meet. This is the Creator Podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:31

What does it mean to be a Christian entrepreneur? How can I turn my ideas into an actual business? How do I navigate my path to entrepreneurship?

Speaker 1: 0:40

Welcome to Creator, the podcast brought to you by Olivet Nazarene University's McGraw School of Business to unlock the secrets to Christian entrepreneurship and fuel your path to success.

Speaker 2: 0:52

I'm your host, Carly Bird, graduate assistant of Olivet's Entrepreneurship Program.

Speaker 1: 0:57

I'm your co-host, Spencer James, an Olivet undergraduate marketing management and business administration major.

Speaker 2: 1:03

Join us, fellow students, as we embark on a journey to discover the call of the entrepreneur.

Speaker 1: 1:10

All right, all right, all right. Well, hello. Welcome to the Creator Podcast. My name is Spencer James.

Speaker 2: 1:16

Hello everyone. It's me again, carly Bird, and we are the co-hosts of the Creator Podcast, if you guys don't already know that, but we are so excited to be here today and, as you can see, this is our first ever live episode of the Creator Podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:30

We've never done this before. That's pretty cool, right, hey? And we've also taken some of your Q&A. Some of you have submitted some Q&A beforehand that we're going to get to ask our special guests today, so we're really excited about this. We've never done this before, so bear with us all. Right, if you haven't listened to the Creator Podcast, there's a slide going through the pre-roll that you can actually scan it and you can listen to the episodes. We've got about 13 or 14 episodes out already interviewing people just like our special guest today, so are we ready to roll?

Speaker 2: 1:59

Are you guys ready? We're ready, can we go on air?

Speaker 1: 2:01

Is that okay? Boom, all right, let's do it. Today we have a really special guest. His name is Justin Donald, his title is the Warren Buffett of lifestyle investing, and Carly's going to do a little bit more of an intro here. Justin Donald, can we do a round of applause? Is that okay?

Speaker 2: 2:17

I think we should. We are so excited to have Justin here with us. First of all, injury and all this man did a spark session this morning and now he's here doing a live podcast episode with us. What an honor. So, for those of you that don't know, Justin is the number one bestselling author of the Lifestyle Investor, the Ten Commandments of Cashflow Investing for Passive Income and Financial Freedom. As founder of the Lifestyle Investor, he specializes in low-risk cash flow investing, simplifying complex financial strategies and structuring deals. Through his Lifestyle Investor Mastermind podcast and even consulting program, Justin coaches entrepreneurs and executives to create wealth without creating a job. Justin, thank you so much for being here with us today. It is such an honor to have you here.

Speaker 3: 3:07

Well, thank you, I'm excited to be here, excited to tell a little bit of my story and answer all these questions that I think you're probably trying to throw some curveballs in there. But I'm ready, I'm excited for them.

Speaker 2: 3:17

Spencer, do you want to kick things off with a question?

Speaker 1: 3:18

Yeah. So one of the first things is you're the lifestyle investor. A lot of students out here maybe don't quite know what that is, so if you could just talk a little bit about what this lifestyle investor is and what it means.

Speaker 3: 3:29

Yeah. So the whole idea of lifestyle investor is really trying to buy your time back. So for a lot of my life, a lot of my career, I traded time for money and I wanted to get to a place where that wasn't the exchange To sell your time for money. A lot of people do it and that's okay. For some people, that's fine.

Speaker 3: 3:48

I wanted to be a little bit more lifestyle first, be a little more life by design versus life by default, and so I just had this idea if I could buy assets that produce income that cover my cost of living, then I could really live life on my terms. I could work the way I want to work, for as long or as short as I want to work. The work days can be four hours, eight hours, one hour, no hours. I could travel more. I just have flexibility, I have freedom and then I can spend time with friends and family and I can really use my gifts in a way that you know God's blessed me with, but really in a way that he's called me to use them. So, instead of getting so busy with work and so busy with life, if you solve that financial equation where you don't need to make money to live. Well, then it opens up this whole world, this whole playbook of what you can do with your gifts and how you spend your time and how you serve.

Speaker 2: 4:42

Wow, I can't say it any better. Obviously you are the lifestyle investor, but I do just want to bring up. So I know, justin, you mentioned in your book some of what you've just mentioned right now, but I think it would be great if you could provide some actual examples maybe, or real life application, of you know what it looks like exactly to kind of go from basically the importance of strategic investing and then creating passive income out of that Some you know different examples maybe you could provide.

Speaker 3: 5:08

Yeah, sure. So earlier today I shared a little story of how I got started. So I don't want to give that full story, but I do like the first real investment that I did. The first real estate or private deal that I did was buying a mobile home park and in one fail, swoop, with that investment it covered what my wife was earning as a teacher, so she was able to retire. We were able to get on the same page with time, so we bought her time back first, and then that's really when we started our family.

Speaker 3: 5:36

So that interesting move, that investment, it doesn't always work out that way. You know, there are a lot of people I've coached and a lot of people in our community and the Lifestyle Investor community that maybe that first deal is much smaller. Maybe it's like you did a deal you bought into a real estate syndication with a well-known sponsor and that passive income that you get covers utilities, and then the next one that you get it covers car payment, and then the next one that you get it covers car payment, and then the next one that you get it covers the rent or the mortgage and so on and so forth. So it can add up. Mine just happened to be. I'd been saving for a little while and I had the ability to put a down payment big enough to buy a property that actually brought in what my wife was earning.

Speaker 2: 6:19

That's amazing. Yeah, you know that actually brings up a great point. I think you know. Obviously we have quite a few high school and college students here today, so they're just getting started on their career paths. What advice would you give for some of these students that are? You know, they're just starting out, just generating income for the first time? You know what are some steps for just beginning?

Speaker 3: 6:38

So, as a beginner, I would say lifestyle creep is a real thing. The more you make, the more you spend. Be very aware that it likely is going to happen unless you fight really hard against it. So that is first and foremost. Jim Rohn said years ago that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and so I really thought well, if that is the case and the more that I look at the application of it, that is the case, I need to choose those five wisely. And so I challenge you to choose those five wisely, because what's going to happen is, if you're not intentional, it's going to happen by default. So proximity is power, and you're going to basically spend time with those that you're you know, around and near.

Speaker 3: 7:19

Now, that might be a good thing. That might also not be a good thing, right. So to intentionally pick the people that can help you show up bigger and better in life, play the game of life at a higher level, serve the world at a higher level, I think that is really important. As someone who's young, that isn't quite making investments or is just getting into investments, I actually think the best place to invest first is you and your education and, by the way, yes, at a university but don't fall into the trap that you're getting all the education that you need, because everyone has these specializations. There are areas that you probably want to learn more about, and we can supplement the education here with other education, knowing what it is that you want. So I think, number one, invest in yourself and, number two, invest in those that are teaching you and your peer group.

Speaker 2: 8:10

What great advice.

Speaker 1: 8:11

Yeah, I want to talk, maybe just go back a little bit to your kind of entrepreneurship journey. I mean, what did that look like for you, kind of starting the lifestyle investor and getting started in that space, obviously just beyond your own passion?

Speaker 3: 8:23

When I was young I had these you know little businesses from selling stuff for sports, like candy bars or other unhealthy things, because that's what we did back then, or whether I was doing a lemonade stand, you know. So I did that when I was young. When I was in seventh grade, my parents were like, hey, if you want money, you got to go get a job. So I actually went door to door as a seventh grader. I mean I don't think we would do this today, but my parents thought this was safe and normal. So I literally went to these neighborhoods and like knocked on doors and I was like, hey, I've got a newspaper subscription. Would you be interested in buying it? And that was horrible, horrible.

Speaker 3: 8:56

At first I just was unconfident. I my people skills weren't great. I didn't know how to handle objections. People would be like no, and I was like, okay, bye, I didn't know what to do. And over time I built up some confidence and I got better at it and I actually became pretty good and eventually started teaching people how to use the scripts that I wrote. And then I was like the onboarding guy. And then in high school I started my own crew. So I started a business where I hired people to go out and sell newspaper subscriptions and coupon books and I would make a piece of every sale that they had. That was the very first business. It wasn't hugely profitable but it was decently profitable. Then the rest of them kind of followed from there.

Speaker 2: 9:38

Wow. So I have to ask too when did you reach that point, when you felt that, okay, I'm ready to write a book? When did you write the Lifestyle Investor book? What sparked that moment?

Speaker 3: 9:49

Well, I've been wanting for years to write a book, but I didn't ever consider myself an author. I still don't really consider myself an author. So, on my dreams list and, by the way, one of the best things I've ever done in my entire life in 2006, october of 2006, I made a dreams list where I wrote down a hundred dreams that I have. At least, it started at a hundred and it kept going. I had someone Matthew Kelly, spoke to us I don't know if you've ever heard of him. He's amazing and wrote this book called the Dream Manager and Rhythm of Life, and so he challenged us write a hundred dreams down right now. So I literally wrote down 100 dreams and then I just kept going and I loved it, and today I still look at that all the time I help my family.

Speaker 3: 10:28

My wife's built one, my brother's built one, my daughter's built one, so I think it's so powerful to have that so that, first and foremost, was massively important. So, way long ago, I said I would love to write a book. I didn't know what it was going to be on. I kept kicking the can down the road for a long time and then my buddy, who kept on prompting me, kept saying, hey, when are you going to write it? People need to learn this. When are you going to get it down? And so one day we were taking a walk and I live in Austin, so we were walking around our town lake there and he said what if you die and no one ever learns all this stuff?

Speaker 2: 11:05

you figured out Namely. Your daughter never learns all this and it's just lost. Wow, well, that's one way to look at it, that's an interesting perspective, but I mean, you're not wrong.

Speaker 3: 11:12

It was a wake up call and so the next day I started writing the book. So that was really the leverage that I needed. But, unlike most people who like sit down and like type out or write a book, I just hit my phone, I hit record and I just walked and talked. I just so I actually dictated my book and then went back later to put some order to it and make some sense of it. So that's really how the book came about, that I really wanted to capture these things for my daughter in case anything ever happened and anyone else hope everyone else benefits. But it was really, you know, to get that out for her.

Speaker 2: 11:44

That's a great point, you know, and just the fact that you only live once. You have all this knowledge to give. And why hold it and wait for that moment when that moment could be now?

Speaker 1: 11:54

And have you made a pretty good dent in that list of 100 plus dreams.

Speaker 3: 11:58

That's a good question too. Have you made a?

Speaker 1: 11:59

good dent in that at least.

Speaker 3: 12:04

Yeah, I mean the list is probably closer to a thousand now, but yeah, I'm just constantly. Every year we have like a dream audit where we figure out what we accomplished and then what we want to do for the year. So my wife and I we do this marriage and planning, family planning day every year to kind of kick off the year and it's a look at the year behind and a five, 10 years forward. And one of the things that we do is we kind of assess where we are, where we want to be. So where were we, where are we, where are we going, and this is on all different levels, like our relationship, business giving, wealth creation, whatever it is, but we always tackle the dreams. That's such like. To me, that's not only important, it's incredibly fun.

Speaker 2: 12:41

Yeah, you know, Justin, you do such an excellent job of that balance, obviously, of balancing your work with your life. And I think just one thing I'm curious I know a lot of students question this all the time is the process of finding those right people, as you mentioned earlier. What do you recommend and that's a loaded question, I know, but as far as trust goes and learning to build that so that you can start to let go and delegate, how do you go about that? Or, I guess what are some qualities you might look for in a person that you feel you can really trust to allow you that extra freedom?

Speaker 3: 13:13

Well, it's interesting because if you're talking about your peer group, I think that's one set of things that I look for, and if you're talking about people that are going to work with you for you, that's another list. But what's integral to both is going to be values. What values do they have? To me, that is like are your values in alignment with my values? Because if they are not, then we're on horrible foundation right from the get-go. So that's important to me, like how strong is your faith? What does that look like? Is that a priority to you or is that not a priority to you? Because that might actually dictate my desire to spend extra time or bring someone on.

Speaker 3: 13:50

But some of the delegation is trial and error. You sometimes just have to mess up really bad until you figure it out, but other times you start figuring out like the right type of people. If you find people that have a certain work ethic and a certain achievement drive, then I subscribe to this theory that you don't need to micromanage your people. If you're not totally confident in people and you hire them, and you hire people that you feel like you need to micromanage. In my opinion and a lot of people have had a lot of success with that, but in my opinion, that business is less sustainable than spending the time to hire the right people, who you don't have to micromanage, because their natural values, their natural characteristics, their strengths allow them to shine and perform, and they want to perform. They want to perform to impress you, but they want to perform because that's who they are.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Early on in one of our episodes we interviewed Jeff Forgrave and he has started up his business right and he built that to be a scalable process and operations and being able to do that right, because you can only be as big as what you can take on, so delegating is a really, really important piece of that.

Speaker 3: 15:00

Certainly. And, by the way, I've gotten a chance to meet Jeff I don't know if he's in here. I'm really impressed with him, wow. And I just heard he keeps getting speaker of the year and I love it. I get it and I see why. So I feel blessed for having known him and having our paths cross.

Speaker 2: 15:14

Absolutely. We love all these different speakers out here today. Shout out to the speakers in the crowd. Yeah, right, yeah right. Justin, another thing that I noticed that you talk a lot about in your book. You mentioned the importance of mindset and intentionality really in wealth building, and I'm just wondering you know how?

Speaker 3: 15:43

can individuals cultivate that mindset needed for lifestyle investing?

Speaker 3: 15:47

In a lot of ways it's going to be counterintuitive.

Speaker 3: 15:49

So a cultivation is a really good way of saying that, because I think a lot of us learned from our parents at least I did, and based on surveying some people in the earlier message today that we learn a lot of tendencies from parents and people that matter most to us, that have the most influence with us, but maybe their understanding of finances and investing isn't well-rounded, it's maybe more scarce than it is abundant, and so, yeah, I do think that part of this is where I say peer group really matters, mentors really matter, the information that you're consuming really matters.

Speaker 3: 16:23

It's one of those things where I think most people are pretty aware today on what you eat and the impact that what you eat has on your body. But what I think people don't have as much awareness around is what you're consuming has that same impact. So what are you feeding your mind? What are you feeding your spirit, and is that wholesome? Is that not? Is it going to build you up, is it going to tear you down? And then the frequency with which you do that, that repetition, that frequency, that's what's going to ingrain these ideas, these topics, these mindsets.

Speaker 2: 16:59

Excellent answer. I really appreciate that. I think that was helpful for all of our attendees today to hear that.

Speaker 1: 17:04

So another thing that it's kind of in the name is lifestyle, and we've kind of interviewed some entrepreneurs who've talked a little bit about. They've had a lot of financial success but, man, it's been really hard to find personal fulfillment in that. And having a lot of money doesn't mean you're a lot of happy, right, and so how would you say, being the lifestyle investor, you've been able to find that balance or teach other people to find that balance.

Speaker 3: 17:27

Well, having a lot of money really only solves financial problems, right? So it is a real thing If you have money, you can solve financial problems, right, but money does not solve most of the other problems, right? I mean, it's like you know. I don't want to dog on the government necessarily, but I'll give an example. Hey, we've got an epidemic of problem with youth and anxiety and depression. All right, let's throw some money at it. Well, money doesn't solve that, right? Right, let's. I mean we could go into a whole bunch of niches. When you look at the government's like toolbox, toolboxes, money Well, that's a great indicator that money is probably not going to solve most of people's problems.

Speaker 3: 18:10

But I do think it's important that we're living a life that's congruent with what we want, like wants, needs and desires. So for me, I intentionally didn't call the book or the brand the investor's lifestyle. I didn't want the lifestyle to get lost. I actually want the lifestyle to lead it. I want people to have clarity about what would be a great life and how can you also not only get there but help other people to get there in the process.

Speaker 3: 18:35

So for me, I achieved financial freedom at a young age and it felt really good. But, like most of you, when you have goals, the moment you achieve it you're like, okay, what's next? The goalposts move, and so what I have found to be really rewarding and really gratifying is helping other people find financial freedom, because I can't solve that for me again, but I can help other people solve it and I do think that there is just this gift, this fulfillment, that exists as you're helping other people kind of level up or get better, and that, to me, is where lifestyle kind of hits at the highest level, where it's not just about what you're doing but it's that you feel in life you are living a good life and you're serving well and you're passionate. Having fulfillment and passion in the work that you do, I think really matters and, by the way, that matters way more than money.

Speaker 2: 19:31

I completely agree. And, you know, I think another thing too, Justin, that brings up another great point how have you learned in your experience to kind of recognize you mentioned those problems or those real-world issues that people are experiencing. How have you managed kind of dealing with, you know, the stress, the anxiety, all these feelings that are only natural, especially when you're starting a business. That's just part of the process. But how do you kind of manage those feelings and keep that in check as you're going through and even just encouraging and motivating your employees and your team with you?

Speaker 3: 20:06

So that's where you know, I think habits and routine really matter and I think doing things that are going to help you to live through, work through, instead of building up on the inside and exploding, letting you work through feelings and emotions. So any entrepreneur is going to struggle at some point in time. Any investor, any entrepreneur I mean even professionals outside of entrepreneurship you're going to struggle. So, recognizing that's the case, what do you do when you are? Who can you talk to Like? Who do you have trusted, valuable relationships with? What are you doing for just physical and mental clarity? What's your workout routine like? Are you at least getting out and walking and getting sunlight and having time for deep breathing or whatever it is? Have you marked off in your schedule prayer and devotion time and time to really get in the word? These are all things that combat that and give you tools and resources when you do need to tackle it, because it's not that it doesn't exist, it's that some people learn how to manage it better or more effectively, I think, than other people.

Speaker 2: 21:10

Yeah, that's really profound. You're completely right.

Speaker 1: 21:13

Yeah, it's finding balance and habits right and, through that, being able to achieve more. We want to open this up to you for a little bit of Q&A here live. We've got about a little less than 10 minutes left, so, as you're thinking about your question, maybe that you might have, we'll just have you raise your hand and say it to us. Carly, and I like to close the Creator Podcast with what we call the quirky question of the week. All right, so, carly, you got the quirky question.

Speaker 2: 21:39

Oh, that's right, we do so, justin. I know, before we started this, you said we're going to throw you some curve balls. Well, we might have one for you.

Speaker 1: 21:45

This is that curve ball right here.

Speaker 2: 21:47

Justin, I have to ask you though are you ready for this? Are you ready for the quirky question?

Speaker 3: 21:50

I really don't know, but I'm going to do my best here.

Speaker 2: 21:53

All right. Well, Justin, if you could invest in any fictional universe, whether that be something like Hogwarts or Middle Earth, which would well, it's not the metaverse oh yeah um, I am a lord of the rings fan, so I'll go I'll

Speaker 1: 22:15

go middle earth and I like that yeah, I think that, uh, I think there's something to be said.

Speaker 2: 22:20

Could you, could you give me a maybe one little reason why, or is there any reasoning behind that?

Speaker 3: 22:24

I know I'm making it hard on you it's one of the greatest books of all time and there's probably plenty more things that they can do with it, kind of like with the Dune series, how, even after the original author of it passed away, more stories have happened. So I think that there's more that can be done. You've got the new television show. Yeah, this is an interesting question. I've never been asked this before, but I love Middle Earth.

Speaker 2: 22:47

Well, we like to throw some curve balls out there. But hey, I think that's an excellent answer. You know, sometimes it takes a minute and you know we threw you into a live podcast here. You know, we have the power of editing. I think some of my speakers know out there when I when I really throw them a curveball. But hey, you answered that beautifully, so congratulations.

Speaker 1: 23:06

Hey, are there any questions? Now that you've had a minute or two, is there any questions? Yeah, down front here. Can you tell us about a time when you wanted to quit and how you pushed through it.

Speaker 3: 23:17

Yeah, the question is, can I share a time that I wanted to quit and I pushed through it and came out the other side? I would say that there are a lot of times that I wanted to quit. I mean, I've started several businesses now. Every one of them I probably wanted to quit at some point in time. Let me think of a specific one. I mean, well, I can tell you, early on, when I was starting my first real business. So this is like my. I'm graduated from college and so, like this is my first. It's like a recruiting and sales company. It's like a recruiting and sales company.

Speaker 3: 23:56

And I remember being in my office on a Friday night at 10 PM, still working, still getting ready for the next day, when I knew I was going to be there at 5.30 in the morning and my friends were hitting me up and they're like hey, we're out, why don't you come in and meet us? Let's hang out? And I just knew that, as much as I would love to be there with them, and it was kind of a demoralizing feeling. I didn't have a team, I was brand new, so it was me in this office. This office was a basement office that had windows that were about this big and only two of them that let daylight in.

Speaker 3: 24:28

And it's in the evening, on a weekend, when I want to be hanging out with friends, and business is not necessarily going great. And I remember thinking to myself this is just a season and this will pass, but if I'm disciplined in this season, then I'm going to be thankful later on and I can have plenty more weekends. Once I've figured this out and I'm really glad I did, and, by the way, I probably felt that way many weekends, especially during my busy season. But it was that summer that ended up catapulting me and our team to a level of success that had never been seen before and that was really rewarding. And I knew it was because I didn't shortcut and go, you know, hang out with my friends on the weekends, like most people do, and there's nothing wrong with doing that. I just knew that the path I was on like. I remember telling myself this season is your season to work hard, but this season is going to build a season later where you have a lot of lifestyle.

Speaker 1: 25:30

That's great. Other questions yeah, what's up?

Speaker 3: 25:42

So my mobile home park deal, did that come while I was working or when I was in business? So, yes, I was working. Yes, it was a business. It was kind of my business under someone else's umbrella. If anyone's heard of the Cutco organization, I sold Cutco when I was in college and that's how I paid for my college. So my parents couldn't afford to send me to school, so I either had to make the money or not go, and so I'm actually the first person in my family to graduate college, and so I did that. Because I sold Cutco, I was able to make more and cover everything.

Speaker 3: 26:10

I went to the University of Illinois and so when I graduated college, I started moving up in Cutco as a manager, and so I had my own company underneath their umbrella, so they took care of fulfillment, but I kind of did all the other stuff, and so it was a great experience in entrepreneurship where all the weight wasn't on my shoulders but plenty of it was, and so it was doing that where I said I am working so much, I'm trading time for money. I don't know if I want to do this forever. Actually, I'm sure that I don't want to do this forever. I think I need to buy an asset that produces income. How do I do that? Where do I do that?

Speaker 3: 26:46

So I did buy that first mobile home park while I was still building that other business, but also feeling like a slave to that business, feeling like a slave to the income that I was making, that my lifestyle depended on it. So if I stopped it, it would you know my life would really become a little more challenging, and so I really needed to solve for it. And for most people, they kind of move up the hierarchy. They make more, they spend more, and I was kind of a little bit in that trap. I was still saving aggressively, but I also felt like the more I earned, the nicer it was to have the nicer things, and so that really is what bought me out of that trap.

Speaker 1: 27:26

That's great, all right. Well, hey, we have just a couple minutes left here. Justin, I want to be the last to ask you a question, if that's okay for right now. Sure, what is one piece of advice that you would leave for the students and young entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, here in the room? One piece of advice.

Speaker 3: 27:42

Well, you're young. So if you're ever going to take risks, now's the time. For me and for most people, you're probably only going to make more money, your life is only going to become more complicated or more entangled, or you're going to have more dependence than you likely do now. So if you're ever going to go after it and give it a shot, now's the time. If you crash and burn, you have plenty of time to recover. And if you don't, good, you got started early and this could be as simple as investing something. This could be as simple as starting something. This could be as simple as, like, you have a job right now and you start a side hustle. It could be any of that.

Speaker 3: 28:20

But I think just you know I say in the end of my podcast, what I love saying is is what is one step you can take today to move towards passive income and financial freedom and living life on your terms? So most people live life by default. So how do you live life? By design, and I think that's it. So your peer group I said earlier, matters your coaches, your mentors, people that you can learn from experts at the thing you want to do. Be careful. Everyone today is a life coach. Everyone today is a social media influencer. That doesn't actually mean they're good at the thing that they do. They just now have done a good job of branding themselves that they make money in a thing that they're not an expert at nine times out of ten. So you've got to be careful where you take advice, and so that would be it. Pay attention to who you're around, pay attention to what you're feeding yourself and take some chances.

Speaker 1: 29:11

Move the needle right A little bit, day by day that's right, all right. Well, hey, could we just give a round of applause to Justin for joining us today. Thank you, justin, and I'll hand it back to Carly.

Speaker 2: 29:24

Justin, thank you so much. This has just been such a great live episode Our very first one again. What an honor to have Justin here with us and just sharing such incredible encouraging wisdom with all of us today. Thank you everyone.

Speaker 1: 29:37

Thank you, see you later. Thanks so much for tuning in to a very special episode of the Creator Podcast. If you're not already, make sure you're subscribed on whatever channel you're listening on right now to get the latest on everything creator. And don't forget to also connect with us on social at all event business where faith and business meet. This is the creator podcast. We'll see you next time.