Author: tmhiott

when we started this business that we have 3 years ago, i had a few goals, and while they weren’t easy, they were simple.

i wanted to buy a house, i wanted to pay off some debt, and i wanted to set myself and my family up with financial freedom.

i did those.

now one of the questions i get now is – “what’s on your dream board now?”

what goals do you have? where do you want to go? what is your vision for the rest of your life?

this is a really hard question for me honestly, not because i don’t have any goals or any dreams, but because i’ve realized a few things since actually reaching goals that i set out for myself.

one of those realizations is that the more materialistic things you have, the less they matter. i have a great house, but it’s not a mansion, it’s not a fancy house. we’re probably going to look at moving to a different house at some point, but it won’t be a beach mansion, it won’t be ginormous – we’ll move because we want to be in a different school district and want more of a yard for ossie and any future kids to play in.

i like cars, and i like fast cars. i have a nice and a fast car, and i’ve been able to buy my dad a nice and fast car. (bought him a 1992 corvette, his dream car and was able to hand him the keys). that was cool, and while i would 100% buy more cars, it’s a goal, but it’s also not something required and not the first place i would spend any money – 99% of cars are depreciating assets. i’m definitely no billionaire, and i don’t just have millions sitting around in liquid assets, i’m not at a place financially where i feel like i can just spend whatever i want on cars – that will depreciate – and not feel weird about it. i mean how much money do you actually have to make to spend money on things like mclarens and lamborghini’s that are a depreciating asset and know you’re going to lose $10s of thousands of dollars over the next few years?

i have things i like, i bought some golf clubs, i bought a nice computer, i bought a nice tv, but i’m just over it.

can we just pause for a second – none of this is bragging, none of this is saying look at me, and i feel stupid for even apologizing – this is my blog, my story, my thoughts, so i reserve the right to write whatever i want and not worry about it. i don’t plan these things out, i just kinda sit down and start writing.

i dont want more things, i dont want a massive house, i dont want whatever it is that the internet tells me im supposed to get. what i want is long lasting, positive growth investments that appreciate, that grow my money that i make.

that sounds weird, but i want to invest, i want to grow my portfolio, because then i can truly sit back, enjoy time with my wife and ossie, and not think about how we’re going to pay for dinner that night.

i want to grow my portfolio so i can give back. i want to give to my church, i want to surprise people who are struggling in one way or another with something that could help them. i want to give back to my parents, i want to give back to the people i love.

i want to give back to my friends, i want to give back to the world. i dont really want all the power and all that, i just want to make the world a better place.

there are too many people struggling. there are too many people hurting. that’s not okay. and while i don’t really believe i should have to pay the taxes that i do (i’d prefer for the government to tell me that i have to give away a certain percentage of my income but i get to pick where it goes instead of it just going into the massive pool that is us taxes that who knows where its going) and no offense to Pennsylvania but my taxes sure as hell aren’t going to the roads because there are potholes everywhere lol.

i think my true goals are to grow what i do have, to be thankful, to be grateful.

i think my true goal is that i do want to expand my network, i want to expand my influence – for the reasons of being able to speak, write more books, where i can share my experiences, what i’ve learned to help more people.

that’s what i want. i want to help people, in the biggest, most ridiculous ways.

whether you believe in it or not, i do believe that i could speak in front of a crowd of 40,000 people and impact their lives.

i do believe i can write books that if someone really takes the time to read it with an open heart and an open mind, i can change their world.

i do believe that i can post helpful information on youtube, twitter, instagram, facebook, wherever it might be that can influence people one way or another that would be beneficial in their lives.

i do believe that if you read this blog, over time you’ll understand me, who i am, what i believe in, and maybe – just maybe i can help you too.

i want to help you. i just gotta figure out how.

so i’ve started to let people know that i’m writing a book. and one of the questions i’m getting is why write one? why go through that process, why take the time to write it, why spend the money to have it edited/published/printed – and i want to answer it.

the first is legacy. once you have a book in place, that book should remain around for a long time. you die once when you die physically. you die a second time the last time your name is said. i dont want my name to ever die. i don’t want my grandfather’s name to ever die. i don’t want my son’s name to ever die.

there’s a lot of power in legacy. what you leave behind for the next generation. there’s a lot of power in raising your child knowing that while you can’t promise their always going to have everything, and you can’t promise they’re always going to make the right decisions – you can take as many steps as you possibly can.

i set up an amazon account the other day and got the isbn for my book and put up the initial listing on amazon. there aren’t any pictures, you can’t buy it yet so no reason to go and look for it, but I took my phone out to the living room with the link pulled up and even though ossie is only 1, i showed it to him and went look, your dad is going to be an author. that means something.

i also wanted to write a book because in my head there’s always a lot of thoughts, that are based on my experiences, my knowledge, what i’ve been through, all the way from growing up, selling drugs, being who I am, starting a business, running a business – and i want to share that knowledge. i dont want to keep it all bottled up inside. i mean if no one ever shared the knowledge they have learned, where would the world be at?

we wouldn’t have text books, we wouldn’t have business books, we wouldn’t be anywhere close to where we are now. one of the greatest inventions in the history of man was the printing press. it allowed mass printing of not only books – but knowledge. stories that had been passed down by memory or hand writing were all of a sudden able to be mass produced and taken around the world.

my book is about excuses. about how anytime we want to do something that’s worth anything, anytime we want to take a step towards our goals, our dreams, whether that’s starting a business – an amazon fba business, a photography business, a brick and mortar store, anything – or even starting a youtube channel, buying a house, travelling more – their all goals and dreams. and when we want to take a step, all our brain does due to our exposure, our upbringing is try and tell us no. try and tell us why we aren’t going to be able to do it. and that’s what i strongly dislike.

i believe that anyone, anywhere, with any background can do what they want to – given the power of the internet. we just have to take the first step. we can’t complain, we can’t make up excuses about how we don’t know enough, or don’t have the background, or don’t have the money – it’s all out there, and we have to take it. we have to seize it. that’s what my book is about.

there is always going to be risk. there are always going to be hard decisions.

but for some reason, we make the DECISION to start something way, way bigger than actually starting something. all you have to do is take the first step. all you have to do is launch.

you don’t have to worry about failing, you don’t have to worry about falling until you’re on your way up. so why not launch THEN build?

i want to give an update, since i plan on writing in this more and the last about me was written over a year ago, and i think everything has changed.

my name is taylor hiott. i co-founded and co-own a company called nine university, along with a few other “sister companies” called honey badger boost and boost nine.

we provide consulting, training and mentoring in the amazon fba space, and now we’ve worked with over 10,000 people and honestly, it really feels like we’re making a difference.

amazon is an incredible thing.

just look at these two articles lol:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90450240/why-2020-could-be-the-year-amazon-becomes-unstoppable

and

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/amazon-will-be-the-most-important-company-of-the-2020s.html#:~:text=It%20got%20there%20by%20actually,grows%2C%20so%20will%20the%20criticism.

here’s an article about us in the amazon fba space:

https://www.influencive.com/nine-university-review

i’m pretty proud of that one.

i live in pittsburgh, pennsylvania and im married to my everything, brooke. in september we’ll have been married for 7 years, and it’s been an incredible 7 years.

we have one son, he just turned one, his name is ossie. he’s the rest of my everything.

i’ve been writing a book, and it’s going to be coming out soon.

if you’re reading this i’ll give you a sneak peak.

launch then build – by taylor hiott

i think my life is in a place where i’m happy, i’m doing well, but i want so much more. not necessarily materialistic things, i like my house, i like my car, i like what i have. but i want to do more for the world. i want to have more of an influence. i want to impact people, i want to help people. and i hope that this book is going to be the launch into a whole new stratosphere of being able to help people.

the two most common questions i get from people are:

how did you do it?

and unfortunately, is what you do legit? is nine university a scam?

my answer to the first is simple, yet cliche. hard work. blood, sweat and tears. years of my life have gone into building something that has a real and genuine impact on people’s lifes, and i wouldn’t change the past few years for anything. if you want to do something in your life, take hold of it, eliminate the excuses you’re giving yourself, and make it happen through hard work, effort and time. that’s it. it’s not fancy, it’s not revolutionary, it’s just the truth.

my answer the second one is even more simple.

no.

we’ve helped thousands of people create something that will leave a lasting legacy on their families.

we’ve helped hundreds of people quit their jobs, go after their dreams, and motivate them to chase their goals.

and if that’s wrong, then that’s wrong.

just for reference, here are a few articles that i didn’t write that help give some authenticity to what i’m saying.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2020/01/28/amazon-is-readying-major-disruption-for-the-fashion-industry/#15f230d667f3

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/25-year-old-entrepreneur-launches-7-figure-mentorship-program-nine-university-kt-v-i-p-1028267361

https://homebusinessmag.com/businesses/success-stories-businesses/company-offering-consulting-amazon-home-business-owners-ended-hundreds-successful-clients-globally-130-employees/

https://www.conservativedailynews.com/2019/05/get-exactly-what-you-pay-for-and-more-an-honest-review-of-nine-universitys-kt-v-i-p/

https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/19/06/n13896674/25-year-old-entrepreneur-launches-7-figure-mentorship-program-nine-university-kt-v-i-p

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/25-year-old-entrepreneur-launches-7-figure-mentorship-program-nine-university-kt-vip-300864668.html

i could go on, but the purpose of this blog isn’t to advertise. the purpose isn’t to sell. the purpose is to fill you in on where my life is at, what i’ve been doing and what the wild and ridiculous thoughts are that go through my mind.

i’m taylor hiott. i’m part of nine university. this is me.

dear ossie,

i wrote you a letter over a year ago, before i knew you. before i had gotten to hold you. before i had gotten to comfort you. i wrote it on may 25th, and published it on may 26th.

little did we know that you weren’t going to be born until july 30th, literally two months later.

but 3 weeks ago you turned 1.

and you’re the most amazing little guy in the entire world.

you’re trying to talk, and don’t ever let your momma tell you any differently, the first word you said was dada.

you’re learning to walk, crawling when you get impatient.

you’re eating good, sometimes you eat a lot (honestly a lot more than seems possible.) sometimes you get cranky and want to be picky. in those moments, i get a chicken breast, cook it up for you, and then put some bbq sauce on it and you eat it right up.

you’re everything to me. between your mother and you, i have every reason in the world to get up every morning. to be my best self. to put my best foot forward. to continue to push the envelope of what i think is possible for myself to do, just so that one day i can show you what i’ve done, and you will know that i did it all for you.

you already have opportunities and doors open for you that i never had a kid. i’m already getting to live the life that every parent dreams of living – that we as parents can raise our children and give them more than we had, do more for them then our parents could, and give you opportunities to reach out and grab your potential that i never could.

you still cry when something is wrong, or when something isn’t going exactly how you want it. and honestly? it’s adorable. sometimes it can definitely be frustrating, but you’re only 1, you don’t know any better.

every single day my love for you, your mothers love for you grows.

you were born on july 30th, 2019 and from that date we’ve been speaking, praying and talking to you about how you’re an absolute world changer. whether that means you grow up to be president, a doctor, an entrepreneur or you flip burgers for a living, none of it matters. because you’re a world changer.

we may not know how, or when, or why. but i know that you’re a world changer. because you’re you.

i love you.

i love your momma.

she loves you.

and we will always be here for you. through the thick and the thin. and i can tell you that sometimes in the middle of the night when you wake up screaming, we’re in the thin. but when i get to wake up and see you for the first time in the morning every morning, you light up my world.

you’ve already started getting upset when i have to leave in the middle of the day to go to the office. and it is so painful – but i also know that what i’m doing now has a ripple effect that will last your entire life.

be you. and don’t let anyone, including myself or your mother define what “you” are.

you’re ossie mac hiott.

and damn. you’re one hell of a kid.

i love you.

love, daddy.

i started this blog literally over a year ago and made a decision that i was going to write in it everyday. clearly, i didn’t.

it’s not that i ran out of things to write. it’s not that i didn’t have time to write. i just kept making up excuses for why i didn’t write. i’ve constantly been telling myself that i would write, that i would get on, that i would post something.

so much has changed in the past year.

my son, ossie was born. he’s everything.

our business has gone to heights i never thought possible.

but now i will write again. i will push forward. because something big is coming.

i wrote over a year ago that i was going to be writing in this blog to help establish a daily habit of writing – so that habit would translate into me writing and finishing a book.

welp. a book is coming. and honestly, it’s not the one i set out to write last year, it’s different, it’s better, it’s motivating, it’s inspiring. it’s me.

and i’m telling you, it’s going to change everything.

one of the things that i’m the worst at. the absolute worst at. is trying to control things that i can’t control – that are out of my influence.

i’m the kinda guy who when i hear a problem, i want to fix it. i want to solve the problem. i don’t really want to sit there and listen. i don’t really want to just sit there and through my listening you’re going to feel better somehow. if you’re telling me that you’re experiencing an issue, i want to fix it.

my wife isn’t like that. she doesn’t always want me to fix something. she just wants me to sit there, actively listen, comfort her, and then move on.

i don’t like doing that.

it’s something that i work on as much as i can – only try to control the things that you can control.

and i don’t mean like in a weird way i have to be in control and in charge of everything that happens around me, that’s called a problem.

it’s more of something where i don’t really have any issues with confrontation. if someone else is doing something to you that you don’t like, i just want to go talk to that person and fix it.

i don’t like drama. i don’t like gossip. i don’t like the news. i think sometimes the real life house of cards we’re living in is super funny and interesting (politically speaking) but i don’t want to know everything about everything. i don’t spend time creeping on people on facebook or instagram. because i just don’t care.

think about how weird social media is. people post pictures, people post on their stories, they check back to see how many people liked it or how many people saw it. why the hell am i supposed to care about what you’re doing at 4pm on a tuesday with your dog?

but i think i don’t like it because it’s completely out of my control. if i see something someone posts on social media that they shouldn’t post on social media or i view in a negative light, what am i supposed to do then?

we have to control what we can control.

i see people do this all the time with their amazon businesses – maybe they get into a course or they just start watching youtube videos and they’re set on starting one.

okay great. but what they should do is take it step by step – first step, create an amazon seller account. step two, learn how to do product research and start doing product research until you find a product. step three, find a supplier for that product. and before they’ve negotiated with a supplier for a good price, and before they’ve ordered samples, and before they’ve placed an order for inventory, they are just concerned with pay per click advertising, how to run facebook ads, what kind of coupons they should offer, etc.

why.

you’re worrying about something that isn’t an issue right now. you’re looking at something that you shouldn’t be looking at for a few weeks, you’re going to get confused, you’re going to analyze too much, get caught up in “analysis paralysis” and then you are going to stop trying to build an amazon business because now all of a sudden it’s too complicated.

i’ve seen it hundreds times.

you want to start a business, you figure out an idea, then you start looking into how much this will cost and how much that will cost and you want to go hire a marketing guy that knows how to run facebook ads before you even have a product established.

why.

you have to control what you can control. part of what you can control is what information you’re taking in and what you’re learning or studying. don’t try to learn or study something that is a few weeks, or worse yet a few months away – it isn’t relevant to where you are at or what you are doing.

i don’t even like to look at what i’m going to eat for breakfast tomorrow haha.

why worry about it today? why add any more stress or anxiety onto my day right now?

i once heard someone say “if it isn’t going to matter in a month, why get stressed about it today”

that’s freaking gold.

if it isn’t going to matter tomorrow – then why the hell does it matter now.

we have to control what we can control. that’s it. we can’t let ourselves get stressed or overwhelmed or anxious about things that we can’t control.

that’s what i’m trying to do anyway.

i’m so far away from success it’s not even funny. sure all of our businesses are going great, they’re profitable, we have a ton of people who look up to us and come to us for advice (read: influence). but success? that’s a long way off.

i’m not saying this to say oh woe is me, or oh i’m not doing as good as i can be, but what i am saying is that as you grow in life, whether your family, your career, your business, whatever it is, if your definition of success doesn’t grow with you, then you’re going to stop growing.

3 years ago – would i have called where i am at now successful? absolutely. now? not so much. not because there is something i don’t have that i need or want that i think will make me successful. it’s because my definition of success is growing. and let’s be real – if your definition of success ever stops growing, what’s the real motivation to keep going? why not just stop and enjoy it where you’re at? why not just throw everything into the wind and say okay i’m good i’m done?

well unfortunately that’s not the way the world works. i could walk away from everything we’re doing right now, still make some money, but it wouldn’t grow or expand as fast as it is or i want it to. but what would i do? sure i can take vacations, i can go sit on the beach, but i want to come back. i want to come back and get back into the grind – the grind is what makes it fun honestly.

but what i’ve realized even more than this is that people see me as having success – but that’s all they see.

they don’t see the grind. people don’t see how many hours i’ve put into this, how much time i’ve spent away from friends and family. they don’t see how much time i’ve spent away from my wife. they don’t understand the sacrifices, people don’t see the risks that i have taken.

sacrifices come in several different packages – sometimes they come in the way of a few hours of sleep. sometimes they come in telling someone sorry i can’t hang out today because i have to get something done. sometimes they come in the form of even though i want something, i don’t just go out and get it. they even come in the form of sacrificing pride and ego so that something can get done more efficiently (this one is hard.)

but people just see me where i’m at. there’s no talking about “oh how many nights did you get not a ton of sleep or how many hours a day do you spend in front of a computer or on the phone” – the questions are always “how’s the business going right now and oh you have an ad on facebook with 4million views and when ya gonna buy this so and so because we know you have the money”

and this is where it gets tricky.

i have to try really hard via writing on the internet to make it not come off in a bad way.

people will read one of my last blog posts and say oh – yea, taylor isn’t better then me, taylor isn’t smarter then me, whatever he has i can have too. which is great and amazing and i wish everyone thought that way.

but then the thought also goes into their head – okay i can do what taylor did in 6 months working a few hours every once in a while.

if i got a dollar for every person that came up to me and said “what’s the one thing i can do to make a whole bunch of money in the fastest way possible” – and usually what they’re implying by this question is what i can do the cheapest and easiest to be able to have a ton of money. i’d have a few thousand dollars honestly.

there isn’t a shortcut. there isn’t an easy way. can you go after knowledge and get it and have it speed things up a bit? absolutely. but there is absolutely no substitution for time and hard work. efficient hard work at that.

it takes a lot longer to build a business, to reach whatever level of success you see as successful then most people think. it is a lot harder to build a business, to reach whatever level of success you see as successful then most people think.

it isn’t a straight line, it isn’t a step by step. there are always going to be issues, there are always going to be problems, there are always going to be things that will need to be figured out, more or less on the fly.

it takes time. i can provide an outline of the map. but i can’t make you follow the outline of the map.

i’m proud of what i’ve done. but i’m not done yet.

and if you’re reading this somewhere out there, don’t ever be done. don’t ever quit. and don’t ever just settle for something when you know you deserve and can go out and get more.

how much time does it take to build a business and become whatever the hell “successful” means?

as much time as you let it. just add on all the time you watch tv, sit on the couch and browse through facebook, etc.

i own multiple businesses all positioned around amazon fba.

it started out by my business partner kale selling stuff on amazon. he started to do pretty well, i wanted to join him, i took him out to dinner, asked if he wanted a partner, he said no. i asked him if i could invest in his business. he said yes.

we started selling together, and 6 months later we were doing a significant amount of money every month selling our products on amazon.

we were asked to do an interview on youtube, so we did. it was fun, it was great, that video is still on youtube, we did it from kale’s little cubicle at his office where he used to work.

after that, the questions started pouring in. people started emailing us, people started messaging us, people were creepy and somehow found out phone numbers and started to call and text us.

and we knew there was an opportunity there, so we started a bunch of businesses.

we started honey badger boost – and started doing listing optimization (basically seo), product photography, and helping people with product research for their amazon businesses.

we started nine university to actually go and teach people how to build an amazon business.

we started boost nine to provide a software for people to use that would help with product research.

we still have our amazon seller account going.

we’ve started a new project called nine u evolved that actually builds your amazon business for you and you contract out to a team that works for us.

just for a bit of reference, the reason we went about it the way that we did – was based on a professor i had in college.

he started a business when he was young being a mail courier between hospitals. then he started taking drugs and medicine to hospitals. then he started a hazardous waste disposal company to keep his vans full on return trips. then he built that up to like 30-40 vans and then started a fleet maintenance company that took care of his 30-40 vans and also serviced other fleets.

he had this policy – and it was if you are every paying someone else to do something for you, or you see someone else charging your current customers for something, create something that fills that need and offer it yourself. that’s what we do.

and one of the biggest questions we always get – if we are so good at amazon – if we can make 10’s of thousands of dollars per month on amazon, why would we help other people do it? why would we give away our “secrets?” why wouldn’t we just hold on to it tightly and never tell anyone and just get rich?

well there are a few answers. first off – we wanted multiple revenue streams, let’s be honest. i don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. i want to diversify. i want to break the mold of what people do, how people do it, and do it differently. i don’t ever want to go get a job again. i want to live my life, and one of the best ways i can add any kind of security is by diversifying.

second off – being an entrepreneur can be really lonely. especially online, if you just do it yourself you can literally just sit in front of a computer for 16 hours a day, never speak to anyone, never have any interaction with another person, and that’s what i didn’t want. so we created something where we could interact with other people.

third off – it gets me closer to what my real passion is – helping people. we have a student who joined our program, had shit his the fan, go homeless, but keep pushing through. he would’ve been successful either way, he had already had multiple successful businesses and he was the one who put in the work, he was the one who gave up some things so he could keep pushing forward. he literally went homeless. and then things started too change. he followed what we were teaching and then he put in the work. we got an email from him where he was so excited he now had this little studio apartment – in the picture he sent it was literally just an empty room with an air mattress and his laptop. we got another email from him being so excited because he could finally afford too buy a microwave.

and now, almost a year later, he makes a ton of money on amazon, he owns a duplex, rents out the other side, he just went on like two week dream vacation to the phillipines, he’s living it up. his success was not due to us, or me. his success was due to him. but if i even had the smallest part in guiding him in the right direction – the amount of satisfaction i get out of that is worth more than all the money on the planet.

we’ve been able to give money and resources to people in need. we’ve been able to give money and resources to ministries and organizations we believe in.

it only takes one great rock show to change the world…according to my idol jack black in my favoritest movie ever – school of rock.

i truly believe it only takes one decision by one person to change the world. the world changed one person at a time.

why do we offer trainings, consultation and services around our bread and butter of amazon fba? because we can and we love it.

stop asking stupid questions.

i wrote a little bit about this in a previous post but honestly i feel pretty strongly about it and wanted to write about it again.

it’s so so so easy to compare ourselves to other people. and it’s not always in a “oh i bet i would look better in that shirt.” alot of times it’s looking at people and going – “how the hell did they get that and how the hell do i get that.”

when you see people get up and change their lives, it can be hard to watch. you can genuinely excited for them and their lives, but there is also some jealously there. there is some judgement there. and at the end of the day what it really is – is “why does this person get to do that and i don’t”

and i want to know why. why is our first reaction (read: my first reaction previously) to smile on the outside and then cringe on the inside?

i’m a very firm believer that everyone has the same opportunities. some people have it easier, yes. some people have it a lot easier, yes. it depends on where you were born, what your parents do, what schools you go too, what language you speak, (incredibly unfortunately) what color your skin is. which is bullshit by the way.

but everyone has the same opportunities. the possibilities and opportunities that present themselves with the internet are endless, and i stand behind that.

i’m a normal guy, i swear. i did all the “right” things. i went to school. i went to college, i took on debt. my parents got divorced. i got married. i got a job working 9-5 in a cubicle. we had debt when we got married, we saved and paid it off. i bought a house. for years i drove an old $3000 car that i originally borrowed money to be able to buy.

i worked hard. i wanted to give my wife the life she deserved. i had a great job. i got a promotion. i moved away from all my family and all my friends that i had ever known to pittsburgh and then i travelled 3-5 days a week doing sales for my new job.

don’t get me wrong, i didn’t have a hard life. but i also didn’t have an easy life, i didn’t have a silver spoon in my mouth when i was born, my parents don’t come from money and didn’t have a ton growing up. there were plenty of things i wanted that i didn’t get. but there were very few things i ever needed that i didn’t have.

and honestly, it’s really easy to compare lives right now. to some people, i had the easiest life in the world. to some people i had a lot more issues in my life then they ever could possibly have. but i’m normal. i’m not special. what i had was people who loved me. and i’m forever grateful for that.

and now that i’ve helped to start a few businesses, and helping to grow those businesses, i’m not any different. i haven’t changed. sure i have some things i didn’t have before. but i’m telling you anyone can have and get material things. i really do believe that. but it isn’t about the material things. it’s about having influence and power to change the world. one person at a time.

there was a point in my life where i wanted to kill myself. it was the summer in between my freshman and sophomore years in college. i was gonna do it. and then i got a text message from a friend, and literally all it said was, “hey, haven’t talked to you in a while, i hope you’re doing okay. i love you and i miss you.”

it saved my life. no joke, no cliche, no exaggeration, that text message is why i’m still alive. and the people around me are the reason why i’m at where i’m at in my life.

i don’t want to look at someone and say “well they have that but i won’t ever have it.”

i want to look at someone and say “if they can have it/do it, i can too.”

that simple yet different perspective literally changes everything.

now looking at someone else changes from jealousy and comparison to motivation and drive.

i’m a normal person. mark cuban is a normal person. he isn’t better than me, smarter than me, or anything else.

the only difference between me and mark cuban – is hard work and time.

that’s it.

and when i started to understand that, everything changed. now all of a sudden every decision changed. every thought process changed. how i treated people changed. i no longer have to operate from a perspective of “well i hope one day i get a good job, work fro 40 years, make decent money, can give my wife just a little taste of all the world, and then retire and live out my days trying to save to buy my grandkids something”

now i operate from the perspective of if i want it, go get it. if i want to help someone, go and work and earn whatever you need to earn to go and help them. if it’s on this world, i can have it. just takes work and time.

i’m gonna go get it. whatever it is. you can too. if mark cuban can do it, so can i. if i can d it, so can you.

there is no difference between me and you except for the fact that is – i know what i want, and i’m not going to settle for anything else.

there are a few things that as an entrepreneur, as a potential entrepreneur, as a future or current business owner – for anyone that ever wants success honestly not just in business but in life in general – should have and live by.

one of those things – is having goals.

goals inspire us, they motivate us, hell they motivate and inspire others. they give us a reason to push forward. they cause us to keep going when we don’t want to keep going. they cause us to think and make decisions in such a way that make you think whether you’re moving closer to what you want, or further away.

and it isn’t just about having goals. it’s about having goals with dates attached to them. it’s about having short term goals and long term goals. it’s about having personal goals and business goals.

it’s about keeping those goals front and center so you are constantly thinking about them and seeing them and being reminded and forcing you to ask yourself the question of, “is whatever i’m doing right now – is it leading me closer or further away to my goals?”

and more than anything, it’s about having big goals. really big goals. goals that seem unreachable, unattainable, immeasurable goals.

but why? why have goals that seem unattainable?

because they only seem unattainable based on your current situation and circumstance. as you begin to change the situation and circumstance that you’re in – all of a sudden things that 6 months ago were unattainable might just be a little more attainable. i’m living proof of that. some options and things that i can do now were completely and utterly impossible for me to be able to do or accomplish a year ago. and i’m not just talking about being able to afford material things, or that car, or this house, or whatever. sure those things are nice. but having the time to spend with someone that i care about because i control my own schedule – having the ability to help someone in need, having the ability and the privilege of people coming to me asking for advice in various aspects of their lives.

one of the hardest things about doing anything – setting goals, starting a business, taking on something new, etc. is literally getting started.

where do you start with setting goals? what goal could i possibly set that i could accomplish in the next 10-30 days that is big and would motivate me for much longer than 10-30 days?

well let’s break it down.

start with something big. really big. that isn’t attainable in the next 10 days. or 10 weeks. or 10 months. or maybe even 10 years. something really really big. for instance – i’m going to be a billionaire. with a b. in the forbes magazine. that’s a damn big goal. like really big. and super unattainable for most people.

and then after you do that, start breaking that goal down, piece by piece, time frame by time frame.

goals always have to have time frames on them. always. if they don’t have timelines, have dates, have strict timelines, they won’t do anything other then sit on a post it note stuck on your bathroom mirror.

so if i want to be a billionaire by 35 – that’s 8 years away. seems unattainable, seems ridiculous, seems crazy.

i need to break it down. what do i need to do in the next 2, 4 and 6 years in order to actually reach that goal?

well – starting with my overall goal of being worth a billion dollars –

2 year goal (by 29) – create 3-5 businesses that by september 20th, 2021 have created over $100mil in revenue.

4 year goal (by 31) – maintain those businesses, create 2 more businesses and acquire/buy out at least 3-5 more businesses that are producing $25mil+ per year in revenue with at least 40% profit margin by september 20th, 2023

6 year goal (by 33) – own and manage at minimum 12-15 businesses, all at a profit margin at or above 40% profit margin. sell at minimum 2 of those businesses for 9 figures, and take a third business public.

8 year goal (by 35) – be worth a billion dollars.

now granted, all those numbers are big and may or may not be my actual goals. and you also have to consider that i’ve already been building my businesses for about 2 years now, so this plan would’ve actually been a 10 year plan. with goals set before now.

now break down those goals into milestones.

for example – 2 year goal (by 29) – create 3-5 businesses that by september 20th, 2021 have created over $100mil in revenue.

milestone #1 – start 5 businesses by july 1st, 2019. (done)

milestone #2 – all five of my businesses are related via amazon fba, so figure out a bundle/package way to sell all my products from my companies together in a bundle/package by jan 1st, 2019. (done)

milestone #3 – hire the right people as i begin to grow that can take me past my own talents and abilities by the end of 2019.

milestone #4 – hire out myself completely so that the businesses can generate $100mil in revenue a year without me doing a single thing – so that i can concentrate on overall management and strategy to exceed said goal by july 1st, 2019.

now i just need to go and break down each milestone. and so on and so forth until i literally have this tree looking kinda thing where up at the top is the goal of billionaire by 35, and down at the bottom is literally what i need to do right now – today – and everyday to get one step closer to that goal.

what this is really giving you is a scoreboard. A scoreboard that you can look at every day, check everyday, and make sure you can cross something off your list that is moving you a little closer to your goal.

think about it. why are sports entertaining? why do they produce billions of dollars? because there is a scoreboard. i can tell you that if there was no scoreboard, no winning, no losing, no competition – would you go to a building for a few hours and watch guys just dribble up and down the court and shoot baskets that had no point values?

absolutely not. competition is what drives us. a scoreboard is what drives us. and a scoreboard is just derived from what our goals are. lebron james has a goal to win basketball games. he has a goal each season to win the nba finals. if he wins the finals, he gets the respect, he gets the success, he gets financially compensated in bonuses for winning the finals. those are his goals, and they are determined by the scoreboard at the end of the day.

when you break down your goals, you’re creating a scoreboard for yourself. a competition against yourself. are you going to be lazy and sit down and do nothing tonight? or are you going to go after your goals and take a step closer to what you actually want in your life?

goals are what keeps us going. i have mine. and they do change every once in a while. or they get bigger. or they change completely, and that’s okay. as long as i stick to them and my big goals, the little goals can change. but i know everyday i wanna take a step closer to them.

set them. have them. live by them. change your life. change the life of those around you. it’s worth it. i promise.