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Opportunity Knocks:
Creative Ways to Make a Living Without A Job
Lessons on
Inspiration, Guidance and Success from a Real Estate "Artist"
By Valerie Young
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Valerie and her rescue dog,
"Cokie Roberts" |
Last summer, I joined internet marketing legend
Yanik Silver and 25 or so other entrepreneurs for a
“Maverick Business Adventure”
in Aspen, Colorado.
In addition to networking with each other, we had
the opportunity to meet and hear from some incredibly successful individuals.
One of those individuals was Frank McKinney. If you haven’t heard of Frank
McKinney he is truly a maverick entrepreneur. And he has a fascinating story of
courage, adventure, and giving back.
Seizing the Opportunity
At the age of 18, with $50 in his pocket, Frank
left his home in Indiana for Florida in search of his calling. He didn’t find
it. But he did get a job teaching tennis lessons at an affluent Country Club
where he was paid $50 for a one hour lesson. Seizing the opportunity to learn
from his wealthy clients, Frank would push his clients at an exhausting pace.
After 45 minutes, they’d be eager for a break, at which point Frank would pick
their brains on how they got so rich. The vast majority traced their wealth to
one thing – real estate.
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Frank McKinney with
Valerie
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Learning this was a turning point in Frank’s life.
When other young people his age were blowing their money, Frank saved his. He
scrimped and saved until he could finally purchase his first $50,000 fixer
upper. A few months later he sold it at a $7,000 profit.
Then one day he announced to his wife that he
wanted to build a million dollar home – something practically unheard of. So to
save the money he’d need, they moved into a studio apartment that was so small
Frank said you could flip the eggs from the shower.
Today, Frank routinely builds spec homes (homes
built without a buyer) valued in the many tens of millions of dollars, including
the creation of the world’s first $100+ million spec home. What’s especially
fascinating about Frank is that he considers each of his homes a work of art
conceived from his vivid imagination. In fact, he is well-known around the globe
as a real estate "artist," and the creative force behind some of the world's
finest and most opulent mansions ever built.
And if that wasn’t fun enough, he makes the
unveiling of a Frank McKinney house an invitation only theatrical and media
event. For one unveiling, the house was literally draped in cloth and he
descended by a wire dressed as a pirate!
But for Frank, it’s not all about making amazingly
beautiful and outrageously expensive homes for the rich or being on stage. He’s
also a true social entrepreneur.
The Spirit of Giving
About 10 years ago, Frank started a non-profit
organization called
The Caring House Project based the
simple premise that stability begins at home – fitting for a real estate mogul.
His organization helps to create self-sustaining villages by providing housing,
food, water, medical support and opportunity for the poor and homeless around
the world, particularly in the Caribbean, South America, Indonesia, and Africa
as well as here in the US.
The way Frank explained when he spoke in Aspen, he
gets to be a modern day Robin Hood – earning his millions by serving the rich
and then turning around to share his own riches with the poor. Making money is
great, says Frank, but what matters is making a difference in the world. And
he’s instilling these same giving principles to his daughter Laura.
You might think that the daughter of someone who
makes millions would grow up spoiled or self-centered. I met Laura in Aspen and
I can tell you she is anything but. Frank and his wife have instilled in their
daughter the same principles of saving and giving back. Even though she is
surrounded by wealth, Laura is given an allowance of which she must save a
third, give a third away to someone less fortune, and the other third she gets
to keep.
In a time of first generation wealth, I really
admired the decision to instill these values into his daughter.
Living the Adventure
Besides being a real estate artist, social
entrepreneur and philanthropist, Frank is also a two-time international
best-selling author. He’s very much designed his life (and livelihood) to
incorporate everything he loves.
For the last few years, Frank has been working
from his oceanfront treehouse office on not one, not two, but three different
books in three entirely different genres. I got a sneak preview of the covers
last summer and if the insides are as impressive, they’ll be bestsellers.
When Frank told his publisher he planned to
release all three books on the same day, they they told him it was nuts, that it
couldn’t be done. Never one to back down from a challenge, Frank’s done exactly
that. He’s written three powerful books filled with thought, experience,
creativity and hard work.
Book 1:
The Tap
 The Tap is a book about accepting the
inherent responsibility and gaining the confidence in your ability to handle
more, whether it's more wealth, health, happiness, or relationships.
Whether you're seeking greater financial rewards
or some other kind of uplift, this book reveals there's one solution: Learning
to feel The Tap and then acting on it. Why, then, haven't you always
recognized your "Tap Moments?" The Tap answers this by leading you to
find how you've been blessed with the special ability to succeed at some level,
yet the rewards of your success aren't meant for you alone, whether those
rewards are already in hand or coming soon.
Your life's great Tap Moments will come with
astonishing speed and size when you act on the greater responsibility that comes
with greater blessings. This book is for those who want to succeed at a higher
level in the business we're all in: the business of life.
(Click here to read more about this book at Amazon.com)
Book 2:
Burst This! Frank McKinney's Bubble-Proof Real Estate Strategies
This book clearly shows you how to prepare for and time the upswings while insulating your real estate investments from the inherent corrective cycle. The truth is that opportunities to profit abound during every phase. Lots of people prosper in boom times of course, but the really smart ones set themselves up to make even bigger money during a crisis/correction.
Why not do both, now?
Investors of all experience levels learn to turn the bubble mentality inside out, transforming it into a protective force field and a crystal ball, allowing you to accurately forecast your real estate future. You will see how you can aspire not just to survival, but also to what McKinney calls "thrival," developing your ability to create your own market conditions.
(Click here to read more about this book at Amazon.com)
Book 3:
Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes, and the Good Luck Circle
Frank boldly enters the field of young reader fiction in this fantasy novel that is sure to race and gladden the hearts of all readers. The story was inspired by the more than one thousand walks to school Frank has shared with his daughter Laura and her friends in real life (that’s Laura on the cover!). Come along with them into the imaginative world of Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes, and the Good Luck Circle!
(Click here to read more about this book at Amazon.com)
Here is the best part…
all 100% of the proceeds from the sales of all three books will benefit The Caring House Foundation. But, he needs our help.
These three new books will be released on Friday, February 13th. But in an effort to get them ranked #1 on Amazon and other online retailers, Frank is providing some truly spectacular incentives for anyone who purchases his books today, tomorrow or Friday.
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Frank
McKinney's
Oceanfront Treehouse |
Here’s how it works. After you purchase any (or
all) of the books, go to
Frank-McKinney.com/the_3-headed_monster.aspx
and enter in your Amazon order number. You will automatically be entered to win
an amazing Grand Prize. You’ll receive one entry for each book you purchase. And
these are not your ordinary prizes. The Grand Prizes include the opportunity to
attend his $29 Million Grand Unveiling and Book Launch, an overnight stay in his
oceanfront treehouse, or the opportunity to join him on a his book tour.
And if you don’t win? Not to worry, you’re still
in for some incredible treats like:
1)
An invitation to participate in a three-part teleseminar series titled the
“Three-Headed Monster Series” where the contents of each book will be discussed
during three one-hour long sessions. You will be issued a personal PIN# to
participate in the call.
2)
A special link to view “Frank McKinney Palm Beach Experience” on DVD. This is an
inspiring 30 minute video experience that is sure to motivate.
3)
A special link to a
“Frank McKinney Narrated Mansion Tour” on DVD. Here you will get the opportunity
to see inside one of my completed oceanfront homes.
Meeting Frank was truly an amazing experience. Wealth itself does not impress me,
but I was genuinely inspired by the wisdom to learn from others who had already
achieved their success, the sacrifices he was willing to make early in his real
estate career, the courage to break outside of the traditional developer mode to
bring an artistry to his work, and his eagerness to recognize that there is more
to life than financial success – that it’s the opportunity to make a difference
in the world. These are principles we can all apply to our businesses and our
lives.
Add Your Two Cents
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article?
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About the
Author
"Turning Interests Into Income" expert, Valerie Young,
abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at
ChangingCourse.com
offering resources to help you discover your life mission and live it. Her
career change tips have been cited in Kiplinger's, The Wall Street Journal,
USA Today Weekend, Woman's Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN,
CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. An expert on the Impostor Syndrome, Valerie
has spoken on the topic of
How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are
to
such diverse organizations as Daimler Chrysler, Bristol-Meyers Squibb,
Harvard, and American Women in Radio and Television.
To read more
articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to
ChangingCourse.com/articles.htm
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