Today's episode is a special one. Like, seriously special.
Not only do we get to sit down with Erik from The Mastermind Within, who is a multi-business entrepreneur, house-hacker, consultant, and financial blogger...
But we also get to see who Gwen is dating.
**gasps**
(Here's a hint: IT'S ERIK.)
Today we dive into...
Who is Gwen dating?? Who is Erik dating?? (hint hint hint: EACH OTHER.)
How Erik first got into FIRE
How Erik "house-hacked" his college rental situation
Personal development through daily discipline
Enjoy!
Show notes and links from today's episode
Erik's site - The Mastermind Within
Financial Samurai - one key influence on Erik's personal finance path
The Millionaire Fastlane - Fantastic crossover business // finance book. Focused on wealth through entrepreneurship
The Miracle Morning - Wake up and get self-development out of the way ASAP.
The Slight Edge - Daily discipline = success
Kombucha Tea - Fermented and delicious :)
Gwen's comment on Erik's blog (see below)
so smooth ;)
Key takeaways from our chat with Erik from The Mastermind Within
1 - Couples that spreadsheet together, stay together.
Ok, so this isn't a super huge clutch takeaway, but it is funny ;-)
Actually, this is important.
Staying on the same page financially is a key component to any healthy relationship. Money can be a huge stressor, and managing money across two human beings can multiply that stress, if you aren't careful.
Spreadsheet together. Budgets are sexy ;-)
2 - Erik's "Jump in and see what happens" attitude.
Impulsive tendencies. Both Erik and Gwen have a fairly aggressive attitude towards pursuing things they want. Both in relationships, real estate deals, etc
Within a week of saying he wanted to buy a house, Erik was under contract for a house. Less than 2 years later, he's super thankful.
Though risk should definitely be considered always, good fortune generally favors those who can pursue their dreams aggressively while maintaining A+ risk management. (Zeona, another podcast guest, exemplified the same traits in her AirBnB business)
(The above sentence is likely from a fortune cookie somewhere, yes?)
Allow yourself to get excited about things. What's the worst that could happen? Could you reverse that worse thing should it actually happen? What's the potential upside?
Go do things. Live and learn.
#fortunecookie
3 - Forget money. Entrepreneurship is fun, and will teach you a ton.
Starting a business sounds like a thrilling idea for many, but often gets UBER overwhelming, time-consuming, and ultimately not profitable...turning people off.
Erik brings up an important though: Starting a business can be fun.
Hard and scary? Most definitely. High chance of failure for each venture? Probably. You'll get a taste of marketing, sales, pricing, finance, content, branding, 1,453 other thing?
Yes. You will.
Win or lose, money or no money, you will absolutely learn something valuable.
4 - Discipline is crucial to self-development and "success" (whatever that means to you)
"It's the positive things you do every day that make the big difference." - Erik
This reminded us of an old dieting adage: The best diet is the one you'll stick to.
Erik mentioned a number of key books (see shownotes above) that has demonstrated daily discipline as a key ingredient to the personal success pie.
Which is a real thing, as corny as it sounds.
Whatever your personal goals are,