The Ramsey Show - App - Busy Being Fabulous—and Broke (Hour 2)

Episode Date: March 27, 2019

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions Broadcasting from the Dollar Car Rental Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I am Dave Ramsey, your host. Thanks for joining us. Open phones this hour at 888-825-5225. If you've got career questions, questions on how to get a job in the area that you love, how to move your whole career into a different direction, an area of your passion and your talents, Ken Coleman, Ramsey personality, host of the Ken Coleman Show. On that subject, we'll be joining us at the bottom of the hour to take your career questions, your job questions.
Starting point is 00:01:09 He is our in-house career expert and does a great job with us. Phone number here, 888-825-5225. Nicholas is in Orlando, Florida. Hi, Nicholas. Welcome to the Dave Ramsey Show. Hi, Dave. I'm a huge fan. I've been listening to you for for just about a few months now.
Starting point is 00:01:29 Thank you. I made a stupid decision and bought a truck, and all the other debts I have have paid off. So I know you probably think it's probably a dumb thing to do. Cool. How can I help today? Well, my question today is I'm actually currently in the market to buy a house, but my mom and stepdad are in the process of losing their house,
Starting point is 00:01:55 and they only have about $50,000 is what they told me. They left on their house, and I don't know if I should put buying my house on hold and focus on maybe getting a mortgage on their house and getting it paid up so then they can take it over in a year. Why are they not able to pay their bill if they only owe $50,000? My stepdad, he's the only income, and he has problems with his feet,
Starting point is 00:02:28 and he had to have surgery last year and have half of his feet taken off. Yeah, how old are they? They're about 57, and my mom's 46. And so why isn't she cleaning houses? Only got a $50,000 mortgage. She's had pancreatitis about 15 years ago, and she has been unable to get work in the past few years. So what makes you think if you take out a mortgage, they can pay you when they can't pay the mortgage company?
Starting point is 00:03:02 Well, I said that's working again, but he just doesn't have the credit to refinance the house. How far behind are they? They're three months behind, four or five months behind. What do you make a year? I make, right now I'm making, I just made $79,000 this year, and it's going to go up this year. How old are you?
Starting point is 00:03:28 27. Okay. No, under no circumstances should you take in a mortgage for your stepdad who didn't pay his bills. What's their house worth? Well, the house is a mobile home, but the property is worth, it's on five acres of property. So what's the setup that has 50,000 owed on it worth?
Starting point is 00:03:56 I'd say about 120,000. Okay. Just being, you know, low end. Gotcha. All right. Well, we've got two or three options. I'll give you the two. I'll give you the three.
Starting point is 00:04:09 I'll give all three of them, and none of them involve you taking on a mortgage. Okay? Okay. Option one is your stepdad works like a crazy person, and oh, by the way, so does your mother. I know she's got pancreatitis, but it's time to do something. We're about to lose our house. This is when you tighten the belt up, you stand up, and you go do something. I don't know what it is she can do with that limitation physically,
Starting point is 00:04:33 what he can do with his limitations physically, but here's the thing. Their house payment's not that big. $5,000 solves this problem. At three months behind on a $50,000 mortgage, probably $3,000 solves this problem. Yeah, but the main problem was the mortgage was taken in his mother's name, and she passed away. So now they're not letting him make the payments.
Starting point is 00:05:03 They don't have a choice. They don't have a choice. They don't have a choice. If he's sitting in the house before his mother passed away, he gets to keep making the payments. They can't call the loan on death. There's not a death clause in a mortgage. Okay, so you can get caught up, and
Starting point is 00:05:20 if they cannot work out a thing to get caught up, by his help, your mom's help, and even you giving them a little cash, which I'd be okay with you giving them a gift of a little cash if you want to, to get caught up and keep the property. If you can't negotiate that, then they need to sell the property before they lose it. Yeah. And don't be in denial and sitting there thinking they won't take it.
Starting point is 00:05:44 You need to sell it because there's $70,000 equity. And then go somewhere else and get something else and get started again. Don't lose all that equity by just sitting there not doing it. But, no, you don't need to be a 27-year-old, go take out a mortgage for your mother and your stepfather. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. This is a disaster looking for a place to happen.
Starting point is 00:06:05 We're delaying the inevitable. Now, here's what I want you to do. Hold on. Kelly is going to pick up. I'm going to connect you with one of our financial coaches in that area who know how to negotiate forbearance agreements, which is a way to catch up on a back mortgage, and they'll get involved and help you save this, okay? And I'll pay for it.
Starting point is 00:06:26 It's not going to cost you a thing. Okay. All right? But don't take out a mortgage in your name. Do you understand me? Yes, sir. Okay. You're going to sell it if you have to.
Starting point is 00:06:38 That's your worst-case scenario. Best cases work out some kind of a payment plan forbearance where all three of you working together, all three of you working to create income together, take all of that income and catch these payments up. Because it's only a $3,000 or $4,000 problem. Maybe a $5,000 problem. And this can be solved. It definitely can be solved.
Starting point is 00:07:00 Hold on. Kelly will pick up, and we'll get you hooked up with a coach in your area that's been through our training. Open phones at 888-825-5225. Gerard is with us in Springfield, Illinois. Hey, Gerard, how are you? Hello. How are you, Dave? Better than I deserve.
Starting point is 00:07:17 How can I help? Hey, Dave. So my grandfather just recently passed away. I'm sorry. No, it's okay. He was 76, so I'm happy he was around for so long. Essentially, I'm going to get an inheritance of around $2 million, and I've never had more than $3,000 in a bank account.
Starting point is 00:07:45 So as you can see where I'm going with this question, I have no idea what to do with the money that I'm going to receive or where to go. How old are you? I'm 19. Wow. And are you the sole heir? Well, how it is is we own a big family farm, and me and my father don't know anything to do with farming or what to do.
Starting point is 00:08:11 So what he did was, in his will or in his trust, he had it where whenever he does pass, it gets auctioned, and then me and my dad split it within the two. And your portion should be $2 million? Around there, before taxes, yes. Gotcha. Well, it shouldn't be in taxes much. Okay.
Starting point is 00:08:33 All right. I'll walk you through that and what to do. And when we come back from this break, can you hang with me a minute? Of course. All right. This is the Dave Ramsey Show. Do you know who is a prime target for identity theft? Your children.
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Starting point is 00:09:32 all, your kids are covered for free on their family plan. Call them at 800-356-4282 or visit zander.com. It's just the smarter, more affordable way to protect your entire family. And it's just the smarter more affordable way to protect your entire family and it's the only plan i provide to my team zander.com or 800-356-4282 Okay, we're talking with Gerard in Springfield, Illinois, 19 years old.
Starting point is 00:10:11 His grandfather just passed away. The family farm is going to be sold, and he'll be receiving about $2 million. And he's wanting to know, and never had any more than $3,000, what to do with that. Is that a fair summary of what you told me so far, sir? Yes, sir. What to do with that? Is that a fair summary of what you told me so far, sir? Yes, sir. I think I hear wisdom in your voice in that this money
Starting point is 00:10:32 scares you a little bit. Well, absolutely. I had some ideas, and I didn't know I had one. Here's what we want to do. here's what we want to do. Here's what we want to do.
Starting point is 00:10:45 Right quick. A couple things. Number one, never invest or do anything with money the rest of your life in anything you do not understand. And that means that you're going to have to understand things more in the coming years than you do now. But for right now, you keep it very, very, very simple. Number two, the Bible says in the multitude of directors, a financial advisor, a tax advisor, a real estate person, an attorney, a CPA, five, six things around the area of money, someone in the insurance world. And they don't have to meet together with you, but they're your go-to guy or gal for insurance, your go-to guy for investment advice, your go-to person for real estate,
Starting point is 00:11:51 your go-to person for a tax question. You see what I'm saying? And every one of these people, you develop a relationship with them, and they must have the heart of a teacher because you don't invest in anything you don't understand. Okay. And over time, that group of men and women around you become your confidants, and they can advise you. You don't necessarily do what they say, but they're there to teach you out of their area of expertise. And then you take your time.
Starting point is 00:12:22 And you invest in things, and you invest in things and you give and you invest and you purchase almost nothing i would purchase almost nothing just keep living your life like a 19 year old and think about investing maybe enjoying a tiny amount of the money but a very tiny amount you because people start once you start, it's a thread on a sweater, and you're going to unravel the whole thing. Spending will be your enemy. So you need to be on a budget. You need to be working and have a career.
Starting point is 00:12:55 You support yourself, and you leave this money alone. And you let it grow, and you give it, and you invest it, and you enjoy a tiny percentage of it as it goes along. All right. In the lobby of Ramsey Solutions, Karina is with us from California. Hi, Karina. How are you? Hi, Dave.
Starting point is 00:13:13 I'm great. Welcome to Nashville. Thank you. And here to do a debt-free scream. How much have you paid off? $65,000. Love it. How long did this take?
Starting point is 00:13:23 About 30 months. Good for you. And your range of income during that time? Around $75,000. Love it. How long did this take? About 30 months. Good for you. And your range of income during that time? Around 75. Okay, good. What do you do for a living? I'm a school counselor for K-8 students. Cool.
Starting point is 00:13:34 How old are you? 29. All right. And a debt free before you were 30. What kind of debt was the 65K? All student loans. You got Sally Mae out of the house. Out of my life.
Starting point is 00:13:46 You kicked that woman out, gave her her eviction notice. Yes. So you're 29. You've been out of school seven years or more, probably. And yet two and a half years ago, something happened. What happened? So two and a half years ago, that's when I had gone to grad school, graduated. Okay.
Starting point is 00:14:08 That grace period was over. Oh, okay. And those payments started coming in and I was trying to be fabulous and travel and just got a new Beamer and all these things. Whoa. And I felt like I was supposed to do because I had finished grad school and I felt like I deserved it. So two and a half years ago, it wasn't working. I just didn't have enough money. I felt broke.
Starting point is 00:14:30 So I'm like, something's got to give. Something's got to change. So I remember talking to my aunt over Thanksgiving one time, and we were talking about personal finances. And she had mentioned her and my uncle were debt free. And I had never, ever heard those two words put together. So I was like, what does that mean? I was so intrigued by what she was talking about. She's like, you've got to listen to Dave Ramsey. You've got to listen to the podcast. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, got it.
Starting point is 00:14:58 Moving on to grad school and everything, that's when it hit me. I've got to do something about this. So that's when I started researching and found you. You the name remembered i got to go find that free guy my aunt sounds kind of good right now and the funny part was i bought it i remember searching in june it was summertime and i was like i know i'll buy this book for my dad for a father's day gift but i'll read it first to save money. So I read it before I gifted it and wrapped it up and gave it to him for Father's Day. You did do that?
Starting point is 00:15:30 Yeah, I did. That's fun. That's great. So he gets to use the book for Father's Day. Exactly. He doesn't know that yet. So I love the phrase, I got a Beamer and I was busy being fabulous. Man, that just describes almost everybody in america i got a
Starting point is 00:15:48 beamer and i was busy being fabulous and broke yeah and looking good and no money exactly i mean you're cruising around making money living in california driving a beamer no money i love it so what what what are the keys to getting out of that the keys for me um definitely discipline like the consistency and discipline you have to have to complete this journey um i know god wanted me to do this for myself because he has a lot for me in this life and i just wasn't getting a lot out of it. So that sense of destiny, I was getting ready to ask you where your discipline came from, but I'm guessing that sense of destiny gave you the discipline. Yeah, like knowing your purpose, like you always say, knowing your why, and just looking. I used to always think to myself, and I have many pep talks, like knowing I'm trying to
Starting point is 00:16:40 get further in my 10-year future version of myself, not this version. What would I want my 10-year version of myself to be doing? A new definition of fabulous. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So the discipline, I ended up, I'm a school counselor, but I also got a second job as a hostess at a restaurant. And it was difficult.
Starting point is 00:17:03 It was difficult to be dealing with people after dealing with students' issues all day, cleaning bathrooms, doing stuff you just honestly didn't want to do after working all day. I got a master's degree. I had a Beamer. Now I'm doing the bathrooms. And it humbled me. Honestly, the humility it took sometimes to just be like, I'm doing this for God. I'm not doing this for anybody.
Starting point is 00:17:21 It was hard. It was hard to go into work after work. Who were your biggest cheerleaders? Honestly, my parents. My boyfriend's also debt-free. He's been so supportive, but my parents were so helpful. Like, I literally would go to their fridge and shop out of their refrigerator. Like, are you guys using these beans?
Starting point is 00:17:38 Are you using this toilet paper? Like, I've got to keep doing this. Raid the house. Literally. And we would go out to eat because that literally and i would we would go out to eat because that's the only time i would go out to eat was with them and because they would pay for it exactly i was like whose leftovers do i get like i'd be so excited everybody over over order so we can take it home exactly for me i love it good for you good for you and i'm guessing your aunt
Starting point is 00:18:00 and uncle cheer john too the whole way they know you were doing this the whole way they were so excited when they found out i officially had completed, they were screaming so excited. I love it. You've got to have people in your corner like that. You have to. Because there's plenty of detractors. There's plenty of people who roll their eyes. Social media was different.
Starting point is 00:18:17 Stay off of that. Yeah. Stay off of that. I'm not going to tell you you're dumb and you can't do it and you're a victim. It's just the way life is. Get over yourself. Dave Ramsey's a cult and all that stuff, right? Yeah, it's all on there.
Starting point is 00:18:29 It's all on there. I love it. Good for you. Thank you. I'm so proud of you. Thank you so much. Well done. You're not even 30.
Starting point is 00:18:36 You already conquered one of life's biggest subjects, money. So exciting. Money. It's nowhere but up from here, man. This is so good. You busted it. Well, we got a copy of Chris Hogan's book for you, Retire Inspired. No, it's not.
Starting point is 00:18:48 It's Everyday Millionaires. I'm sorry. I've given away so many Retire Inspireds I forget. But Everyday Millionaires, because you're going to be one. Thank you. That's your next step. And you're definitely on your way. You're sharp.
Starting point is 00:18:59 Very sharp. Thank you so much. Good to have you. All right. Karina from Bakersfield, California. $65,000 paid off in two and a half years, 30 months, making $75,000. Count it down. Let's hear a debt-free scream.
Starting point is 00:19:12 Three, two, one. I'm debt-free! Woo-hoo! Love it! Yeah! Boom! Well done. That's how you do it.
Starting point is 00:19:27 This is the Dave budget each month. Pure Talk USA offers smarter wireless with unlimited plans starting as low as $20 per month. You never pay data overage fees and we never turn off your data. No contracts, no hidden fees. And if you're thinking our low cost means less coverage, think again. Our voice and data service covers 99% of Americans and our 4G LTE network provides the fastest internet speeds like more expensive carriers. We operate on the largest GSM network in the U.S. to ensure you receive reliable coverage virtually anytime, anywhere.
Starting point is 00:20:26 Plus, you can keep your same phone and number and add multiple lines to save more. We're so confident you'll love Pure Talk USA that we invite you to try our service risk-free. Visit puretalkusa.com or call 844-862-3677. Enter promo code SAVEDAVE and receive 50% off your first month. That's puretalkusa.com Joining me this half hour, Ramsey personality Ken Coleman, your career expert here on the team. The Ken Coleman Show is a podcast that is wildly popular. And, of course, the SiriusXM Show that is a part of the Ramsey Network there on SiriusXM, and he answers your questions live every day about work and how to get into work that you love
Starting point is 00:21:32 and work that you're passionate about, work that you're good at, where you can make more money and have more fun than you've ever made in your entire life. And, you know, Ken, one of the things that I've noticed that you're doing with the new book, Proximity Principle, and I and i watch you do on the show i want you to talk about it for a minute i always think about when i am new at something or when something's got me stumped i don't know what to do and if it's something that matters deeply to you, like your money, I mean, if I'm screwed up and I'm behind, I'm in overdraft, I'm in debt to my eyeballs, or my career, my marriage,
Starting point is 00:22:13 my kids, if I've got a pile of manure in that area of my life, I, any human, but I'm human too, can get overwhelmed. And I feel like sometimes that person that's overwhelmed, me or whoever it is, and if you're stuck in a job you hate and you just think you're just stuck, you're paralyzed, you're overwhelmed, I always remember like a little four-year-old kid gets separated from his parents in the mall. He's terrified. He's overwhelmed. Oh, yeah. He's not really unsafe, but he doesn't know how to get where he's supposed to go.
Starting point is 00:22:56 Yep. And the kind general security guard or grandmother that's just walking along sees a crying four-year-old takes him by the hand and leads him to where he's supposed to go and that's what i watch you do on your show now they're not crying and they're not four years old right but they're people that like they call here wanting to know i'm stuck dave i'm about to lose my house i'm getting out of debt or they're calling you and they're going i'm'm stuck in my job. And you walk them through. You take them by the hand and give them just. And as soon as you do that with that kid, he relaxes.
Starting point is 00:23:32 That's right. And I listen to your calls. I can hear the callers relax once you start them down the process. They go, oh, yeah, I've heard him do this before. And now it's me. I'm going to. And you just take them by the hand and walk them through it. Because there is a process to getting to work that you love.
Starting point is 00:23:47 There's a way. Just like you have introduced the world to baby steps, there is a process of intentional behavior that practiced over time is going to yield opportunity. So if somebody says to me on the show, I just have no idea how to get there. They are either dealing, Dave, with fear or doubt. These are cousins.
Starting point is 00:24:09 You deal with them on the show all the time here. Fear that I'm going to become homeless. Fear that I've ruined my life and my family's life. Doubt, I can't get out of it. I don't see a way. And when fear and doubt are at the front of our minds, they cloud the ability to see a path. But just like the security guard, I love that illustration. When that security guard grabs that little child by the hand and says, hey, it's okay, I'm going to help you find mama.
Starting point is 00:24:39 Instantly there is, okay, you're telling me there's hope. You're telling me that you're going to help me find my mom. And hope now begins to seep into that child's head and down into its heart, and it begins to calm down because I've been given hope that you're going to help me find... Hope and fear cannot coexist.
Starting point is 00:24:56 They cannot. And the more hope you have, it flushes out. And now I can see clearly. So hope leads to clarity. And so what we do is we help people understand there are people that can teach you. There are people that can help you. There are places that you can learn, places where you can practice, places where you can grow. And when you can see steps forward, all of a sudden you go, oh, I got hope. And so now I'm confident,
Starting point is 00:25:26 beginning to get some confidence. And then you begin to focus on taking action steps. But if you don't believe, Dave, that you can get out of debt, if you don't believe that you can change careers, you don't believe you can get the career that matches your major, if you don't believe that work that matters is attainable for you then you will not ever see clearly and so what we're teaching with the proximity principle what we do on the show as you said is we really do grab people by the hand and say there is a way to get there and it's actually not as scary as it seems what do you think people do like 90 something percent of the debt-free screams their income went up many
Starting point is 00:26:06 of them changed jobs that's right got new careers or went into a different career or a different job in their career because i just looked up and said hey i'm not stuck i gotta go make more money that's right to get out of debt what happens how do they process that that causes people to have that kind of courage while they're getting out of debt i mean it's almost like there's two things here that are both stress-inducing, and they do them at one time. That's right. It's your steps. They go, okay, Dave's giving me some steps.
Starting point is 00:26:32 $1,000 in the emergency fund, I can do that. It may take me a little bit of time, but I can do that. And then, boom, I start working on the debt snowball. And I realize in the debt snowball, I'm doing my budget rice and beans. I need some more money. And if I'm going to get more money, how do I do that? And they immediately go do that. They might not have had the
Starting point is 00:26:47 courage. That's right. And they might not have had even the initiative. Well, we don't have courage to step into a dark cave where we can't see right in front of our face. But if I give someone a flashlight, we've got a whole lot more courage. And so what you do with the baby steps
Starting point is 00:27:04 and what I do with the proximity principle by revealing the right people and the places we give people a light and they can shine it on the path because they a lot of times people know the path now we have a lot of people that call have no idea we help them with discovery but but for people to be able to see their path and say ken i know where i want to go but i don't know how to get there, or I think it's too late. I doubt that I can even get there at this point. We shine the light of truth on that. And so, again, the reason people make more money debt-free screeners is because they go, I need to make more money, and when I make more money, I can plug it into the plan.
Starting point is 00:27:38 So now they have something to shoot for. So you're trying to help people with freedom from debt. I'm trying to help people do work they love so that they feel fulfilled. And by the way, Chris Hogan's amazing book and study, 96% of millionaires love their careers. Why? Why are they millionaires? Because they'll stick with the curves in the road. They'll stick with the ditches. They'll stick with all the things that come out of it because the work matters to them, and they stay with it over time,
Starting point is 00:28:08 and the money follows work. You say this to our team all the time in staff meeting. If we continue to help people, we're going to make plenty of money, but we are here to help people, and money, right, and income is a derivative of doing work that matters to you. It's a natural byproduct. And you always make more doing something you love. No question. Because you're better at it. Well, first of all, you're better at it and you care more.
Starting point is 00:28:32 Two things there. None of us like to do anything that we're bad at, except for you and me. We like to play golf. Outside of that, right? Think about it. Nobody likes to do a job that I play. But you only play for that one shot that you have, that one shot a day. You play for that.
Starting point is 00:28:44 I just told you that before the break that's absolutely true but we want to do things we are good at and we want to do things that matter to us and that's where the money comes very good good stuff the book is the proximity principle it is on pre-sale it comes out in may in about a month we'll start shipping them to you. And if you want to pre-order the Proximity Principle, the proven strategy that will lead you to the career you love, there you go. It's what we were just talking about. You want to pre-order it. We're going to throw in a bunch of extra goodies with it, about $20 worth of extra things, including the e-book version and a
Starting point is 00:29:25 video lesson from Ken called Discover What You Were Born to Do. Now, you can get that book ordered at KenColeman.com, DaveRamsey.com, or call the Ramsey Concierge team at 888-22-PEACE, 888-227-3223, and they'll get the book ordered for you. And Ken, we got about 30 seconds. The proximity principle just simply means be in proximity. Yeah, to do what you want to do. You've got to be around people that are doing it in places that it is happening. When you put yourself around the right people in the right places, here's what happens.
Starting point is 00:29:58 Opportunity. Right people plus right places equals opportunity. Then it's up to you. Back with your calls, folks, right here on the Dave Ramsey Show. Ken Coleman is going to answer your career questions in your situation and help you out. Coming up right now on the Dave Ramsey Show, 888-825-5225. The last thing I want you to feel is buyer's remorse, especially when you offered thousands more on a new home to win
Starting point is 00:30:46 a bidding war. If I've taught you anything, it's that blindly throwing money at a problem is a stupid plan and something you'll regret for years. The key to avoiding this rookie mistake is to call Churchill Mortgage and get certified. This easy program puts you miles ahead of your competition because you are pre-underwritten. Your interest rate is secured and yes, you can close within 14 days. Don't fall into the trap of offering more money just to compensate for a poor plan. Call Churchill Mortgage today and get certified. Call 888-LOAN-200 or visit churchillemortgage.com. This is a paid advertisement. NMLS ID 1591. NMLSconsumeraccess.org. Equal housing lender. 761 Old Hickory Boulevard, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027. Ramsey personality Ken Coleman
Starting point is 00:31:51 host of the Ken Coleman show on Sirius XM and a very popular podcast as well joins us this half hour answering your career questions Dan is in Washington D.C. Dan your question for Ken gentlemen thank you so much
Starting point is 00:32:07 for taking my call today. It is a real privilege to speak with you. Sure, you too. So I'll give you a quick backstory. I currently work for a small federal agency of a physical security specialist. And after spending several years in government, I have come to the conclusion that I do not want to be a government employee anymore. I've done some research, and I have found out that there is a great deal of money to be made in the private sector for physical security consultants, and I would like to start my own LLC doing exactly that. I would do it as a side gig at first until I get myself established. As you guys say, I don't want to jump off the dock before the boat gets close enough.
Starting point is 00:32:44 Good. I have myself established. As you guys say, I don't want to jump off the dock before the boat gets close enough. Good. I have the background. I enjoy the work. I'm good at it. When it comes to the physical security, I know what I'm doing. What I lack is the business acumen. And after hearing about the proximity principle, I did some more digging and found a few people in my area who do exactly what it is that I want to do.
Starting point is 00:33:16 So my question to you is, how do I go about approaching these individuals in such a way that they won't view me as a threat to their own business and basically tell me to go pound sand? That's a good question. Well, I'm not out to approach clients or hurt their business. At the end of the day, I am ultimately going to be a competitor. Okay. Yeah, that's a really insightful question. I think that there's a whole lot of fear there, and it's not grounded in reality. There might be one or two that might act that way, but here's what I know about the human condition. We love to give our opinion, and we love to give it to somebody who says, I really respect your opinion and I would like it.
Starting point is 00:33:45 And if you approach it in a way that you just say, look, this is what I do for the government. Eventually, I'd like to get into the private sector. You don't have to say, I'm going to start an LLC and I'm going to be your competitor. You don't have to say that. What you can say is, I really respect you. I know that you're successful.
Starting point is 00:34:01 And I wonder if I could buy coffee or buy lunch and sit with you and learn that you're successful. And I wonder if I could buy coffee or buy lunch and sit with you and learn how you're winning. Learn what are the landmines that I might need to be looking out for. What would be a good path for somebody like me to move from the government sector to the private sector? And I think when you couch it that way, ahead of time and in person, I doubt that you're going to get somebody telling you to pound sand. If that happens, I would tell you my belief in the human spirit is you can replace that person with two or three others who would be willing to sit with you.
Starting point is 00:34:34 And congratulations. You have absolutely got the proximity principle down to its core to get around people that are doing what you want to do and in places where it is happening. And you're going to get a master's degree from these people who are winning. And then you put that into practice and you prepare. And as you said, you're going to step off of that dock right onto the boat in the future. We're going to give you a copy of the book. We're going to send it to you as our gift.
Starting point is 00:34:59 So when we put you on hold, it'll come out in May. We'll ship it to you then. The other thing I would do is this. What kind of money are you making now? Right now, I would say I'm up with just over $100,000. Okay. So you easily would be willing to invest $1,000 for two days of information from five people in this uh area so all i'm suggesting is maybe buy a plane ticket in the hotel room and go to a different city to do your interviews because you're not
Starting point is 00:35:33 going to be their competitor that's fair yeah it's good yeah and so go you know i'm in you're in dc so uh just jump far enough you know that you i would not bother with New York because you've got a completely different set of firearms laws and so forth there that you'd be facing. But I would try to find something that's as close to a D.C. in terms of the way it thinks and the way it's made up. And, you know, like, for instance, Nashville and Charlotte are a lot alike. So if I were in Nashville and I wanted to do that, I might fly over to Charlotte and talk to them.
Starting point is 00:36:06 So what feels like D.C.? Philadelphia, maybe. Kind of feels a little bit like D.C. Or Boston might. That's right. And also, I don't know if there is a trade show where it has convention-type seminars or webinars. There are. I would really look.
Starting point is 00:36:22 There are. Yeah. See, this is another thing that you can do. This is an example of if you've got a real thought leader or somebody who's very successful and respected in that industry, that would be the professional. I write about that person in the book that's one of the five people. You may never be able to sit and have coffee or have lunch with that guy, or it may take a long time to do so, but if he or she is putting out content based on their success, and you can get it whether it's free or paid, this is also a very valuable way to get prepared to step into that dream. Cool stuff.
Starting point is 00:36:53 Hold on. Kelly will pick up, and we'll get you a copy of the book. You know, I got to have – I was sitting here. I never thought about it until just now. But about the third year of doing this show, I got to meet a guy named Ed McLaughlin. And Ed McLaughlin is the guy who invented Rush Limbaugh. That's right. He put Rush on the map.
Starting point is 00:37:10 He was the behind-the-scenes ops and marketing, the soul. Rush is obviously an incredible talent, but he was Rush's Colonel Parker. You know, in a sense, Colonel Parker was Elvis, right? That's right. And I got to, you know, I talked Ed into having lunch with me and Bill, a buddy of ours. Bill was working for me at the time. We sat there. I could show you the booth where we were in Santa Monica. I could show you the booth in the restaurant, in the hotel. I know exactly where I was because it was such a big deal to get to meet this guy. He's
Starting point is 00:37:36 legendary in the talk radio world. And I just sit there and I talked to, you know, I thought I was going to have lunch with him for an hour. Three hours later, he's still giving us a seminar on how to build a talk radio show. I mean, from the guy who's, you know, it'd be like Colonel Parker telling you how to be a rock and roll star. It's unbelievable, man. And it's just you find somebody like that. It's amazing who will talk to you. Well, this is good.
Starting point is 00:38:02 Let's stay here for a moment because I want people to get this. This is what we write about in the book. So when you're sitting with Ed, you're three years in. He's at who will talk to you. Well, this is good. Let's stay here for a moment because I want people to get this. This is what we write about in the book. So when you're sitting with Ed, you're three years in. He's at the top of the game. You're still down the ladder from him. How did he react? It was supposed to be an hour. At some point, he really enjoyed the fact that you're picking his brain.
Starting point is 00:38:17 Did he not? I don't know what happened that extended it. I can only guess, if I was on the other side of it that he started thinking he wasn't wasting his time. That's right. He started thinking, this kid might actually pull this off. Because you were humble and hungry, I would suggest, and the type of questions you were asking,
Starting point is 00:38:36 you weren't wasting his time, you weren't promoting yourself. But I've also had people that came in, you know, would you mentor me? No. Of course, you're going to get that. I don't mentor anybody unless they work here. But the, you know, but the, you know, but the thing being that I don't want to get 73,000 people sending me an email right now. Yeah, no, no.
Starting point is 00:38:54 We're not talking about that. I'm not doing it. But the, it's not because I'm stuck up. I'm just busy. But the point, though, is that the number of times that someone has sat with me and I've looked at them and I went, after about 30 minutes, I'm going, I can't get you there. You don't have the stuff. But other times you look at them and you go, yeah, this one's, I think they might be able to do this. And, you know, that happens.
Starting point is 00:39:21 And I think that happens on the other side of the coin. You might keep that in mind. You kind of got to have your act together a little bit. Yes. You got to have prepared questions. You and Bill were prepared. You had a very clear agenda. You were listening.
Starting point is 00:39:32 And now let's look at the other side. We stayed up all night thinking about it, man. We were so excited. That's preparation. And somebody appreciates that. If you look back on that, when you were done with that meeting, how excited were you? How much did it shock? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:44 Well, I mean, it's 20-something years ago ago i'm still talking about like it was 20 minutes ago but you had clear direction and clear connections that came out of that yeah for sure yeah and follow-up things to do and all that kind of stuff this is where opportunity happens right there yeah proximity to people and places creates opportunity this is why i'm so passionate about the show. Oh, by the way, that was at a talk radio convention. Again, proximity. Yeah. Just what you told him to do. Just what you told him to do.
Starting point is 00:40:10 You got in the right place, and you got around the right person. And see, I want people on this show that listen to this show to realize that opportunity is there like a train station. But it's only there for you to make more money, to get out of debt, do all the new work you love. It's only where the right people and right places are. So whatever it is you want to do, like this caller, you've got to get there. And if you're
Starting point is 00:40:29 intentional and you're okay realizing that you're going to face some rejection, turn it into redirection. You're going to get rejected. You're going to get no's. You know how many no's I got early on trying to get into radio? It's embarrassing. I still get them. Right. That's right. I still get fired off radio stations. Which is silly to me, but you know. They do. I mean, I have 600 radio stations. I still get them. Right. That's right. I still get fired off radio stations.
Starting point is 00:40:45 Which is silly to me, but, you know. They do. I mean, I have 600 radio stations. I get fired every week. You don't quit. You keep being intentional. Here's what happens. The proximity principle is so powerful in that it's simple to follow, and if you stay with it, it yields results.
Starting point is 00:40:58 I guarantee it. Yep. Good stuff. Ken Coleman, The Ken Coleman Show, KenColeman.com. You can follow him there. All the social media appropriate handles as well. The Proximity Principle book is on presale. You get $20 worth of bonus items if you pre-buy it at kencoleman.com,
Starting point is 00:41:16 DaveRamsey.com, or call the Ramsey Concierge Team at 888-22-PIECE, 888-227-3223. Great job, Ken. Dave, thanks for having me. Hey, it's Blake Thompson, Senior Executive Producer for the show. You know you can listen or watch Beanyware with the Dave Ramsey Show app on your smartphone. Catch the full show or watch the highlights and check out Dave's upcoming guests. Head to the App Store and download it today.

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