Freedom

By Marcus Shafer

In school you are taught to read, write, do math, and science which are all necessary skills. You were also taught how to think and what to do in order to succeed right? If you’re like me the answer is NO, school did not teach you how to be the next Bill Gates. That’s because school simply teaches you how to be an employee, it’s outside of the walls of your schooling that you learn the true principles of success. So where do you look? I say you start with the work you have in front of your hands, which is direct detail of the secrets to success principles and mindset. I have put a ton of information within the pages of this book that has been taught to me by people making 100,000 to Millions of dollars a year. So how bad do you want success?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781665507400

Marcus Shafer

Marcus is a young graduate of Western Michigan University whose passion for other peoples success has no bounds. He has been and is currently mentored by some of the top professionals in multiple industries including, entrepreneurship, finance, leadership, and business ownership. Coming from a single parent household in Grand Rapids Michigan where he was the first to attend college, he has not let his circumstances stop him from pursuing excellence. Marcus has multiple business endeavors and mentors people on the very same principles that he has been taught, with a purpose of bringing the absolute best out of every person he meets. It is without a doubt that Marcus will achieve success in multiple areas and will impact thousands of people with his powerful message and commitment. He believes that those who choose to make the right choices everyday will achieve whatever they dream.

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© 2020 Marcus Shafer. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/05/2020

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0711-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0712-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-0740-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020922276

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 What is Success?

Chapter 2 You Can’t Reach What You Can’t See

Chapter 3 Patience

Chapter 4 Mentorship

Chapter 5 Winning Is a Mindset

Chapter 6 The Requirements of Work

Chapter 7 Welcome to the Grind

Chapter 8 Living a Healthy Lifestyle

Chapter 9 Becoming Hungry

Chapter 10 Association

Chapter 11 Today’s Professional

Chapter 12 Finding a Purpose

Epilogue

This book is

dedicated to my amazing father Ronny Shafer,

your sacrifice and hard work paved the way for

my success and I greatly appreciate it!

And to my loving mother Debra Ann Shafer

May you continue to rest in Love!

Introduction

Nobody owes you anything! If you think about life and how most of us were raised, you will realize that this concept has slowly been forgotten. Nowadays, people are under the impression that, if you go to college for four to eight years, you will definitely make six figures, and if you don’t, welcome to McDonald’s. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but in reality, we believe that the world will take care of us in the future, whether it’s because we stick with a company for forty plus years then retire with a pension, or we rely on good old Uncle Sam’s Social Security to keep us alive until our final day.

As a society, we have stopped focusing on entrepreneurship and inventing things; instead, we have transitioned to this God-forsaken mindset of work, work, work until we’re sixty then finally play. The problem is that, by that age, you’re barely able to do half the things you were able to when you were younger, and as you get even older, God forbid you develop common problems like arthritis and other conditions that cause loss of mobility. And if that doesn’t disturb you, take a long glance—and I mean long glance—in the mirror and see if you’re the type of person who will be okay with living a mediocre life. The days of making it at a dead-end job are done; we need to think bigger—no, dream bigger—and achieve more if we are ever going to create a significant source of income and impact the lives of hundreds of other people.

But before I get ahead of myself (which I tend to do often), maybe that’s not your dream. I mean who in their right mind nowadays would want to have a six-figure income, do whatever they want all the time, and show other people how to do the same? Ha! My hand is definitely raised. Me! I want to do that! I don’t want to have a financial care in the world when I get older. Just imagine sitting on a beach with white sand between your toes watching the sun go down over a great blue horizon, and at that moment you check your bank account and see an increase of $50,000 to your current $200,000 balance in that account. Welcome to the world of getting paid all the time, the world I have mentally developed and expect to live in very soon, the world of freedom.

So why mention all this? What’s the purpose you may be thinking? I’m writing this book to tell you there is a way—no, there are multiple ways—to achieve true financial and overall freedom. The best part is that all you have to do is decide to put forth the effort, and then follow these tips, or secrets if you will, on how to become successful. The funny thing is that everyone you know who has gained any level of success has applied these methods in some way. There are people who do it consciously, and there are some people who even do it subconsciously without ever knowing.

Some people are built differently, and by built, I mean exposed to and or raised with access to this information. Then there are the select few who know one or two key elements that stretched them so much, they gave themselves no other option but to win! These are the individuals who knew there was something more to life and would stop at nothing to get it. They are simply tenacious! The problem I see is that the majority of the population are not like that now. Most of us need to be taught these concepts so we can finally apply them. This is very unfortunate, and it is my main reason for exposing this information.

Life is meant to be lived abundantly, not as a slave to society or a dollar bill as so many of us are living currently. If I can inspire one person to go out and achieve his or her dreams, then the countless hours I have spent writing this book were worth the effort, and I thank you ahead of time for making that so. But with that stated, I’d like to welcome you to a new way of thinking. Actually, it’s a new way of living, and if you can apply what I’m going to tell you, nothing will stop you from achieving pure greatness.

But before I divulge this information, I figure you may be wondering, Just who is this guy? So allow me to introduce myself. My name is Marcus Shafer. I could go on and say I’m just the average Joe, but I most certainly am not! I’m the type of guy who knows he’s different, embraces that difference fully, and expects more out of life because of it. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I was given as much opportunity to succeed as the next guy, which was close to none, or so I thought. After graduating high school with an average grade point average (GPA), I went on to obtain my bachelor’s degree in recreation from Western Michigan University. To no one’s surprise, I have not used that degree in my current career field at all. I am currently a sales manager for a company you’re probably familiar with—Samsung. Also, I am currently in the process of generating three or four additional sources of income in my life. I could go into way more detail about my life, but it would be slightly boring and long, so just know that I have had plenty of experiences through which I’ve gained phenomenal knowledge.

At the tender age of twenty-two, I was introduced to the tools I am about to share with you, and I thank God every day for that experience! I consider myself very knowledgeable because, ever since I was exposed to those tools, I have been applying them in my life, and they have consistently increased my life experience financially, spiritually, and physically. So that’s why I am hoping you take as much information from this book as you can and use it as much as possible. Also, I do realize that, because I am currently twenty-five years old, some seasoned readers might think, What can a twenty-five-year old tell me? My response is, hey, I tried. You picked up the book and started reading, so obviously you want to make a change in your life. The wealthy people I consistently associate with have given me all I need in order to mentor others and help them gain success. But I do understand your concern, seeing that I am applying the same teachings I am about to share with you at this very moment.

So I’m not begging you to use this information. It won’t affect me at all if you don’t. But what if you did use it and it changed your life? It’s not about the worst that can happen, it’s about the best that can happen! So without further ado, thank you for picking up this book. I cannot wait to see how it brings value and multiple increases to your life.

Chapter 1

WHAT IS SUCCESS?

The first and most important step is to define what success means to you. Now I’m not talking about www.merriam-webster.com version of success; I’ll give you those. The first definition is that success is the Degree or measure of succeeding. Helpful? Okay, how about the second one, from Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary: That which comes after, hence consequence, issue, or result, of an endeavor or undertaking, weather good or bad; the outcome of effort. Now I should just end this subject here because, clearly, that was all you needed to know about what success is. But for those of you who didn’t find that too helpful, let’s look at what we see as successful in our society.

I mean, it’s pretty simple, right? Turn on a TV, and I bet you’ll see several people without a care in the world and plenty of money. Or even watch an urban music video, and you’ll notice the most exquisite cars, houses, and clubs money can buy. That has to be success, right? How can it get any better than that? If that’s your thinking, you have a lot to learn about success. I don’t blame you, though; it’s the only reality you’ve been exposed to. Since I have been able to spell, society has always dangled the lifestyles of the rich and famous as a tool to shape people’s idea of success. It’s pretty simple, actually: if I can show you people who are similar to you and give them all the latest perks from shoes, cars, and homes, and beautiful girls and guys obsessed with them, you’re probably going to want those things as well. But the reality check is that, sure, having nice things can be a product of success, but that’s not what makes a person successful.

Society doesn’t show the constant work and daily sacrifices these people have gone through to get to where they are. The truth of the matter is that everyone with a significant (key word being significant) level of success has worked his or her butt off day in and day out to gain that level of success! Sadly, we, as a people, are not exposed to this; we see only what a person has now and chalk it up to him or her being a lucky person. I’m sorry to burst any bubbles, but luck rarely is part of the equation. Just think about the lottery. Sure a person may strike it big, but how many times did that person play the same lottery numbers? Plus, how many hundreds of dollars did the person lose on the back end? Nine times out of ten, there is always some sort of consistent effort put in to reach the present outcome, good or bad. So please lose this terrible view of success that has been programmed into your head for so long without you realizing. Thanks.

Another key point that is misunderstood about success is that success can be measured in dollars. The answer to that it no, true success is not a dollar amount. No one who really achieved significant success gained a specific dollar amount and said, I am now successful. That is not how it works. Sure, more money will give you more options and an easier life, but look at this saying: Having money is nothing; not having it is everything. This means that, when you have lots of money, you can lose your hunger and motivation, and when you don’t have money, you are hungry and therefore motivated and willing to take action in order to gain something!

Maybe if I break down my definition of success, my definition will help you formulate yours. My definition of success is pretty simple: it’s just lifestyle. What I mean by that is that I am going to live a certain lifestyle with certain benefits and perks. For instance, in my future lifestyle, I will not wake up to an alarm clock. (I believe we should sleep as much as we want to and wake up when we are fully rested.) I will have a huge home somewhere warm and away from the cringing cold Michigan has to offer during the winter months. Also, I will drive several different vehicles including but not limited to a Dodge Viper, a Chevy Corvette, and a Range Rover, which will all be parked in my underground garage. Now I know this sounds sort of contradictory, seeing that I just explained how money does not define significant success. This is because I have not disclosed how I will obtain these things and how that work will impact the entire world.

You see, I am not chasing a specific dollar amount. My goal is to help people realize what they want out of life and inspire them to achieve those things. The cars, clothes, houses, trips, and friendships are all byproducts of my ability to impact others positively. This is the difference between success and significant success—once you make your life about other people, then you will truly be successful, and the money will come. You just have to make sure you do your due diligence of setting goals to ensure that the proper income is obtained. Once you have defined the lifestyle you want to live and set that as a goals, your finances will make it so. According to my own goals, I will never miss a sporting event of any of my future children because of work responsibilities or anything else. This is because, in the type of lifestyle I’m chasing, a job doesn’t fit. I will be bringing in residual income that won’t be the result of working for another person. You may ask how that is possible. It’s because I set a lifestyle goal, and I am currently doing the proper things I need to do to ensure it happens.

By now you might be wondering, Well, how exactly do I define success? The answer to this question is quite interesting actually, and that’s because it depends on what type of successes you are looking for. There are small successes like eating a healthy breakfast every morning, and there are huge successes like finally living in your dream house. The secret is that, no matter what type of successes you’re looking for,