The Freedom Code

By Gary Boomershine

The Freedom Code provides real estate entrepreneurs with a step-by-step framework for building long-term wealth, creating passive income, and achieving true freedom through real estate investing and private lending. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: REALESTATEINVESTOR.COM LLC
• Release date: May 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087875859

Book preview

Introduction

At the tender age of 12, I was voted most likely to be in jail by 17. That’s no joke.

By all accounts, you should not be reading a book written by Gary Boomershine. Thankfully, God had a different plan.

At 15, I had a wake-up call that changed my life forever. My father was diagnosed with Leukemia, and I realized I could either continue down the dark road to Loser-ville or I could be the man my dad had always wanted me to be.

I thank God every day for shining His Grace on me and for leading me to door number two.

If you learn one lesson from this book, learn and really believe the following:

I am you…well maybe not the most likely to be in jail part, but truthfully, if I can be a full-time, successful real estate investor and business owner, so can you.

While I have done extraordinary, above-average things in my business life, I consider myself a humble, average guy who, like you, has been blessed by God with many gifts. And, if I ever get too full of myself, my beautiful wife, Shanna, and two amazing daughters are always there to cut me right back down to size.

I’m hoping this book will enlighten and empower you with the valuable lessons I’ve learned over a lifetime of buying and selling real estate, lending, and investing in other businesses, and coaching thousands of others just like you. If I am able to help just one reader achieve financial freedom and to break the chains of slaverly in our system by relating lessons I’ve learned from the school of hard knocks, this book has served its purpose.

Folks tend to make this business much more difficult than it needs to be. I know it sounds easy coming from the guy who has been doing the business for 32+ years, but trust me, this business doesn’t have to be difficult, and I am going to prove it to you.

So, other than having a crazy last name and a colorful childhood, who am I and why should you read my book?

I’m Gary Boomershine, and as CEO of RealEstateInvestor.com, I am on a mission to completely revolutionize the real estate industry and how real estate investors do business. My mission is to make a measurable difference that impacts others as they build their businesses and seek the freedom they deserve.

That’s lofty; I know, but I tell you with great confidence that RealEstateInvestor.com is well on its way to fulfilling that goal. At the heart of everything we do is a simple guiding philosophy:

Give first. Give often. And give generously.

This servant’s attitude is truly our mission. To many in this all too cynical world, those words may seem hollow or trite. If that’s you, I understand. You live by proof. You want to see the actions behind the words.

To understand why I am so passionate about giving, maybe I should tell you a little bit more about who I am.

I was blessed to be raised in a family of entrepreneurs. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I grew up working in our family-owned business: Boomershine Realtors. While most kids were getting their driver’s licenses around the 11th grade of high school, I was getting my Real Estate License. I was a licensed realtor just three weeks after turning 18.

Real estate paid for my degree at University of California, Davis, so one would naturally think real estate (and being a realtor) would have been my path. It wasn’t…initially.

Instead, I followed the advice of a mentor I had at the time and got my degree in computer science engineering with a focus on data analytics and business solutions.

Upon graduating college, I was chosen as one of only two graduates to work for Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting—one of the top management and technology consulting firms in the world.

I never imagined that my position in enterprise software sales and management and consulting with top business executives would serve me later in life as a business owner. Looking back, I am certain that job helped me to become a great problem solver and an expert in business process automation.

I’ll explain in upcoming chapters why those skills are so critically important for you as a real estate business owner.

After leaving Accenture, I was a key contributor in building four very successful software companies from the ground up, and one of those, after going public, has become a six-billion dollar division of IBM.

Like Accenture, the skills learned in those positions also proved to be crucial stepping-stones in so much of my success today. I learned what it means to be a solid leader and how great teams are built. I also learned the importance of building and maintaining long-term strategic relationships.

Again, you may be saying, Gees, Gary. I just want to be a real estate investor. What the heck does this have to do with me?

If you stick with me, I promise this book will not let you down.

STRATEGIC VS TACTICAL

If you’re looking for just another how-to book on Wholesaling real estate or Rehabbing a house for a big payday this is not the book for you. The good news is, you won’t have to look hard to find thousands of step-by-step guides that can teach you how to do both.

This is not a step-by-step, how-to book.

As with most things I’ve done, I wrote this book to be a disruptor. I wanted to deliver something really special rather than a boring rehash of what so many others have written about for years. To be 100% frank, if those types of books and systems worked, real estate investors wouldn’t be failing at the insanely high rate they’ve been failing at for years!

I’m hoping the simple but profound lessons you learn in this book will serve you throughout your investing endeavors no matter where you are in your journey. The lessons are timeless, but are rarely, if ever, written or talked about.

This book will be far less tactical and far more strategic. Rather than teaching you all the steps you must follow to catch a single mouse, I’m going to teach you how to build a worry-free mouse trap that catches ALL the mice—even when you’re sleeping.

That’s thinking with a strategic mind vs working with a tactical mind.

You won’t learn all the steps for completing a 6-figure rehab, nor how to go start-to-finish through a wholesale deal. If you’ve never done either, you’ll have to trust me when I tell you, Those things are EASY….very easy.

The overwhelming majority of gurus teach tactics because it’s easy. Their message is: Here’s the process. Here’s my system. Follow it, and you’ll be successful.

So, they promise.

I want to go deeper with this book. Far deeper. I want to teach you how to build and operate a business—one that creates the stress-free freedom in your life that you so desperately desire.

It should come as no surprise that my personal goal for this business is the same goal shared by thousands of my coaching students and even my peers. We ALL are seeking more freedom of time, of money, and of spirit. We want lives that are self-sustaining, not having to rely on anyone else for our success.

I’m writing this book in the era of COVID. How many of us would have ever imagined the U.S. economy, the largest in the world, shut down by a virus? How many would imagine a new administration that, with the stroke of a pen, erases the Keystone pipeline, and along with it, tens of thousands of high-paying jobs? How many of us would have ever believed that the United States of America would be $30 trillion in debt with no end in sight?

I meet people every day who are done with the system. They want to create their own destinies rather than relying on the whims of Wall Street and power-hungry politicians.

I’m willing to bet that you share many of these same beliefs.

The fact is: most folks get into this business seeking more freedom, but they get lost along the way. They either fail outright, or they create monster-machine-like businesses that have to be fed by a high volume of deals rather than high quality deals. Most find themselves working harder to support their real estate businesses than they ever did in their 9-5 jobs!

Sadly, most real estate investors will never find the freedom they so fervently desire.

I’ve seen it time and time again. Folks get into the business seeking freedom and then feverishly work to build businesses that are nothing more than time-vampires! They find themselves trapped by the machines they’ve built.

I promise you; if you follow this book, you will discover the golden key that picks the lock, and it will change your trajectory forever.

WARNING: Tough Love Alert- I don’t know how to say this lightly, so understand I’m saying it with a kind heart: Most real estate investors are not running businesses. They are running glorified hobbies. More directly stated, they've created nothing more than a low-paying job where they sit at the helm as the sole underpaid employee. Heck, I’d fire most investors if they ran my business like they run their own.

Let’s be very clear; businesses are built for profit. They include a team of people who are led by leaders with clear visions and goals. Hobbies, on the other hand, don’t make money. They are usually run out of a basement or single office with the owner wearing all the hats of the team.

Don’t get me wrong; everyone should have a hobby or two. If, however, you desire more freedom in your life, you cannot run your real estate endeavors like a hobby. Hobbies are essentially money pits and time-vampires. Businesses are built for profits, retained earnings, and ultimately, freedom.

Which do you own? Which do you want to own?

This book will teach you how to build a successful business. Period.

THE MASSIVE POWER OF LEVERAGE

Look, you may be a golfer who does pretty well on the course. You may even be the best at your local country club, but you ain’t Tiger Woods.

What’s the difference between you and Tiger?

You get out on the course or the driving range when you can spare the time. Maybe you hit a bucket or two, once or twice per week, and if there’s time, you spend a few minutes practicing your short game.

Heck, you may even sacrifice lunch every now and then just to get in a session at the driving range.

Guess what...Tiger never skips practice!

Tiger has been hitting buckets of balls every day, without fail, for decades. Then, when he’s done cracking hundreds of drives 320+ yards, he heads over to the practice green for several hours of chipping and putting.

More important than the endless hours of practice, Tiger has hired dozens of trainers not just for his swing but for his overall fitness and diet. He’s even hired coaches and managers for his mental health, for his money, and for his day-to-day schedule.

Behind every birdie, every green jacket, and all the major titles...behind Tiger, stands an entire team of experts. They are all in the business of Tiger Woods. Tiger is the business, and it takes a team of people to help him be the best.

How does all of that compare with the way you treat golf?

Let’s face it. You are a hobbyist at golf, and THAT’S OK, but you’ll NEVER be Tiger Woods nor even on the PGA Tour if you keep playing like a hobbyist.

The same can be said for your real estate business. Imagine for one moment if Tiger Woods had to run his entire billion-dollar machine solely on his own: no employees, no coaches, no financial managers, no outside help.

THAT is precisely how so many (maybe even you) run their real estate businesses.

The sooner you learn how to unlock and unleash the massive power of leverage, the sooner you’ll have a business that gives you the freedom you seek!

Most readers at this point would assume I am talking about leveraging money. Yes, OPM, or other people’s money, should be a part of your real estate business, but the leverage I want to teach you to utilize is, OPT, other people’s time.

You must learn to harness the power of borrowing the resources, systems, time, and expertise of others. The big lie in this business is that you can make money out of thin air. Sure, you can buy property without using your own money, but understand this truth…

You cannot build a solid, sustainable business or anything that comes even close to providing the freedom you seek without some investment or leverage. If you invest your precious time into $10 per hour work, you will never have more than a $10 bank account.

Robin Sharma, the author of the series of books entitled The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari once wrote, Time is your most precious commodity and yet most of us live our lives as if we have all the time in the world.

If you believe time is your most precious asset, you should then ask yourself, What is the return I should expect on that most precious asset? For many the answer is far too little.

You must master the value of your time or it will master you.

My mission with this book is to unlock the illusive and mystifying secrets of owning a real estate investing business. I use the phrase mystifying secrets in sort of a tongue-in-cheek fashion as I have found most people in this business make learning, practicing, and succeeding in real estate far too difficult.

Again, the tactics are easy. It’s the building a business that gives you the freedom you seek part that seems to elude most!

Free Resource: I was honored recently to speak to a group of successful entrepreneurs, mostly real estate investors. The subject of the presentation was, Building a Business That Works for You. If you’d like to watch this, you can find it in the Reader’s Resources section on TheFreedomCode.com/ReaderResources.

WHY REAL ESTATE?

I have asked the following question more times than I can count. While speaking with investors of every level of experience, I ask, What is the number one reason you got into this business?

Invariably, they answer, For more freedom.

How about you? Why do you love real estate? Why did you get into real estate?

Was it for more freedom? Could you not stomach one more day of working for someone else? Were you just looking for more income? Were you looking to firm-up your retirement? Were you searching for something deeper like a bigger challenge or a deeper sense of fulfillment?

In all my years of coaching, I've found that each of us longs for a bigger purpose. We want to be bigger than ourselves. Most of us have a deep desire to give and to serve others—perhaps building a charity for those less fortunate or providing for a cherished loved one.

Real estate can be the perfect vehicle to help you fulfill that deeper desire, but you must learn to build a business that serves you rather than one that enslaves you and robs you of the freedom you seek.

No matter the reason, investing in real estate can be profoundly rewarding. It can also be a journey fraught with pitfalls