Sneaking Into A Private Party in 2019 Changed My Life

In 2019, I was invited by Gary Keller to speak at Keller William's Mega Camp in Austin, Texas, to thousands of agents on the topic of agent profitability and showing agents. It was a tremendous honor and Gary, my business hero at the time, even gave me a hug on stage after I said "most things don’t matter", with him replying "amen... God, yes!" 

That speaking opportunity was the highlight of my professional career, which is funny because my entire family thought I was nuts to leave my highly coveted investment banking job to become another "lowly" real estate agent in Florida. 

Needless to say, by that point of getting on a public stage to speak about growing the business so quickly over the years, I had won my family over, and even convinced my then girlfriend, now wife, Brittany, to join me in further building our real estate business. Real estate was quickly becoming the new "family" business. 

The night after speaking at Mega Camp and attending Gary's Top 100 "secret" meeting, my friend Christina Griffin, a top agent out of Tampa, invited me to a private party that she helped me sneak into.

So, we jumped in an Uber, raced through the fast-paced city of Austin, and I snuck in as Christina's +1 at this private house party. 

As I entered, I realized that the party was at Jay Papasan's house -- you know, the guy who wrote The One Thing book! 

It was crazy and felt like something out of a movie. 

Although I am generally an introvert when around a bunch of people I don't know, I nervously socialized around this impressive room meeting new, interesting, and highly successful people. 

Along the way I met an older, grizzly, and happy looking guy who told me the story of his life. In the conversation, one thing he said stuck out to me that blew my mind. 

He told me he had amassed a fortune of real estate and businesses that paid him passively, more than $500,000 a year. He spends his time traveling and having fun with his wife around the world. He had just come back from some "bucket list adventures" and helping out some charities. 

He laughed at himself, humbly, and shared how he barely made his way through high school and then went into the Marines and now has this life. 

At that point, I had just turned 28 years old, and had never actually met anyone with that kind of wealth or lifestyle.

I had not ever met anyone who didn't work for their money. 

I always had a goal of becoming a millionaire, which I had just done in 3.5 years by selling and investing in real estate, but I never could have imagined hundreds of thousands of dollars passively hitting my bank account every year -- without working for it. Every dollar I had earned up to that point had been actively made through my time and personal efforts. 

This older gentleman, let's call him Bob, then told me about this men's networking group for entrepreneurs, GoBundance, and he told me to go home and read this book Tribe of Millionaires, written by David Osborne, one of the legendary top franchisees of KW. 

When I got home that night, exhausted, and inspired, I wrote down a new goal: I will passively earn $500,000 a year and design a new life that I want to live. 

I was going to get out of the financial rat race and start living and designing a BIG life. Tossing and turning, dreaming of a brighter future, I finally fell asleep. 

The following morning, I searched for this GoBundance networking group, and immediately submitted my application to join their "tribe" and ordered the book Bob recommended. 

I joined the group, and at my first event in late 2019, after being inspired by speakers like Ed Mylett and Codie Sanchez, and thoughtful conversations with several of the guys I had met, they encouraged me to open my own real estate brokerage. 

It's true: meeting Bob and then joining the networking group changed the direction of my life. It’s also led me to open a mortgage branch, title company, property management company, and private lending company — among others.

Fast forward 6 years to this week. I jump on a bus to go snowmobiling with some GoBundance buddies in Snowbird, and I see an older gentleman walk on the bus. 

Holy shit! It's THE Bob from Jay Papasan's house! Bob came over and sat next to me. I couldn't even believe it. 

I introduced myself to Bob -- and he didn't recognize me. After all, it was just one short conversation 6 years earlier. 

As if it were meant to be, I spent the next 20 minutes explaining to Bob how he had changed my life by inspiring me, showing me what was possible through his story, and that I was well on my way to hitting my passive income goal, based on what he had told me 6 years earlier. 

Bob then smiles, and turns to me and says, "Ok, that's great, Jon. Now, what is your life's mission?" 

I'm like WHAT! 

Bob just moved on like all of what I had achieved was nothing. Now, he wants to know what my life's mission is? 

I sat there, stuttering, and basically said, "I guess... I don't really know." 

Embarrassed, I blurted out, "I really only have family, business, and health goals. My business goal is to help other agents get their finances going in the right direction, as so many work too hard for so little. But that's not really a life mission... that's my business mission — I need to think bigger." 

The reality: I never really thought about what my LIFE mission was. 

Bob encouraged me to go back and figure it out. He then shared with me his life's mission. 

After listening, I realized something about Bob. He is a highly intentional and thoughtful person. He knows what he is on earth to do, and he does it. He told me about the charities he is involved in, the lifestyle he has designed, the relationships he develops, the hobbies he enjoys, and how he is focused on making a difference in other people's lives, just like he did with mine. It was awesome. 

So now.... Back to the drawing board to design a life from success to significance. Will check in with you in another 6 years. More work to do.