Does Location Matter For Your Prosperity? – Episode 437

This transcript was auto-generated and may contain errors.

[00:02] Prosperity thinkers, we’re going to be talking about location. Yes, in real estate, they say location, location, location, but does that really matter for your prosperity? What do you think, Kim? I don’t think it matters at all in today’s world. And that is the best news in the world because in today’s world, we get to live anywhere that we want. And I know this term laptop lifestyle, like you guys live a laptop lifestyle. I feel like I do, even though I’m completely grounded on our farm in the middle of nowhere of East Texas, it is so cool that the system called Zoom and these things called email and Google drives and other aspects of the working world literally enable us to do business anywhere and to be able to help

[00:59] anybody and to be able to find our community that has an interest in what we do and to really narrow it down or niche it down. Marketing people will tell you that the more specific you get about the kind of person that you want to help, the better your messaging is and the better that you can help people. And so I know that we’ve had a handful of clients decide to leave big cities and go land on a farm or go land in another country or go not land at all, right? And be on the road. Maybe it’s an RV or a van or maybe they’re doing the tiny house thing or they’re Airbnb in it or what have you. I mean, the opportunities are truly endless for those that want to do it. I’ve got a fun story about a family

[01:53] member to share, but I’m always curious, Spencer, like how did this come up? What research were you doing that led you to believe that this would be an interesting conversation? Where the research came is looking at the changes that COVID has brought upon COVID has been one of those things where, again, this is what happens between your ears. There are people that are angry and upset, and then there are people that are looking at and saying, this is the greatest blessing ever. And so for people that are then going through and exiting from large cities, they’re seeing this as an opportunity, but the impetus of this is really coming from the news update of Elon Musk and others leaving high priced California

[02:44] and others that are leaving these large cities. And now we’re seeing companies that are spinoffs from WeWork that are saying, no, we’re not going to be in Manhattan. We’ll be in the suburbs of Kansas City or something of that nature. Well, it’s interesting to me how this is really causing everybody to rethink about their values and to rethink about what is important to them for their lives and to choose how they want to live their lives. And I’ve actually had some clients that have gone back down into what I would call the inner aspects of cities, because they decided that they wanted to have a very city oriented lifestyle where you could walk everywhere and have everything super close and have small boutique grocery stores and

[03:39] restaurants right in your own building and that kind of thing. Some people really, really like that and that’s awesome. And then others prefer the open spaces and the desire to have not a downtown and the busy activity and 24-7 approach to life that cities often generate. What I think is also really cool is that a lot of these companies that are making these moves is because of the taxation that some states and cities are choosing to apply to businesses where other states and cities are not. And Tom Wheelwright has a great saying about change your taxes? Change your facts. So if you want to change your taxes, you need to change your facts. In other words, you need to maybe move from a particular place to another or have a company that is instead

[04:40] of sole proprietorship, it’s an LLC or instead of just an LLC, maybe you layer it on with the additional aspect of a C Corp for management or marketing or what have you. Again, you’re changing your facts and that’s what this focus on location is doing as well. You’re changing the facts about where you live. The fun story about our family members, we have a second marriage. My uncle’s kids were grown at this time and he and his wife decided that they wanted to work a couple of years and then take a year off, work a couple of years and then take a year off. And during that year they would get an RV and travel. And they were, I don’t know, I was, I’m going to say like mid fifties. I don’t remember exactly how this

[05:27] was probably 15 years ago. And he had so many friends like, Oh my gosh, you know, how are you doing that? Well, we just do it. We make a decision. Yes, we have to save up, but this is important to us. And so maybe we don’t go out on a Friday night or we go out, but we only have one drink or we go to a show, but we go to the matinee or whatever and we save the money so that during that other year we don’t have to earn an income in the traditional sense so that we can be free because this is important to us. And he would have so many friends. Oh my gosh, I could never do that. Well, stop right there. If that’s what you think, then you are correct. But if you will allow your mind to just open up a tab, Robert Kisaki has a great thing. Well, don’t say I can’t afford it.

[06:21] Just ask the question. How can I afford it? Well, the same is true. Don’t say I can’t do that. Say, well, how can I do that? And maybe in that effort, a slight tiny door will open up and you will actually find a way to do that or something even better for you. I love that even better because that is what tends to happen. Now, there’s one piece in this at the beginning of the conversation where you’re stating that location doesn’t matter for your prosperity because of Zoom and such. And I agree with, we’ll call 80 or 90% of that. There’s a piece that I don’t agree with. So this came from a recent video that I saw on YouTube. And it was talking about the Indian culture. And we’re talking India, the Asia Indian culture.

[07:15] And they’re stating and debating about why it is that so many wonderful developers and engineers come from that area. And they’re saying, is it really hurting the economy over there in India? And yes, there’s a ton of talent. And a gentleman actually argued in front of, I believe it’s their prime minister or president. I don’t know their government or how they operate, but he goes, madam, he goes, and you know, madam, if India is so great, as you say, then why are so many leaving? And yes, we’re seeing a lot of talent. And yes, there are wonderful companies in third world countries. In fact, I’m in a group of business owners. And one of the gentlemen in our group, he lives in New York City, but he does business

[08:12] with Nigeria. That’s where he does business, but he lives here in New York. And we’re seeing people in Nigeria do business in the US back and forth. And so there isn’t necessarily a hard, fast line. But yes, your location, or we should say the people you associate with will make a difference. And then there are some countries where the government is just unbearable. Doesn’t mean you can’t be prosperous. It may just take more effort and more strategy to do it. Well, it is interesting when you look at the idea of location as it relates to the people that are also in your location, and the mindset and the perspective on life that they have. And so this is always interesting to me because we do live in a very

[09:06] small town. You could basically call it a farming town. And there are people right around me that have a different perspective on life. And I can choose to feel pinned in by that, or I can choose to make my reading and my watching habits and my listening habits enable me to expand worldwide, right? Because the good old web can get you anywhere in the world in a matter of moments and get the perspective and the mindset of other people. It’s why I enjoy doing the podcast with you. It’s why I pay attention to Peter D. Amandus. It’s why I go to Dan Sullivan’s strategic coach program. And those other literally other worldly influences, I guess, have a massive impact on my mindset, on my ability to get things done. And so I think this does location matter. I agree with you in

[10:14] that it does have both a yes and a no answer. And yet at the same time, I believe that in most circumstances, you can do something about it, which is sometimes including changing your location. And sometimes it’s just including changing your habits and changing the people that you listen to, the people that you watch, what you watch on your own time. In other words, is it a TV show or is it maybe something more educational or inspirational? And all of these things, believe it or not, you are in more control of than you think. Absolutely. As we wrap up this episode of talking about location, it comes back to the way that we think and act and the people that we’re around. And by people, you mentioned so well, which if you live in a small farming town or you’re

[11:17] isolated or you happen to live in an environment where maybe it’s not the most conducive, you have podcasts, you have books, you have YouTube, you have everything at your fingertips. And then when you do have the opportunity to break out or to go visit out, that’s even more sweet and satisfying of an experience versus someone being in that all the time. I have friends in the startup world and the conversations they have and the abundance that they have, they’ll come up with an idea and say, oh yeah, we can just go raise around for this or we can go raise around for that. Oh, I know these angels here. And that’s a lot different of a thinker in most cases than someone that’s in a rural town. They’re going

[12:03] to say, well, how could I get this going? And so changing up that stuff between your ears, there you go. That’s the location to start. Now that was a fabulous twist. Kim, it’s always wonderful to have these conversations. I’ve admired you being out on a farm and operating business the way that you want to and living life the way that you want to do it. And in many ways, I would say you’ve had to build this fortress in order to be able to share that prosperity with everyone else. Because if you were in a large city, say New York City in a high rise with all of these team members around you, I don’t know if you would have the silence and the time and the ability to think so much larger than you actually would. So some would see your location as a hindrance.

[13:11] I’m choosing to see it as probably one of the greatest blessings out there. I agree with you. And I’m so, so grateful for it every day. And for a call to action for our listeners, if you don’t have space in nature to get out into something as simple as like the Oculus Quest headset for under $500 is a virtual reality headset that you can put on and get into nature and have all of the benefits that I do for that work. And then another call to action is just your habits first thing in the morning. And it’s so easy to get sucked into the news or email, which is somebody else’s agenda. And I am guilty of it. Also, I have very specific spiritual reading that I do. And sometimes it is so easy to not turn to that and instead go find something else to putter with on my phone in

[14:15] the morning when it’s time for phone time. And I do make that second or third on my list, depending on the day, physical workout and going to the barn to feed the alpacas sometimes first as it should be. But again, making that choice, what am I feeding my brain with in the morning, thinking about what that does for me the rest of the day and being super conscious of it. So no judgment at all. Just look at your own habits. And if they’re serving you awesome, do more of them. If they’re not serving you, then switch them up. What a great book in for that podcast. Thanks for sharing that, Kim. And for listeners, thank you for spending the time with us today on this episode. Thank you for listening to the Prosperity Podcast. To take control of your money and

[15:07] have it work for you, visit us at partnersforprosperity.com. If you liked this episode, make sure you subscribe and leave a review.