Dear Reader…
On my book “Guns, Wealth or Drugs”…
When I
started working with my mentor, Bill, to get on the billionaire track, he
taught me many important lessons: the power of multiple streams of income, how
to generate passive income, and how it’s crucial to keep a close eye on your
expenses.
One of
the most surprising lessons he taught me was the importance of reading.
I can
still remember having that conversation with him. Bill gave me a long list of
books and told me to read one every week, take notes, and that we would have a
conversation each Sunday about what I was reading and how to apply it to my life.
I was
silent, thinking to myself that I don’t remember the last time I read a book.
It’s
not that I can’t read, but when I do read, my mind tends to wander less than a
page into the book. Can you relate to that feeling? I had tried everything: locking
myself in a silent room, playing music in the background, even joining a book
club. Nothing seemed to help, so I was not
excited at the proposal of reading, let alone a book a week. I finally spoke
up, “Bro, I can’t read a book a week, I’m not that smart.”
“Jerry,
you should do what I do. Try audio books. Listening can be a great way to
learn.”
This
was music to my ears—literally. I realized that all my life I had no trouble
remembering what teachers said in class—and could apply what I learned that way—but
I’d always done badly on tests when I had to learn by reading books.
I was twenty-six
and had never read a book from cover to cover in my life! Turns out I was a
listener and not a reader, but I had never figured that out until Bill brought
it up.
Whether
you’re a reader or a listener, reading dozens of books each year is a vital
strategy for building long-term wealth. It turns out that most CEOs—as busy as
they are—manage to read a book a week. If they could do it, so could I.
I left
my meeting with Bill and downloaded a book from his list. As I worked my way
through these books, I realized how much information was out there and how much
I had been missing out on. I had been letting the fact that I had trouble
reading get in the way of attaining knowledge—and knowledge is the key to
success.
As I
listened, I took detailed notes, studied the information, and applied it to my
everyday life. When you read something, but you don’t take notes or remember
it, it’s about as good as not reading it at all. If you read something and take
notes but don’t apply it to your everyday life, that’s also as good as not
reading it at all.
As
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said:
“To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really
not to know.”
Working
through all those books wasn’t easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is. It was
simply a matter of building a new habit, which takes an average of 66 days to
do.
Once
something becomes a habit, you can then do it effortlessly. You have to bring
just enough discipline to bear on the task to get you through those 66 days,
and you’re set. Don’t strive to be a disciplined person, strive to have great
habits. If your habits are in line with your goals, you will get wherever you
want to go.
I
successfully cultivated the new habit of listening, taking notes, and applying
the information to my life. My goal wasn’t to attain knowledge but to become
knowledge.
Because
I was training ten to sixteen people every day, the only way I could reach my goal
of listening to audiobooks for three hours a day was to do some careful
time-blocking. Time-blocking is the practice of setting aside explicit blocks
of time for specific tasks and making those tasks the priority for that time
period.
During
each time block, it’s best to turn off your phones and other devices; supply
yourself with water and snacks; and cut yourself off from the outside world to
avoid the possibility of interruptions. All of this gives your brain a chance
to function at the max and your smart and creative ideas to flow effortlessly.
Most
importantly, time-blocking gives you time to work on your goal.
Give
your task time and you will give it life. As Gary Keller, the author of The
One Thing, says, “Time on a task, over time, eventually beats talent every
time.”
My own
plan was to schedule one-hour slots throughout the day to listen to books. My
first training session is usually at 5:00 a.m. so I
started getting up at 3:50 a.m. and
listening for one hour before work. My next listening slot was during lunch at noon, when I listened for another hour as I ate. My next slot
was at 8:00
p.m., after dinner.
I’m
not going to lie; at first my brain hurt from all the new information going in.
But, just as I train my physical muscles, I had to do the same for my brain.
Just like my physical muscles, the more I worked my brain by listening and
reading, the stronger it became.
Weeks
went by as I read, studied, talked to Bill about what I was reading, and
applied as many of the timeless principles I was learning as I could. The
process actually became fun once I accepted the fact that there would always be
more to learn.
About the Author
Jerry Ford is a Detroit native
who grew up in the ghetto. He has been involved in and witnessed everything
from gun violence to drug trafficking and addiction, jail, gang life, and
murder. At age fourteen, Jerry’s brother, Sam, was murdered on their mother’s
birthday. At age seventeen, Jerry’s best friend, Steven, was also murdered. The
list goes on. One of the ways Jerry channeled his anger was through martial
arts; he became a black belt in multiple styles and received gold medals in the
Junior Olympics and other world-respected tournaments.
Jerry received his Bachelor’s
degree from Rutgers University. Immediately after college, he started his
career as a personal-fitness trainer at New York Health & Racquet Clubs,
and soon became one of the company’s top trainers. Having established himself
as a fitness professional in New York City, Jerry moved Los Angeles, where he
became a top trainer at Equinox. After mastering the science of human
engineering, Jerry parted ways with Equinox to launch his own private training
business. His clients currently include high-net-worth individuals,
celebrities, royal family members, fighters, and a variety of other
tastemakers. While still based in Los Angeles, he travels nationally and
internationally to train clients.
Jerry is also an investor in
stocks, real estate, television and film properties, and anything else he
believes to be worth the risk. This is his first book, and he wrote it to help
others walk their own paths to success.
Visit him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/realjerryford.
About the Book:
Author and Celebrity Personal
Trainer Jerry Ford has authored a powerful, painfully honest book entitled
GUNS, DRUGS, OR WEALTH as a help and inspiration to others who also seek
personal wealth and independence.
Said Jerry Ford: “ ‘Guns,
Drugs, or Wealth’ is about how I went from the hard streets of Detroit to
building wealth through stocks, real estate and smart spending. I share with my
readers how I began to build my wealth as a personal trainer. As I wrote this
book, I imagined myself having a front porch casual conversation with my
readers. This how-to guide on building wealth will not only teach people how to
build wealth, but it’s written in layman’s terms. The genres of this book are
business, inspiration, and self-help.”
Mr. Ford’s book tells all that
he has learned, offering readers specific, tried-and-true tools for building
wealth by creating three streams of income: (1) passive income (through
real-estate investing), (2) portfolio income (through stock market investing),
and (3) earned income (through hard work and smart spending).
As a personal trainer, Jerry Ford has worked with many, many “big name”
clients, including rapper Big Sean to musical artist MoBeatz. One special trip
led to Ford becoming an author. “I was traveling with Big Sean and MoBeatz and
decided to journal a few hours a day on the trip. A few hours turned into
many…and two months later I had created the manuscript for my book.”
A tragedy earlier in his life
also drove Jerry to pull himself up from a hard life in his native Detroit and
build a life for himself as a personal wealth coach and trainer. “My brother
Sam was murdered…I miss him every day. He inspires me to get out of bed and go
as hard as possible in life every day…I feel like I am living for two people
instead of just one, myself.”
“Being an author was never a
plan,” asserted Jerry. “I knew I needed to figure out a way to help the eighty
percent of America who are poor or middle class. I knew that I needed to help
the three billion people on the planet who are really poor. Of course this book
doesn’t make up for the world’s educational flaws, but it’s a start. Schools
don’t teach people how to build wealth.”
Praise for Jerry Ford and His Method
"Jerry traveled across the globe to train me. He goes hard in fitness and in life!"
--Alisha Boe, actress best known for 13 Reasons Why on Netflix
"I am inspired by Jerry's principles of building wealth through real estate and stock market investments as well as entrepreneurship. With multiple streams of income, the sky is the limit when it comes to potential earning power. This book is here to help!"
--Adrienne C. Moore, actress best known for Orange Is the New
Black on Netflix
"Jerry is a beast, and I can totally understand why. Coming from our city, it's life or death."
--Dj Mo Beatz, best known as Big Sean's official DJ
"Jerry is not only a trainer; he's an entrepreneur. He has come up with incredibly creative ways to service his high-end clientele. Not only do I enjoy working with Jerry--he's great to hang out with."
--Marc Webb, film and television producer
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