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Dear Reader, Love Jerry Ford


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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