Line in the Sand
      Men, you have read a large volume of material in this blueprint, all valuable information full of energy and power.  At the end of the day it is just words if you do not put them into action.  As a builder of a wealthy estate, how do you know if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing?  You will know what you are doing is right when two things happen.  1) You are fully employed with all of your living expenses paid and you are able to put a minimum of $100 a week into a savings brokerage account.  2)  Your capital of at least $2,000 has started growing at 15 – 20% a year.   When you reach this milestone, you have just crossed over to being a prosperous individual.  This is District Purple. 
     The breakeven point is when a business starts to make a profit.  When you are doing the two things right you have just crossed the break even point in your life.  We call this the Line of Demarcation.  Sounds like a deadline.  More like a “death line”.   On one side you are living in the grey area not making a profit and definitely not growing.  Not growing, leads to decline and eventually death.  On the other side is District Purple where you crossover into profits.  This is the beginning of wealth, life, and purpose. 
      Crossing the Line of Demarcation into District Purple is about making a profit first then growing those profits second.  There are two Black men.  One went to Georgetown University and earned an MA degree in economics.  He earns $150,000 a year at a Big Eight consulting firm.  He rents a loft in Tribeca and attends all of the big social events of the year.  He has seasons tickets to Yankees games on the first base line.  His family loves to see him come around.  He has a life full of comfort and luxury.  Yet, he hasn’t crossed the Line of Demarcation into District Purple.  He lives fully in the Shady Grey Area.  He doesn’t save any money.  He keeps an average balance of $15,000 on his Amex Black card.  He barely contributes to his 401K retirement account.  He has $79,000 left in student loans.  He has a $1500 car note on a BMW SUV.  The college grad doesn’t own any assets.  He rents his dwelling.  He is in debt, almost drowning.  He is not making a profit.  He is not growing economically.  He doesn’t even have a money market account, keeping cash all over the place never knowing what the balance he has on hand.  He is age 32.  If he continues to live like this he will go bust.  In the blueprint, we stated mismanagement is the single biggest mistake of high income earners.
     The second Black man graduated from high school with a C average.  He works for the public works department with the city.  He also works as a banquet server in a luxury hotel part-time when they hold conventions.  He purchased a two flat at the real estate auction in bad shape.  He fixed up one floor to live in already.  He is still working to improve the top floor for rent to a tenant.  He has $38,430 in his Charles Schwab account earning on average 23% per year.  He still contributes $15,000 a year to this account.  He drew out $40,000 for down payment on the two flat purchase, so he used to have almost $80,000 before.  He holds no debt and pays for construction supplies with cash.  Once he finishes his rehab and rents to a tenant, he plans to open an online business working out of the basement, then he can quit his part-time job.  This man crossed the Line of Demarcation as soon as he graduated high school.  He lives on purpose in District Purple.  He is age 29.  He has grown every year and if he continues, he could easily retire at the age of 50 with a $25 Million estate.  The best part, he is having fun enjoying the journey.  Once he opens his online business in his own building, he will be doing his own thing, playing by his own rules.  That’s hard to beat by any competitor.  He is a District Purple Superstar.
      Most people think the Georgetown graduate is wealthy and they treat him as such rolling out the red carpet everywhere he goes.  What he doesn’t see is the carpet is wearing thin because he is spending all of the dollars he should use to produce a profit.  If he doesn’t curb his extravagant lifestyle and start building a bank for investment he will crash and burn.  When in reality, the high school graduate is the wealthier person by far.  He is using disposable income wisely, stacking every excess dollar he earns.  He is planting investment seeds in fertile soil and tending to his garden like a good steward.  He is not trying to impress anybody.  He is fulfilled and happy with the direction he’s moving in.  There will be no tragic endings in his life.  Compare this to the college grad running a 100 meter dash every day, who will run out of breath soon and tumble down a black hole.  The college grad is The Great Pretender.  As oppose to the city worker running a marathon over the long haul.  He is in it to win it.  The average C student is a True Master Wealth Builder.  Which one do you want to be? 
     It’s time for us to cross the Line of Demarcation and start a live project.  Let’s go to work and grow those dollars.  Move Forward into Prosperity!