Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2014. Its claim that Renters Warehouse is one of the largest property management companies in the United States is from 2014, and the company’s current status and name may differ.
Ambitious, lazy or crazy? That’s the title of an article in Entrepreneur magazine telling the story of a young man who was very aware of what happens after you die (you’re dead, full stop: game over), and so of the need to experience and enjoy the good things while you’re alive. He drew up a plan to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible so that he could enjoy life to the full. His plan had a very precise figure: “$7 million after tax by 27, and I retire.” He more than achieved it, retiring with almost $20 million.
Asked whether he is very ambitious, crazy or lazy, he admits to being a big fan of laziness. Personally, I’d say he’s a very smart young man who knows exactly what he wants.
Laziness, combined with talent and a clear plan, can help you build a multimillion-dollar business in just a few years. That’s how clearly this man saw it when he decided to put his plan into action.
“For some, this way of thinking could be very worrying, and if you’re not careful, you could misread this belief and turn it into an excuse to do nothing and try to enjoy life without making much effort: since life is short, let’s enjoy it. That is certainly not what it means.”
At 20, this entrepreneur started his own business, Renters Warehouse, a property management company that today could be described as one of the largest in the United States.
See also: The problems entrepreneurs face that business schools don’t teach you
“The business was very profitable, and with my self-imposed retirement goal hot on my heels, I focused on building a strong bench of people who could take over my company. That meant having a president ready to become CEO, a manager able to become COO, and a long list of trained employees hungry for professional growth. Having that bench in place would make sure I could retire when the deadline came.
By 2013, I had built a business I was very proud of and my net worth was almost $20 million, so on my 27th birthday I was in the Virgin Islands with my wife.
Telling people you’re retiring after just a decade of work draws some disapproving looks, because it sounds too lazy. But what people don’t understand is that retiring doesn’t mean handing over the keys to your company and spending your time between hammocks and golf courses. What about those who love the office as much as the golf course? I refuse to believe it has to be all or nothing.
To me, retirement means I can choose whether I want to work and when I want to play golf. What I’m very clear about is that designing each new day is a privilege for me. It’s a privilege you earn through how well you design your team and your company culture.”
What this man did is based on planning, pure and simple, which basically comes down to a goal, a plan to reach the goal and a deadline for reaching it. That’s why setting objectives matters so much, and above all, never losing sight of them. That way we tilt the odds of success in our favour and reduce the role of luck.
Further reading
- 15 habits for success
- The most successful people in the world have these 7 things in common
- 6 reasons we fail to keep our resolutions
Featured image: Fred Hsu ( Wikipedia:User:Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
