These resources will build your wealth – stage by stage

0:02Hey everyone, it's Rob B here with Rob D and you are listening to the Property Podcast. I believe what we've put together today is potentially life-changing. It sounds dramatic, but I truly do believe we deliver on that promise. I believe this is the type of podcast that you're going to want to save and share with others. We've put a lot of time into this podcast, but I think that time was well spent. You're going to love it.

0:30Welcome to the Property Podcast. Thank you for joining us. In case you don't know, we run a business that buys more than£100 million worth of property every year for our clients. You can find out about that at propertyhub.net slash invest. And in the course of building that business and in building our own portfolios, we've had a lot of help along the way. We've had mentors who don't know their mentors from the books and other resources that they've put together that made all the difference for us. And today, we're going to share them with you two. Veterans of the show will know we start with a news story first.

0:56And this week's news story is from Property118. The headline reads, and I like the headline, Rob. I really hope it's true. Buy-to-let lenders lower rates and streamline application processes. Who doesn't like lower rates and easier applications? I'm all in. Let's hope it delivers. Well, I think it pretty much does because one thing that we've seen a lot recently we've spoken about is that lenders are keen to compete. Lenders are in the buy-to-let space. They want to do business. There are more mortgage products on the market than ever before. So you've got loads and loads of choice and lenders are jockeying position trying to make themselves look attractive.

1:32So the Mortgage Works has cut their rates by up to 0.35 % recently. It says they now have products starting from 2.79%. You maybe need to put in a 90 % deposit for that. I don't know, but the product exists anyway. And also their products with free valuations and free legal services. So freebies, we like freebies as well. We've also recently seen NatWest and Principality cutting their rates. And you mentioned streamlining processes. Mortgage processes, I think we can agree, need to be streamlined. Anything in that direction is positive. And the article specifically talks about Paragon, who put some things in place so you don't need to keep sending them so much paperwork, don't need to send them payslips and tax returns.

2:09So I think, Rob, when we hear streamlined in the context of mortgage applications, we need to moderate our expectations a little. But it's probably going to be at least a bit better than it was before. So a bit easier, a bit cheaper. I'll take it. What a treat we've got for you. I am so excited for this episode because we are going to give you a comprehensive list of resources that are going to help you through every stage of your journey in property, business, and wealth building. And how do we know that they're going to do this? Because they've done it for us. These are the absolute best of the best, Rob, that we've collected over the last 12 plus years.

2:41And we're going to break it down by stages because there's an overwhelming amount. So we're going to help you zero in on whatever is going to help you the most. So whether you're brand new, you're on the journey, but you need some motivation, you're a veteran, but you want to take it further, you want to improve in business, whichever of those groups you fall into, there is something coming up for you. Yeah, we've got you covered in this episode. Like you said, Robert, it was a lot of fun putting this together because this episode could run for hours. I think the hardest part for us was taking these long lists that we had and picking what we believed to be the very best books, podcasts, videos.

3:15It's mainly books but we have branched out but making this the like the core list was really hard and it's nice because there's some in here that people would have heard of before and there are some that maybe I think will be brand new and never mentioned on this podcast and possibly not on people's radars so there's a real good mix here. Let's start where all podcasts should with the beginning and your beginning. You're brand new to the world of investing. What books should you be consuming? Well, here we've got a list of classics and they're classics for a reason, Rob. Let's run through quite quickly because I think most people will be familiar with these books, but don't write them off.

3:53If you've not read them in a while, maybe go back if you're new or just want to refresh. We have to start with Rich Dad Poor Dad. It's been talked about on this podcast a lot. It's been challenged on this podcast as well. We've even had the author on the podcast and that was quite a tasty interview that we had a little while back. We're going to link to all the Rich Dad, Poor Dad episodes in the show notes, so you've got them. But the book itself absolutely deserves to be here, Rob. It's a classic. It will remain a classic. There's people who dislike the author. There's people who like the author.

4:22That doesn't really matter. For me, it's not about whether you like who wrote the book. The lessons within it are timeless and important. Yeah, it's not hard to pick some gigantic holes in some of the specifics, but it doesn't matter because it has a motivational effect like nothing else. It's a book that you hear over and over again. So that is an absolute must. Two others I'd say are foundational that we've talked about before are the book The Richest Man in Babylon, which is again just the timeless principles that are really ingrained in you like right this is why I need to do this, this is what we're trying to achieve.

4:50And also Rob, a video from Ray Dalio, How the Economic Machine Works. We gave that whole episode of its own back in episode 393. But again helping you understand the system that you're operating within and also why you need to be doing this, why it's essential that you do this, because without wanting to sound too dramatic, you will be punished if you don't. It's true. And it's also true. You should be consuming Rob D's books. Now, this isn't an episode to promote Mr. D's books. He's a bestselling author, a Sunday Times bestselling author. So I always mention it on the podcast. It's not needed, but I do believe it's needed if you're starting out.

5:26Now, there's been a lot of books and we're not going to list all of Rob's books here. The one for me that's a must if you're brand new to this is The Complete Guide to Property Investment. The title gives it away, but it is, in our eyes, the complete guide. It's got all the core stuff you will need. Of course, there might be some fringe stuff that's not covered there, but if you are new to property investment and you just want a great education base, besides this lovely podcast, you should be reading that book, The Complete Guide to Property Investment. We've also put together a huge YouTube video running for over two hours.

6:03Rob I don't know how you had the patience to put this one together but you did and that's amazing for everyone out there this is a free resource sitting on our YouTube channel that's over two hours long to help anybody who wants to get started in property go and watch that if you haven't already even if you have started in property it's well worth it and of course subscribe to the channel all these resources that we're talking about today all these podcasts that we're mentioning episodes podcasts themselves they are all going to be in the show notes so you can go and write these down if you want but it's all going to be in there for you so you can relax enjoy this podcast and know that it's all going to be in there now it might seem strange that we've only put one property book in there and one property video in there we could have put so much more but for me when you're getting started so much of the learning comes from doing you could read books for years and know all the theory but in property so much of it is specific to how you're operating where you're operating what you want to do things are changing all the time so books go out of date and large parts of it are a skill as well that you build up over time so for me at least when you are brand new it's all about getting motivated giving yourself a strong reason for doing this in the first place and then giving yourself just enough book knowledge we can say to have an overview to understand the principles to put a plan in place and then going out and doing it and not just getting stuck in this research analysis phase for too long i agree rob and you've got a lot of property books out there but this is how selective we're being today that in this whole episode only two of your books got in but you were part of the list but you did help create that list Rob so we'll reveal your other book very soon actually and that leads us to the next section which is you've started but you want to improve and I really do hope that if you've started you always want to improve so the books that we've got here we have Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco and Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki those books really build on Rich Dad Poor Dad so if you've read Rich Dad Poor Dad great well done these are the next ones they are both on a similar theme but I feel like they do the next level and it's worth doing the part too I really do so if you have read the classic the original I would move on to these two next Millionaire Fastlane MJ DeMarco doesn't pull any punches it's quite an entertaining read as well that one so it's not just full of good lessons but I actually like that this guy has been there done it.

8:26And for me, really does level up on Rich Dad, Poor Dad. So if you're looking to improve, these two are definitely books that you should be consuming. And this is where I'm going to throw in the other one of my own. This is where the self-promotion ends for this episode. No more after this. But it's my latest book, Seven Myths About Money. And the reason that I think that is valuable to have in here is that it puts property investing into the context of your financial life as a whole. Because so many people have a strong motivation to start investing in property. And then you start doing it, and that's fantastic.

8:55But then you start thinking, well, hang on a minute, should I be doing more of this? Should I actually be putting money into a pension instead? What should I be doing? So in that book, I take your entire financial life covering earning, saving and investing and help you think about where you should be allocating not just your money, but also your time and your headspace. So I think that's really important for this section of the journey. And the other resource I'd highlight here is actually a podcast. I don't know if we've talked about this on the show before. I don't think we have, which is weird, but it is the Founders Podcast by David Senra.

9:24and this is a great shortcut if you'd love to read more business type books but you just never quite get around to it because david sendra has read them all so in this podcast he summarizes lots of lessons that he's taken from those basically take one of the greats of business all of their life lessons and everything else will be distilled into a book and then he will distill it further into a podcast and so you get all those lessons with very little effort so i think that is a great resource and it's one of those we don't have to listen to it from the start definitely don't do that but just go through and pick out episodes that sound interesting to you this next section the list could have gone on and on and we've called this section i need motivation or i'm in a slump this could be at any stage of your journey so it could be you haven't started yet you're frustrated or you haven't got the motivation you kind of want to do something but you haven't kicked on yet or you've started and now you're in like a hump part of that journey and you need to be lifted back up again hey listen this is not just in property this is in life we've all been through stages of life where we've hit lows or it feels tougher and harder.

10:22These books will make a big difference to you. Because this is so important to get people out of those slumps, to relive, re-energise. It was really hard putting this list together. We're going to give you some and all have been brilliant books for us. They've either changed our thinking, lifted us up, motivated us, made us think differently. First on there is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. There are so many business autobiographies out there so many business stories out there but the reason why we picked shoot dog is for me I love the story of how Phil Knight built Nike but more importantly how he nearly lost that business multiple times I can tell you from very much first-hand experience that business is not all wins it's super tough and the stats are out there most businesses fail I'm not trying to demotivate you here, but that's the truth.

11:15So it's natural that when you run your business, and your business could be a property business or an external business, there will be points in time where you're fighting to save it. Because the longer you go, it's just going to go through those cycles. It's going to happen. But it happens to the best of us. And it happened to the billionaire that is Phil Knight. He didn't nearly just lose Nike once. He was on the verge of losing it multiple times. And he dug deep. He found a way. He got that solution. And that's why it's so motivational. it's a great book a very different book but the type of book that makes you want to do 7 000 press-ups run 600 miles and feel unstoppable is can't hurt me by david doggins it is a real rah-rah book you cannot listen to this book and i do recommend this one you absolutely listen to because there's more to the audio it gives more stories in the audiobook than the written book you cannot listen to this podcast and go away and feel anything but motivated i'm actually scared to go back and listen to it because I'll probably sign up to a marathon after I've finished.

12:14It's that good. It is such a powerful, inspirational book. We've talked about it on the podcast before. We've actually done a podcast on the lessons from that book that again we'll link to in the show notes, but it's just a really powerful, inspirational book. It is. And speaking of inspirational, Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger is another one we've spoken about on the show before, but he's someone else who in a very different way has done seemingly impossible things and been taken through in the book, how he did those seemingly impossible things and his thought process at the time and how he managed to persuade himself that he could do it and that it was almost inevitable that he was going to do it.

12:48That was an incredible read for me. And if you are in a slump and you need some motivation, who better to turn to than a motivational speaker? So if you are in that position, I think you could pick up pretty much anything by Brian Tracy or Tony Robbins and it'll probably do the job. Rob, I know this type of material has been huge for you in years gone by. And again, is the kind of thing that's very easy to throw rocks at, very easy to criticise. There's even been a documentary about the cult around Tony Robbins, but it bloomin' works. It does work. And I believe I'm living proof of that work. I've not listened to any of their stuff or read any of their stuff in the last 10 years, not any of it.

13:24But when I was in my late teens and my early 20s, I consumed everything I could get my hands out of theirs. It really, really made a difference to me in my life and my belief of what I could build and what I could become. where I'm from is just very normal humble beginnings there was no secret path for me to success there was no relationships with people who could get me to the top quicker it was all my own work like it is for most people but your mindset and your belief system are so powerful and at a young age this recommendation really is for anybody under 25 you can absolutely go and consume their stuff if you're older than that but if you're listening to this and you are under the age of 25 I think it can make a profound impact and the earlier you get to this stuff the better because self-belief, belief that you can break out from whatever constrictions are around you in society so you're at a level and the people around you are at a level and often you settle at that level.

14:19What these books help you do is realise that you can keep breaking through levels and you can go as far as you want and you can find happiness by going on that journey. It sounds a bit woo, I appreciate it and as we get older you get a bit more sceptical and if I was listening to me on this podcast I'd probably be tutting right now as I'm a little bit older than my early 20s but I promise you that if you are under the age of 25 don't read one of their books read as many as you can watch as much as you can and reframe your mindset into a belief system that I can because when you start to believe that anything is possible and nobody can hold you back you become an incredible force and you can use that force for good so a very strong endorsement for their stuff Tony Robbins Brian Tracy whatever they put out there if you are young go and consume it if you are older and you're struggling with self-belief maybe check out as well but I'm going to throw one more into the motivation list and this helped me at a different point in my life and it was when producer Dan mentioned it when we put this list together that I had a quick reflection I was like in hindsight this book had a really meaningful impact on me and I've made quite a lot of changes and I in my life in a positive way and I think this book certainly was responsible for part of that and it's called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years it's a book by Donald Miller and Donald Miller is an incredible author some incredible books on marketing and business and other stuff but this book makes you assess your life and what story are you building in your life is it a movie worthy story what makes a good life story and not to tell to others but for you to look back and go you know what I've lived a good life and it came at the right time for me and I really really encourage you to read that book as well because I think it will make you assess your situation and go am I living the best life I can.

16:20Where can I make improvements? But guide you to how you can make those improvements and how you can live a life that is story worthy. Another strong recommendation. All right, so you're motivated enough now. Let's move on to the next section. This is where you could say you're a veteran. You've been doing this for a while and through property and through what you do for a living and whatever else you've done, you've got yourself into a good place. You might not have got to the end yet, but you're executing your plan. You can see that it's going to work. At this point, I typically see people wanting to do a couple of things.

16:51One of them is to understand the economy better. And for that, I strongly recommend anything by Lynn Alden, L-Y-N-A-L-D-E-N. You can go to her website, lynnalden.com and read her blog. For me, she does an incredible job of cutting through the noise and explaining what is actually happening, what's going on and where things are going, but not in a sensationalist way, not in a like, this has happened today, therefore you need to know about this this week kind of way. But no, the things that are happening now that maybe aren't being talked about, but are going to be the defining features of the next 10, 20, 30 years.

17:22So that's on the economic side. The other thing that people do at this stage, Rob, that I often see is get a bit philosophical. They want to understand where they're investing and where their financial life fits into living a good life and being happy in general. And for that, there's a book that you've talked about on the podcast before. Yeah, Richard Weiser Happier by William Green is a fantastic book, a really, really good book, a strong recommendation. It was one of my books of the year, actually, a few years back. It takes the knowledge of all the best investors around the world. The author's done a fantastic job to get the access to these people and brings it all together really nicely.

17:57It absolutely, for that reason, has to make our list of better investor books because the author interviews the very best investors. And there's a theme in the book as well that you start to pick up and you're like, okay, the best, the very best. There are habits, there are principles, there are beliefs that link them all together. So a really, really good book. So that's our better investor improve your economic knowledge section. The next section is improve your business chops. Now, if you don't have a business, stay with me, because if you invest in property, you do have a business. So whether you're about to start or you've started, that is a business and you should treat it like a business.

18:35but we also know there are a lot of business owners that listen to this podcast as well and I'd say Rob probably in this section between us we've read the most books and trying to bring it down to a shortlist was again very difficult because what we wanted to bring here is real actual stuff there's so much fluff in this genre like there are with many genres but what we've got here are books that will really move the needle yeah that's the test for me can you read it or listen to it, whatever it is, and then go and do something with it. Actually have it produce a meaningful change. That is the test.

19:09The first book in this section is$100 million offers by Alex Hormozzi. Alex Hormozzi has also got a YouTube channel. Warning, he is very American. But what I would do with that YouTube channel, if you're more into watching, is go and search by length and watch the longer videos because he's got videos of an hour plus where he breaks things down in real depth. He's also got much shorter stuff, which is more clickbaity. So go for the long stuff. But the book is great because to boil it down in business is all about the offer. You don't have something that people are clamoring for that is super easy to sell.

19:38And that's not necessarily the product, it's the offer. And that's a different thing. If you don't have the right offer, everything is ridiculously hard. And if you do have the right offer, everything suddenly becomes very easy. And he gives you a system to work through to create that offer. So I think for someone who's starting out in business, that is an absolutely essential read. A book that we've mentioned on the podcast before, and probably gets more promotion from us than anybody else is the ultimate blueprint for an insanely successful business title very sexy book content not so much but it's powerful the book is about the financial side of your business and how to structure it and the type of reports that you should be looking at real basic stuff like i can understand why the author keith cunningham went with the title he did because if he actually gave it a real title that reflected what was in the book i'm not sure sales would have gone so well for him but even with that said do not be put off because if you don't understand your finances then you don't understand your business and again whether it's a property business or your own business this book is brilliant Rob and I made changes to our business after reading it and we've been running our business for many many years when we read it so it wasn't like we were starting out so a really good book another couple of books that I think will make a meaningful difference to anybody building their business so you've kind of gone past that startup stage and now you want to get traction well the book traction will look after you by gino wickman that book is a systems book on how to run a business sounds a bit weird right how run a business but honestly you don't get taught how to run a business and this gives you the systems and the processes to run a business hold meetings at the right time what type of meetings you should be running there's another book by verne harnish called scaling up that's really good as well actually if the two the one we've done more of is scaling up but they are both highly regarded they are both very good you can probably get away with reading one of them pick whichever one you want but if you're really hardcore read two and even though we read those books many years ago there are still systems that we have in place today that we've used from those books so the systems work.

21:50It's not sexy business stuff. And it's not one that's going to motivate you to start a business. But if you have a business, they're really, really good books. Yeah. But if you do want some sexy business stuff, that's okay. Because I've got one final recommendation that is that, which is the My First Million podcast. I'd say for me, this is more edutainment. But the reason this earns a place in the section for me is that the two co-hosts and the guests they bring on are just so full of ideas. So they both achieve great things in their businesses. And they often talking about new ideas and trends and things that their guests are starting so i just love that for an energy injection a little bit of like wow anything is possible you could do this bigger or better or faster than you might have thought possible but all grounded in real experience it's not just theory it's like i did start this thing six months ago and now it's making millions it's at the moment the only constant in my podcast rotation so for me very much earns its place wow what a list rob it is a big list it was a pleasure putting that together.

22:46It was a labour of love. We really enjoyed putting that list together. Feel free to share on socials the books, the podcasts that you'd add to this list as well and share this episode. Not everybody is hardcore as you and wants to listen to a property podcast every week. I back you to win over most but this episode can help a lot of people so please go to the effort of helping others and share what we've given today. I really do believe that if people consume what we've given out today and recommendations, they'll be more successful. I really do think it's that simple. If you go to the effort of going through this list and listening or reading it, you will do better in life.

23:27I'm convinced. I can't offer a money back guarantee or anything like that, but I've not also charged you for anything. So I think that's fair. A strong recommendation though. We did not put this podcast list together lightly. We gave it thought, attention and love. And I really do hope you all benefit from it. Well, that is us, Dan. for this week. Thank you for joining us. I hope you found something in there that will make a difference for you wherever you are on your journey. But do make sure you keep the time aside to come back and join us again next week on The Property Podcast. We'll see you then.

23:53Bye-bye. Bye-bye.