From selling Nintendo games when he was 11 years old, Damion has truly evolved over the years and is now the owner of Total Control Financial that seeks to disrupt Wall Street by empowering people to take control of their retirement money investment-wise.
Damion shared a whole ton of golden nuggets of wisdom that we’ve included below. Read on and truly learn from his mistakes.
Here are the highlights of my conversation with Damion:
Damion’s story:
Holy Crap!
Damion jumped from the insurance space to the real estate industry with the goal to build his Trump-inspired skyscraper empire. So he started buying houses and was starting to make every possible mistake under the sun. One major mistake he found was the failure to make follow ups. So apparently, he wasn’t driving any cash in until he was 30 days away from bankruptcy, 6 months into his business.
Hustle to Execution to Meltdown
As a result, Damion was calling people back and started closing deals. He bought 8 more houses in the next 30 days and got really serious with it. As he was making more money, Damion made further mistakes.
- No bookkeeping for 2 years (major IRS dilemma!)
- His ego got so big he can’t be told anything by anyone (not even his mentor)
Then the “natural market cycle” came in 2008 and he experienced a major financial meltdown. (Note: Damion senses the cycle is coming soon.)
What Damion would have done differently:
Listen more. Naive inexperience is dangerous so it’s important to listen to people who have been there and done that.
The Mindset Change
Following his failure, Damion went off the grid and volunteered at a campaign and got fired. Eventually, he surrendered to the truth and took responsibility for everything. He did the work to change
Do the work to change!
What work are you doing on yourself? It’s not just about you getting a new tool kit but it’s about you becoming a different tool kit. Shift “you” and everything else will shift as a result of that. If you don’t shift you, you’re going to get the same thing over and over again. It starts with you!
The fear of being vulnerable: Why people run from adversities and challenges
Our society is set up to praise the winners. We need to step back from the system and think about how we can get better and grow by stepping into those mistakes.
Learn from OPE
People need to realize that you don’t have to make the mistakes yourself. Learn from Other People’s Experiences. Leverage on other people’s wisdom. Find your own mistakes and then teach people from that stuff.
Inspiring Quotes from Damion:
“You don’t have to sell the luxury goods, you just have to be a world class salesperson at any level you can show up and just kill it.”
” A lot of times we tie our net worth for our self-worth. It’s just money. You can make it again. And then you get smarter, real wisdom. Not just reading a book.”
“Most people aren’t doing the work to change… What work are you doing on yourself? It’s not just about you getting a new tool kit but it’s about you becoming a different tool kit.”
“Shift YOU and everything else will shift as a result of that. If you don’t shift you, you’re going to get the same thing over and over again. It starts with you!”
“Probably the biggest mistake that people make is they go into things alone. Business and entrepreneurship are a team sport. It’s about your tribe.”
Damion’s Major Takeaway:
Think bigger. We all have goals. If you were to 10X your goal, what would that take? You’d first realize that you would have to shift who you are and you’d have to find people to start modeling. Once you’ve decided that is your goal and you’re going to do it, there’s something powerful about owning it and sharing it and putting it out there. You’re going to look crazy until things start popping.
“I may be wrong but I’m never in doubt. I make decisions. I act. I move. I make mistakes. I learn. I maneuver. I switch gears. And we keep going and never in doubt. If you’re in doubt, you stalled. You’re dead.”
Episode Resources:
Know more about Damion on www.totalcontrolfinancial.com/donald and check out Damion’s books including the Reinvented Life.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
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