How Many Fish Do You Have? Learn the Secret to Controlling Your Own Destiny

I bet you’ve heard this saying: give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.

Some guy in China wrote this down for the first time centuries ago. But it might as well have been written yesterday, because it is still so true.

I don’t use those exact words in my books, seminars and training classes, but the idea is the same: knowledge is power. Once you have that power, you see that there is so much more to life. There are so many more possibilities than the limited choices you’ve been programmed to accept. For instance, choices other than being satisfied with the couple of fish your boss hands you every week or two.

Don’t get me wrong – the point isn’t just to get more fish. Read the proverb again. In the end, the man may still just have one fish a day – but he is in control of the supply, not some faceless donor. After being taught, the man knows how to get the fish for himself. He’s running his own life. He doesn’t have to rely on someone else for his families’ livelihood. And if he decides he wants to have more fish, he has the knowledge and tools to make that happen. That’s the point.

And that, my friends, is what I call financial independence.

If you’ve ever fished, you know that it’s hard work. It’s not something you’re born knowing how to do. Someone with experience has to teach you – and you have to practice, practice, practice.

I didn’t learn to fish after I moved to Florida, as an adult. Fishing is a way of life here, but I didn’t get much of a chance to learn growing up in upstate New York. Once I moved south, a really patient friend offered to teach me. He took me out on his boat week after week. I listened to him as he explained each step. I watched him prepare his line, bait the hook, cast it, and reel in fish after fish. And I clumsily tried, again and again, to imitate what he did. At first I didn’t get a bite. He’d show me what I was doing wrong – maybe I threw my cast too short, or reeled it in too fast. I’d try again, and get a little better each time.

I’m still not as good a fisherman as my friend. But when I go fishing, I almost always bring home enough for dinner. And I keep getting better all the time.

But it took time – lots of and lots of time, spent practicing, watching, listening and learning. I asked thousands of questions and probably drove my friends a little crazy. I read fishing magazines and watched fishing shows on TV. And I’m still learning, still watching , listening and imitating those with more experience than me.

This model, and this proverb, apply to just about anything in life. It certainly applies to real estate investing. No one is handing out any fish here. That wouldn’t do you any good, because it’s not sustainable. But we can teach you how to do it – how to find deals, how to close them, how to manage them. You can watch, listen, learn, and imitate my system. Then you do it on your own, and find the way that works best for you.

There will always be fishermen, and investors, with more experience. They’re not offering any handouts. But most, like me, are happy to teach you what they know. If you’re always open to learning, and you’ll work hard to apply it, you’ll be a success. In fact, that’s exactly what we teach at the Russ Whitney Millionaire Mastery Training Program. That’s how you get to financial independence – for a lifetime.