Jason Wallis 🚢

If you're trying to suck it up and do it, you're probably going to lose.

Benjamin Hardy describes the fact that willpower is a limited resource, and generally not a good one. James Clear echoes that sentiment by showing how your environment leads to a greater degree of success. Hard things are hard, don't make them more so.

Here are a few ways to win through environmental design.

Don't have chips in your pantry.

I am not hating on chips, in fact, I love chips.

If you have chips in the pantry there's a chance you will eat them. If you DON'T have them in the pantry there's a high chance that you won't leave your house, run down to the corner store and buy some. Are you saying there's a chance?? Yes... but very small.

You've designed an environment to keep from eating empty calories.

Set your alarm... on the opposite side of your bedroom.

Turn the alarm up as loud as it will go and put it on the opposite side of your room.

This will increase the odds that you get out of that warm cozy bed to turn the blasting alarm off. By, then you should be awake enough to head to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee rather than getting back into the bed. Bonus points for making the sound of your alarm, the most annoying sound you can think of.

You've designed an environment that gets you out of bed on time.

Layout your workout clothes.

Layout your clothes and shoes, and any equipment you need for your workout, the night before

Seeing those clothes beckoning you like the siren on the shore will help you get to the gym or out on the road. Will it make you exercise? No... but it gets you one step closer.

These aren't groundbreaking ideas, definitely not original to me. The point is, by being intentional about what you want to accomplish, designing the environment will give you more success.

Remember when you first got out of high school, and there was a day when all of the other kids were back in school but you weren't?

It felt weird right? You had time on your hands, and probably were the "free-est" you've ever been. That was margin.

Margin allows you the room to breathe. Here are the 3 top places where having margin makes the biggest impact.

• Finances

• Time

• Health

Finances

Having margin in your finances allows you to give generously.

It's not only a biblical proverb but scientifically proven that being the "giver" is more beneficial than being the "receiver". Giving lights up the reward centers in our brain, the same places that light up when we experience pleasure. Having margin in our finances allows us to participate in giving without the added stress of worrying about paying our bills.

Time

Me: How are you doing?

Friend: I'm just so busy.

How many times have you had that interaction? We are only as busy as we choose to be. That may be because of choices we made in our younger lives, and now have to live with the consequences. But, it's all based on choices we've made. By scheduling margin into our lives, we are allowed the room to breathe, literally and figuratively. Another scientifically proven benefit of margin with our time: meditation.

Health

A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one.

By taking care of our bodies through diet and exercise, we produce margin in our health. When our kids are small it allows us to run and play and develop bonding moments with them. In mid-life it allows us to experience accidents without lifelong catastrophic consequences. In late life it allows us to enjoy our twilight years doing things we love.

Margin is missing from modern American life. I propose we bring it back.

I grew up with the goal of screaming "I'm debt freeeeeee!" I did that. Then I didn't know what to do next.

I floundered for a while not knowing how to go to the next level. I believe Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad should be required reading for those that have become debt-free. The problem is that he espouses the evilest of concepts, he encourages debt! Here's why.

In his cashflow quadrant he describes 4 types of cash flow:

• Employee - You have a job.

• Self Employed - You own a job.

• Business Owner - You own a system.

• Investor - You own investments.

My new goal is to become an investor.

For a long time, I thought that I was a business owner. Thanks to Seth Godin's blog on freelancer vs. entrepreneur, I realized I wasn't... I was and have always been a self-employed freelancer. As Seth notes, there's nothing wrong with that. The problem only arises when you think you are one thing, but reality says different.

Every job I took, I had a new boss.

Like any company some bosses are good and some are bad. I've gotten to work with some amazing "bosses", that act more like peers where we share ideas and create something together. But, I've also had the exact opposite. There's a saying in the freelance world of directing, that a job has to fit into 2 of the 3 Rs. Reel (portfolio-worthy), Revenue (good money), Relationship (good people). If you get 2 out of 3, it's a good job. But, what if you could get 3 out of 3? That's what true financial freedom offers.

Once I realized I wasn't a business owner, I decided to become an investor.

The investor is the most alluring quadrant to me. The idea is that you buy assets, that then cash-flow money that you can use to invest into more assets or live off. To me, this gets someone to true financial freedom. You have the freedom to say yes to the work you want to do, that satisfies you emotionally, as well as financially. And then he takes it to the next level by encouraging investors to leverage (use debt) other people's money to make huge investing gains.

I'm not there yet, but I see the way.

Jim Rohn said you are the average of the 5 people you are closest to.

James Clear said a well-designed system always wins.

If you want to get in shape and stay in shape, you have to have the systems to do so. I believe building that system around a community is the best way for long-term sustainability.

The community expects you to show up.

When people willingly join a community there's an understood and sometimes explicit commitment to showing up. When you have an expectation to show up tied to your goals - in this case, physical fitness, it increases the odds that you will get there. And getting there is more than half the battle. Odds are very high that if you walk in the door you are going to do the workout.

Peer pressure becomes a positive thing.

Once in the community and working toward a fitness goal together, peer pressure can become a positive thing. When you see your gym rival (typically a good friend you are on a similar level with), pushing their weight or reps a little bit, it will push you to join them. The caveat to this is always ego. Keep the ego in check, it's the thing that causes most injuries.

They celebrate your wins.

The true competition is always with yourself and congratulating someone else never takes away from your own wins.

The reality at this stage in life very few of us are winning competitions, and if they are, it's unlikely to be at a professional level tied to livelihood. To see your friend attain a personal record or place first on the leaderboard is worth celebrating.

And... it will push you harder next time!

Not only does having a community focused on fitness help you attain physical goals, but it also helps another very difficult thing in mid-life... finding new friends.

Investing in real estate is a great way to build wealth and hedge against inflation. Even with the market being crazy on fire right now, and prices hitting astronomical highs, real estate can be a great wealth building strategy.

Unfortunately, many people think they don't have the money to get involved because they don't have buckets of cash lying around.

You've put all of your cash into your home.

If you're like me, you've been taught the principles of personal finance are based around screaming "I'm Debt Freeeeeeeeeeee!".

BUT:

• Not all debt is bad.

• Wealthy people use debt as a tool.

With a little knowledge from the wealthy, I will show you how you can start your wealth-building journey.

Here's how:

Step 1: Develop a relationship with a bank.

All wealthy people have a personal banker, but that is only an extension of how it used to be. Everyone that had a bank account, had a personal banker. That was the day of local banks. Today most people think you can't have that because of the commoditization of banking. Not true! Find a local bank or credit union where you can be known.

Step 2: Get a HELOC on your home.

A HELOC is a Home Equity Line Of Credit. This operates much like a credit card based on the equity you have in your home. With the crazy appreciation of the housing market, you likely have untapped equity. Your bank will tell you the terms of the HELOC, but it's likely based on an 80% loan to value (LTV) of your home's equity.

Step 3: Find a small single-family home to buy with your HELOC.

Having equity available that you can use quickly will help you in negotiating the price of the home. Then you can wire the funds from that HELOC to pay for the house. That will allow you to close quickly and many times be the preferred offer. Do any renovations you need, and advertise it for lease. Make sure you run the numbers so that when you refinance the rent is 1.4x (or more) of your monthly mortgage plus expenses.

Step 4: Refinance.

This is where the magic happens. Once you have a renter in place, the bank will see this as a commercial property. You can show a signed lease that has a Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) that is 1.4+ which will qualify you for a commercial loan. With any repairs you've done, it's likely that you have now put equity into this new property. The bank will then put a commercial loan on the property, and each month you will cashflow the amount of rent that is over and above your monthly expenses.

You have to starve yourself to lose weight.

Many people believe you have to constantly have a grumbling stomach to lose or maintain body weight. Fad diets have littered the American psyche over the last 30 years. Many of them get results, but the results don't last or the diet isn't sustainable.

Macronutrient counting worked for me.

I spend a lot of time at my gym, but I wasn't satisfied that I looked like I did. The adage is true, you can't outwork a bad diet.

My first introduction to counting macros was through a spreadsheet. The goal was to count and record the macronutrients (Carbs, Protein, and Fat) in everything I ate. There was a complicated formula for me to use in calculating the macro content by size and approximate weight. I immediately closed the spreadsheet.

Later I was introduced to an app called Macrostax. This app made it easy and approachable to count macros. Granted, I did have to weigh my food, but the app helped make that easy. They also had a very active Facebook group that I joined. It's definitely targeted towards women, but it still worked for me.

This style of eating allowed me to never feel hungry or unsatisfied. I can generally fit whatever I want (within reason) to eat into the plan at some point.

Community made it desirable for me.

James Clear talks a lot about designing your environment for success. I use Facebook every day for my business. By joining the Macrostax FB group, while I was doing my work, I was constantly exposed to the successes of those counting macros. Reading about others' success regularly, cemented in my head that it was something worth trying.

Approachability made it do-able for me.

My first exposure to the concept was intimidating and confusing. The second was approachable and do-able. Having an easy-to-use app made all of the difference and removed the friction for me.

My consistency isn't always solid. I have seasons where I follow it closer than others, but one thing I know, if I work the plan, the plan works.

With my camera.

"You have 5 minutes to get the shot."

That's what I was given by the powers that be.

I enjoy the pressure of pulling off something seemingly impossible. And if given the opportunity I might add another layer of complexity for myself, just to say I did it.

Colin Powell was in town speaking at a leadership conference, and agree to lend his voice to our local education fund.

I live in Birmingham AL. Our local Education Fund had reached out to different notable people with a connection to Birmingham. General Powell's wife had a connection here, so he agreed to be part of the campaign to raise funds and awareness to public education.

There was an agreed-upon look that we were going for, so I shot that, and then something for myself.

When shooting campaigns, there's an agreed-upon concept that I am asked to shoot. This one was Gen. Powell sitting behind a red desk with his hand raised. As a portrait artist, I also wanted to get something for myself, that reflected my vision as a photographer. But, I only had 5 minutes with him.

Two completely different set-ups, 4 minutes and time to spare.

With a great deal of planning, I crafted together 2 completely different lighting setups in one room. I wanted to create a portrait with more drama to it than what was needed for the campaign. General Powell walked in, ready to do whatever we needed. He sat behind the desk raised his hand and we started shooting. Once we had confirmation that we nailed that shot, I switched channels on my remote trigger and asked General Powell to turn slightly. He lowered his hands onto the desk and looked slightly off-camera. Nailed shot 2. Once I was happy with my shot, I told him we were done. He was shocked that we were finished so fast. We stood and chatted for a minute before he was whisked away to his speaking time slot.

Gary Vaynerchuck brought NFTs to my attention. He made a statement of indemnifying liability, "Do your 20 hours of research." I had my marching orders. In November of 2021, I dove into NFT, Cryptocurrency, and DeFi, head first. I purchased Bitcoin a few years back and was familiar enough with that process, but NFTs were a new world.

I thought there was no better way to learn than by participating. Having been a professional photographer for a while, I thought for sure I could make some money.

I curated recent work, and past work, then posted 3 collections of 9 images each over about 30-ish days.

Here's what happened.

Nothing.

I had little to no engagement on Twitter, which is where all of the action happens in the NFT world. I posted regularly, and on time. I responded to any comments (there were very few) quickly. I tried to insert myself into other people's views, gently and kindly with encouraging comments on their work.

Crickets.

The old adage is true, "Dig your well before you're thirsty."

Ultimately, I didn't have an audience. Not here on Twitter at least. Twitter is the place where those that understand and are interested in NFTs hang out.

I cross-posted the images on Instagram, which got a decent amount of engagement, especially for someone who posts very inconsistently. But, on Instagram, the audience didn't really understand NFTs. There were a handful of people wanting to buy traditional framed prints, but that wasn't what I was doing.

So, if you're interested in the game, here are 3 things I didn't do, that you should:

1. Have/Build an audience. For anyone in the digital age, having an audience is the key to selling anything. Build it with kindness and generosity, giving much more than you take. When it's time to sell, they will be there.

2. Engage with others. Engage with others in the community that you want to be part of. It's simple, but not easy. Every time I comment or post, I feel like the new kid in the lunchroom. But, as they say, consistency is key.

3. Wait until your audience asks you to mint. Right now, we are still in the early days of Crypto. Currently, minting them comes with gas fees. On many platforms, you pay this fee, and then wait for someone to buy. If you can build demand before the NFT is minted, it will help sales and recover costs.

The truth is selling NFTs isn't all that different than selling anything. I currently don't have what it takes, but maybe this will help you as you consider it... Build an audience and the demand for your work.

I read a lot of personal development books. It's something I've enjoyed since my teenage years. Although I read a lot, I am not very intentional about comprehension. Maybe I should change that, or maybe it's the best ideas that truly stick. Interestingly it was the book, Made to Stick that introduced me to the idea of Commander's Intent. It's a military term for communicating the number one purpose for a mission. The Heath brothers who wrote the book describe it as communication to "provide an overall purpose to the activities of each soldier."

Here are 3 ways that can help you daily:

Work:

If you have any leadership position within your job, using the concept of Commander's Intent will help those under your charge to understand the main point of daily tasks. Example: "We will each send 10 cold emails to sales leads by the end of today."

Parenting: 

This is an area I have seen a ton of value.

My kids were always distracted by something any time we were trying to go somewhere. As they got older, I was able to distill the current goal down to something that they could understand and complete. Example: "Get your shoes on your feet, and meet me in the car... go!"

Friendships: 

This concept may raise an eyebrow when applied to friendships. But, we've all been part of a group trying to make a decision. Hopefully, at some point, someone takes charge and makes a decision. This tactic can be helpful in getting toward your goal of having a good time, or accomplishing something hard together. Example: "We are all going to make it to the top of this hike...today!"

I hope this helps in your communication today.

One last word of caution. As with any communication, tone matters. To take a military tone along with this military concept, might prove fatal. Make it fun, funny, and or engaging for the best results.

My first commercial real estate purchase was a small commercial condo in a re-vitalized area in downtown Birmingham, 2008. I had been searching for a place to house my photography business for a while but had a hard time finding something large enough to shoot in, and small enough for me to afford. I did not want to pay rent, I wanted to invest in an asset, and I'm really glad I did.

Since then, I have acquired 2 additional properties in the 2-4,000 square foot range and working on a 4th.

Here are 3 reasons why I like small commercial buildings:

• Easy to take down alone or with one partner.

• Tons of flexibility in usage.

• Easy to finance.

1. Easy to take down alone or with one partner.

These buildings are often in areas of town that are on their way back to main street USA, which puts them in a more affordable category. You can use them as an office for your business as the first tenant. That gives you a guaranteed rent. If it's too much risk alone, you can bring in one other partner that could also sign a lease, or help carry the debt load.

2. Tons of flexibility in usage.

Most cities are in dire need of small commercial/warehouse space. With a wide-open space, the use cases are very flexible. When building out our second property, we didn't have a tenant for half of the space. We started building it out with a wide-open floor plan. That way we could easily sign a tenant in retail, studio, event, or call center. Once it was 90% finished we signed a tenant.

3. Easy to finance.

Commercial real estate financing is based on a business plan or Pro-forma. That Pro-forma is based on your signed tenant lease(s). The bank looks at the amount of money generated by rent versus how much you own them - a Debt Service Coverage Ratio. That allows you both to see your profit ratio, which secures the debt.

The ocean is huge.

That's what I feel like when asked to write about something that interests me. In our first day of Ship 30 for 30, a lady was highlighted for finding her niche as being a "multi-passionate creator".

That really resonates with me.

I am and have been a multi-passionate person my whole life. In this cohort of Ship 30 for 30 I am going to try and weave 2 or 3 those multiple passions together to form a niche.

I can't remember where I first read it, but several people have written about the idea of taking disparate skillsets and combining them to create a category that one can own.

That's my goal; to hone in on a special skillset that few have by combining passions.

Here are some the rise to the top...

Music - I love the math of music, theory. It shows how music comes together and works. It also helps in the creation and anticipation of compositions.

Photography - Of anything I have done in my many careers, this is the one I think I am best at.

Directing Films - Directing is directing no matter the medium. It's ultimately leading a team toward a common goal in a creative medium. Creatives aren't known for strong communication, I think I could add value there.

Real Estate investing - This is what I've spent the most time over the last 2 years doing. I am starting to understand it much like I understand photography.

To be continued...

I am based in Birmingham, AL USA - it's probably different than you think it is:)

I am working on a variety of projects, which is the current challenge, trying to focus: Directing a commercial, vetting real estate deals for a restaurant I am a partner in, building a real estate investment portfolio, health & wellness to support longevity and a fruitful life.

There are several interests I have that I will explore writing about: Personal Finance, Real Estate Investing, Food and Beverage Investing, Ways for Creative People to make a living, Health & Wellness, Photography, Filmmaking.

A successful 30 days in this program would end with a clarity of how to intertwine my many interests and obligations into a unique platform.

@jasonwallis on twitter!