I have put up many posts regarding financial successes and goals that I have achieved and there have been big ones, from my point of view anyways. Considering I came from being a carpenter/ cabinet maker, I can hopefully give myself a pat on the back for what I have done with myself in the last 10 years of my life.

Things change and when that happens you need to go with the flow. I for one am surprisingly not happy when change comes, especially when it affects me in a negative fashion. I’m almost 40 now and I seem to get stuck in my ways. I need to push myself in order to move forward. My industry is ever changing, always evolving and I need to evolve with it. If I wanted to remain at a place with no change I should have stayed working as a cabinet maker making $17.27 per hour, I would be better off. Yeah right.

Focus is the key to success, you need to know what you want and you do not stop until you get what you want, NO MATTER WHAT! What the fuck is the point of wanting something if you don’t even get or achieve it? Wasted energy my friends. The question really is what do I want? I have had so many changes hit me this years it’s pretty amazing. Where do I go from here?

Personally for me, I’m a fighter. I hate giving up, I have too much pride to quit. It could be a reason I hate change. I am scared of the unknown, I am scared of failure. I am in it to win it, losing at anything gets me super pissed, sometimes depressed. These are things I have learned about myself. It’s time to get back on track.

Where to go from here:

1. I have to set my alarm clock for 5:00 am wake up, every day people. This will give me ample time to finish what I need to get done.
2. A daily goal list of things I want and need to get done.
3. I need to continue pushing myself forward, try new things test various  projects out.
4. Don’t be so hard on myself. I know when I have tried as hard as I could. I did everything I could and other shit gets in the way let it go, it’s not my fault.
5. If I was making $3,000 profit per day, maybe today is different. You can only do as much as you can. Things change, find new ways to make that revenue. Think outside of your box, more money is waiting for you around the corner.
6. Real estate time – Prices are slowing in Vancouver and I am planning on buying possibly 2 more condos this year in Vancouver.

This post seem to go all over but I needed to get my thoughts on the screen, so I can go from here. It’s my own way of clearing my head so I can make room in my mind for what is coming next. I may sound like things are falling off of a cliff but in reality anyone would dream to be in the position I am. I am hard on myself and this post proves it once again. Some people are happy with what they have but I want more, why? I have no clue but I am in a competition with myself to be the best that I can be. It’s a never ending competition and the only winner in this competition is me. Happiness and sadness are a fine line for me anyways. I need to push myself to be who I truly am.  If I’m not busting my ass I don’t feel good, I need to sweat to smile. This is how I live my life, 100% or nothing. Onward and upward.

This time around public, I need to make them happen privately. Focus, focus, focus, the law of attraction works. I am living proof, even though I talk myself out of  it sometimes, stupid me. Negativity will kill your inner self, my inner self. Here it to reaching my goals…

I’m back in Vancouver looking at the rain outside and wondering why the f*ck we even came back to the “most beautiful city on earth” (Vancouver?!). In any case now I can focus on the work tasks as hand with no distractions of nice weather, LOL. Driving wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, 20 hours to get there, with a night in Boise, Idaho in between Vancouver and Vegas.

Now it’s to get off my lazy ass and make some money!

I don’t like not making my goals and it seems the last time I blogged about getting back to my $1500 profit per day it didn’t happen. Why not?

1. Part of it really has to do with me and my relaxed work ethic. Psychologically I think I am happy with the success I have achieved so I don’t work as hard as I should be or did in the past.
2. I don’t push myself like I used, the end result is lower income.  Another reason is feeling sorry for myself because I’m not making as much (stupid I know…). Money screws with your head, when you making tons of it you want more, when it comes in less amounts you get pissed off, angry etc..  Human beings are strange creatures, always wanting more and more, never being satisfied or happy with what they have already.
3. Lastly the internet is constantly evolving and changing and many opportunities that I made hundreds of thousands of dollars from in the past aren’t there. Competition comes in and pretty soon you aren’t making money. Google chances how the rank websites and your AdSense earning dry up and so on. Surprisingly I still make about $1,100 month from Ad Sense, from informational websites I built in 2003-2006. I haven’t touched them in years since at least least 2006. $1,1000 isn’t a ton of cash but I get check for doing nothing. Back to the changing Internet, I found loopholes in search engine like Google, Yahoo and MSN that allowed to get very cheap targeted traffic to my sites and made a killing for years. Most of those loopholes are now closed unfortunately, however the money I made from these tactics has been invested in real estate safe and sound.

I made at least 2-3 million dollar in revenue  from many, many loopholes that  I found that will be forever closed. I am very grateful for being in the right place at the right time in many situations for many years. I basically milked every idea I had as long as I could, and still milking some now as I write this. Being resourceful has helped to cement my financial freedom for as long as I am alive and my kids (and grand children) will be taken care of long after I am gone 50-60 years from now, for that I am so VERY grateful for! I feel like  I have done my duty as a provider, and it feels great to have achieved it.

Don’t count me out yet though, not even close. I still have some tricks up my sleeve I’m not going to slowdown and retire. I have too much energy to stop!

As for the local affiliate marketing I tried it with a local plumbing company, I made a website for them, I set up phone tracking so my client (plumber) knew that these calls were coming from me. So far from what I know he got 1 customer from it in about 1 month.

1. The problem is this, he doesn’t answer the call every time because he is busy being a plumber, if he calls a few hours later then that potential customer may have gotten another plumber lined up for the job.
2. I am paying for all the online advertising, so I get screwed because he isn’t on the ball!
3. Also some plumbing  jobs are just too small for this plumber to do, for instance changing a leaking faucet isn’t really worth it to him. I get 10% of each job, but it hasn’t worked out too well.
4. Traffic for local marketing campaigns is much lower than a dating site where you can target millions of people. For instance for this plumbing client, I get anywhere from 5-13 clicks a day. This is enough to get a job per day you would think but apparently lots of the phone calls are people asking questions more than booking jobs.
5. He has poor communication skills and takes him forever to call me back (many days usually).

I’m not too bummed out on this because I knew there were be problems that I wouldn’t be able to foresee until I actually had a campaign running. Local affiliate marketing definitely does work, because I track the phone calls the plumber is receiving. He is getting the calls but a factor of a few things really isn’t making this deal work out for me. Currently I lost around $250 roughly on this test, you live and learn. I don’t regret doing this project at all, I learned lots and I can use what I have learned on other clients that will pop up. I will be pausing the phone tracking as well as all my online advertising for this client. I wasted enough of my own time and money to try this out. If the client doesn’t want to put in much  effort then I have no alternative. I don’t like chasing clients for their input or money. There are way too many other people who would love an opportunity to have a chance at expanding their client base and only pay for actual clients. Whatever, you live and learn…

Watch this video below it is very inspirational Will Smith is the man he is a driven man, so awesome!!! He never gives up he would rather “die on a treadmill”. This is how you achieve success, so simple but yet SOO POWERFUL. He understands the universe and a crazy work ethic. AWESOME. This video sums up how I feel…

heading out on the 20 hour drive from Vegas to Vancouver

stopping for gas in some Nevada desert gas station

through the Nevada desert..

cool rock formations in the Nevada desert..

Nevada highway patrol

creepy little town in Nowhereville, Nevada USA

ditto

Once you get to Western Idaho, it all changes and looks like Vancouver…

cool looking winding road…

Almost home!!

This condo is located just down the hill  (literally 20 second drive ) from my own vacation om here in Las Vegas. which is kinda nice in a way. If you’re thinking of investing in Las Vegas the timing  could not be better, with the Canadian dollar worth more than the US dollar (last time I checked), and such low prices combined with people looking to rent because they have lots their homes it’s a win, win, win situation, for real estate investors.

This is an opportunity that will not be around forever, and then you will kick yourself when you didn’t do it. Easier said than done, I know however you need to push yourself if you want to get ahead. Nothing comes by watching TV, go out and make your life happen.

Action = $$$$

sincerely,
Cosimo

the entrance is located on the side of the building. My rental condo is right across from the clubhouse that has a full gym as well as an outside pool

living room

dining area

view of kitchen from outdoor deck area…

view from patio of Lone mountain…

view from patio of parking area…

view of kitchen area…

view of wrap around kitchen area (the stove is gone, need to buy one)

view of closet

view of bathroom in master bedroom

view of tub in master bedroom

view of the washroom in the master bedroom

This condo cost me $64,000, is that insane I think so!! Every time I think of Vancouver real estate I just shake my head (still doing it now)….

Since there are so many foreclosures and short sales in Vegas it can and has taken me months to finally close on this condo.The banks are swamped with work.  So now I have possession and I have gotten a local property manager in Las Vegas to rent out the place for. I’m hoping this doesn’t turn out to be another Winnipeg… I’m pretty certain this is the beginning of more condo purchases down in Vegas, it’s hard to resist when you can get such amazing deals. Rents should be between $750 – $900US a month, so it’s all cash flow baby, according to Jeremy (my property manager). I am not buying anymore places down there until I see how this first rental in Vegas does. I sure don’t want to buy  a bunch of condos and have them all sittingempty, so this one is the test. I have a great feeling and I have done my homework so  I’m certain it will be awesome but just to make sure I won’t buy anymore until I see results.

The Secret

I have been watching The Secret DVD over and over to help me get back to my healthy self and I can say it has worked once again! I feel great and I am working harder than ever to get my sales back up and they are showings signs of life again, HAHA.

Always remember, what you focus and think about always come to life, so focus on what you want and not what you don’t want! That is the best advice I can give anyone, who is feeling lost or depressed. The law of attraction!

Escalade

Also I am without my beloved Escalade, as the body shop fixes a few scratches on the front and rear bumper. They are installing new factory fog lights since the lens cover fell off both of the ones on the truck in the last year (don’t ask). Any my Cadillac emblem on my rear tailgate look like hell so I bought a new one that they are installing as well. That should make my SUV look brand newish again! I’m am driving down to Vegas (instead of flying) next month and I want it to look nice and new. I did the calculations and I should save at least $1500 each time I go, if I don’t fly and don’t rent a car when I’m down there.  I thought about buying a car but if I did it would have to be some minivan, and I don’t feel like paying $10,000 or whatever to have a minivan sitting in my garage in Las Vegas. This way I can have my own car down there and save big $$.

Yes’ the drive isn’t short, it’s roughly 20 hours but whatever. It’s the best idea I could come up with. Ok, that’s all for now, it’s 11:38 pm and it’s time to get to bed.

This beauty eyesore was caught in the underground parking lots Planet Hollywood hotel in Vegas, ugh.

I like my booze what can i say??

False Creek and the Granville Street Bridge

False Creek and the Granville Street Bridge

Cooking our food at The Stone Grill. They supply the raw meat and veggies and the super HOT stone seen here and you cook it. It’s kinda expensive at $45 a person for this type of dining.  I would rather just go to Cactus Club instead…

I have some ideas on how to promote auto insurance and everyone wants cheaper car insurance so I think the possibilities can be pretty much endless. I always try to think outside of the box, it’s the only way to get into many of the niches that are saturated with competition. There is always a way to get into any niche, you just have to be creative and NOT doing what everyone else is doing.

It’s pretty easy to follow everyone else, it requires little thinking, it’s comfortable and it is less stressful .Here is the problem,  you will never live up to your full potential if you never let yourself take chances. Being stuck at the same shitty job, might feel comfortable but every minute of it sucks I know all about it!

Ever since I pushed myself to take chances I have grown as a person. Being complacent comes naturally to most of us, taking chances and getting out of our shell and thinking outside of the “box” is hard. The funny thing is this once you started taking calculated “risks”, it’s like a rush you want to do it again and again.

Here is an example:

Real estate - I love real estate because it is passive income. Vancouver’s real estate went up at least 17% in 2009, when were in a  “recession”. Was it really a recession? Umm no. Nothing can go up year after fucking year, can it? Las Vegas is in a recession, Vancouver is not. While the prices dropped in  late 2008 I scooped up 3 condos in Vancouver, totalling just over $600,000 in total. A 17% increase on $600,000 is $51,000. I increased my real estate portfolio value by $51,000 just on those 3 condos!!!! If I listened to the news about the bullshit recession I would have scared myself shitless and not bought like most people. Think outside the box! In total my real estate portfolio is up around $250,000-$300,00o  (I’m too lazy to do the exact math), just from last year!!

Do yourself a favor, do your own thing. Don’t worry about everyone else, you are not them. You are your own person so think for yourself. Most people are sheep, it’s easy  and stress free. If everyone is doing it can’t be wrong, right? LOL wrong. If everyone is doing it , then it’s probably wrong!! Don’t let someone else do the thinking for you! I did that for the first 30 years of my life, and I got stuck at a shitty job as a result of not taking control and responsibility for my own life, never again! Being scared and complacent is the mistake everyone makes, and they suffer because of it, unfulfilled and unhappy.

This goes back to my first point, think outside of the box. In my business (marketing), it’s all about being creative and   thinking outside of the box! This week I’m not working too hard since my parents are here in Vegas visiting me, but I am returning to Vancouver on Friday and then it’s on!  I just reminded myself I need to write down my goals as well, so I can see what type of goals I want to achieve this year. Maybe that will be my next post…

If this post doesn’t make any sense to you don’t worry about it, this post is more for me than it is for you.

All the photos were taken in North Las Vegas, where I live…

Close to Red Rock Canyon.

imagine waking up to that every day scenery, would be neat (house is on left..). This hoe in near Red Rock Canyon.

Crazy color but I actually think it works well in this environment.

This is what happens if you can’t pay your loans. This million dollar house is now foreclosed and bank owned, and it’s half done! Right across the street you have the pimping house below.  I can’t imagine waking up to this eyesore until the market turns around, could be years and years!

I found these foreclosure notices posted on at least 6 doors in my complex, that means another 6 foreclosures from my complex alone. Las Vegas is in such a huge mess it’s unreal! Good for people who want the bargain of a lifetime though, but damn…

Las Vegas is the foreclosure capital of all the USA, this is the center of all the damage from the U.S. recesson. Obama was here just last week and pointed that out.

there are some really beautiful places (some foreclosed…), all are only a few minutes from where I live.

desert landscape, don’t fall on the cactus!

Anyways it’s interesting and cool for me to to see and document my own personal progression….

Enjoy the photos:

the first level is up…

view from backyard, garage form and house…

custom built 2900 square feet

putting up the tar paper…

contractor

stressing out…

the living room covered in paper to protect the hardwood floors…

in the front yard pouring the stamp concrete…

pouring the stamped concrete in the back yard…

and there you go, the end product minus some banana plants , railing and a few shrubs.

Also remember this:

Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and then wait…… My place cost me about $600,000 for the lot and to build it, now it’s worth $1,000,000!  Try making $400,00 at your job!!

Buy real estate and wait.

Time to make some breakfast, I’m hungry. Ciao…

For those of you that know me, realize that I am a man of sticking to my promises. If I say I’m going to do something then it will be done. I like being honest especially with myself.  That being said it’s time to do my goals, why? As I mentioned tons of times before I write down my goals here so I feel like I am accountable to anyone reading my blog. I  like the no B.S. approach is has worked for me so far, so I am going to continue.

Before I post my exact goals for 2010. I want you to read what my real estate guru Ozzie Jurock  sent me my by email:

“People don’t do what we expect, they do what we inspect with respect. New Year’s resolution type goals don’t work, because we have no one to inspect us. Your goals should be specific, quantifiable and measurable. Accountability is the key. For instance, what exactly does it mean when we say: “I will buy some real estate?” Make it specific: “I will buy an investment condo that cash flows by May 1, 2010.” That’s specific and measurable. And…put it in writing … and have someone inspect you. It works!”

Ozzie Jurock is awesome, through his newsletter that I subscribe to, he has guided me to buying cash flow properties in Vancouver, Prince George, Winnipeg (mistake) and now Las Vegas! He doesn’t know that he has even helped me, but one of these days I will chat with him at the real estate seminars that I frequent here in Vancouver and tell how much of an inspiration he is.

1. First off I want to lose about five pounds. It’s not very much, because I don’t really need to drop much weight at all. I am doing the exercise bike every day for 30 minutes and it’s working out great. I sit on my ass and watch TV while I am on the bike, so it doesn’t even feel like a workout really.
2. Real estate! Well what can I say about this? My major goal is to have $20,000 in invest income every month coming through real estate. I am just under half way there, not bad I know. This year I plan on buying 5 more condos, mostly in Las Vegas I think. The end date for this to happen will be November 14, 2010. Last years I said I would buy 3 condos and bought 4, 3 in Vancouver and one in Las Vegas.
3. Online income - Working online has enabled me to buy all the real estate I have, it has changed my life forever, no going back now. I blogged about how I made the $7,000 profit per day goal last month, well it has come down from that level. Honestly it’s pretty tough to keep the momentum going at $7,000 per day for months on end. That being said, I think a new revised goal of $2,000 U.S. per day in profit should be attainable by February 1,2010. I don’t know exactly how I’m going to do this, but the magic of writing down your goals, seems to get me super focused on hitting the bench mark I have set for myself. In this case $2,000 profit U.S per day is my new goal. I want this to be consistent, meaning it will last for months on end. I know I can do and I will do it, let’s watch it happen!

Remember the law of attraction does work, I am living proof of it.

front yard sunsrise, taken on January 7, 2010

back yard sunsrise, taken on January 7, 2010

1. Being that I am blogging from my a condo I own in Las Vegas, Nevada  is a huge accomplishment for me personally. In late April I posted about wanting to buy a place down here, it took me some months to get off my ass and come down here and do it but I did it! I am soo glad that I took the plunge, I love it here. It barely ever rains unlike Vancouver! This is something that I can enjoy with my family and friends as long as I am alive, very happy about that.
2. Reaching my $7,000 day goal!. Even though my earnings have slid since then because of reasons beyond my control, I did it! I know that 2010 will be even better financially for me because of my ability to adapt and deversify. I haven’t added up all my income for 2009 but it should be close $850,000  net. Obviously I am very grateful for that, and I expect continued success within the new year.
3. I have a great wife, who understands me, even though I can be a nut job sometimes. Her easy going atittitude and belief in me makes me stronger and confident in my decisions.
4. My kids are the best thing ever. It’s weird being a father and having little people look up to you, and expect you to take care of them in every way necessary. They are cute little rug rats that have made my life 100% complete. Without my kids there would be something big missing inside of me.
5. The drive and determination I have even surprises me. I don’t know where all my energy comes from, but without my high energy level, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am. I have a drive that keeps me pushing forward, and NEVER looking back.

Overall my life is 10 times better than I imagined it. It’s a dream come true.  I wanted to retire by 40 years old and I said that when I was in my late 20’s, still working as  a cabinet maker and only making $17.27 per hour. It’s still hard for me to sit here and be able to write that I can actually retire by 40, and I made it all happen by myself.

I’m not sure what else to say, life is good and I am thankful for every day. 2010 will be better in every way possible. I will be writing a goal post sometime soon, but I needed to post about what I was thankful for having and happening in 2009.

Here is the link to the NBC clip on their site:

“Canadian investor Cosimo Vero, lol.. Sounds so weird hearing that.”

Here is my video of the video above (in case they take it down ever)

And there is my 15 minutes of fame. If you want my autograph, just send me $5 with PayPal and I will email it to you, lol.