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Short answer: His first lesson: wealth comes mainly from owning assets, not from income. When Mark studied people who had built wealth, he found their attention was on owning, or owning part of, assets. He prefers shared ownership with partners, and has also seen more wealth created in challenging times than in booms.
Lessons from Mark #
- Assets, not income. Mark expected wealthy people to talk about earning more. Instead they focused on how to own or share in assets. He still works on ongoing income, but spends most of his time creating ownership, mainly in self-storage, plus other investments.
- Shared ownership. He doesn’t need to own an asset alone and feels safer with partners: risk is spread, there is more brainpower, and different skills are present. He calls it his preferred way, not the only right way.
- Vision first. Results follow a clear vision before they follow action.
- Challenging times. Both storage brands Mark later sold were created during the 2008–2010 recession, while many people stayed on the sidelines.
These are Mark’s personal lessons, not financial advice for any individual situation.
Related answers #
- What determines a person’s economic value in business?
- Why do vision and environment matter for storage entrepreneurs?
- Why should you set benchmark returns before looking at self-storage deals?
Source: Mark’s post Five Things I Have Learned About Creating Wealth
