Everything starts with a “Why?”: What are your dreams?

A message from our CEO & Founder, Joseph Chou

In my experience, if you are planning to do something – start a business, embark on a career, become an investor, pursue a hobby – you need to start with a truly defined objective.

Without a clear ‘why’, many will lack the motivation to get started in the first place. Those who do get started (without a strong enough reason why) are unlikely to achieve success.

Take property investment, for example. People may buy an investment property because there’s a boom, or because they like a particular property or because of stamp duty savings. But without a clearly defined goal – for example, I am investing to build a portfolio with a value of $X so that I can retire at age X – they are unlikely to go very far and will lack the staying power.

If you have a goal, then you know getting started is only the first part of the journey.

When I started, did I think I would build a multi-million-dollar portfolio, run a property company, become an entrepreneur? Not exactly! But once I did embark on my property journey, I did believe that it would be possible to achieve success if I worked hard and had the right attitude and learned from the right people – even if it took me longer than planned. I also knew that if I didn’t make it, I would have no regrets, and nothing lost.

People who achieve goals are those who have positive expectations; doubt can be a big killer of dreams. Even when I was a pizza delivery guy, I would test-drive Mercedes on my lunch break. You need to have that self-belief and that ‘why’ as your driving force.

They say ‘why’ accounts for 80% of success, with 10% for ‘what’ and 10% for ‘how’. Once you have the ‘why’, the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ will follow.

The power of dreams

Your goal as an investor or in your career might be driven by numbers, but a certain value of wealth is simply a way of providing you with what you want in life.

That is to say, the goal of “financial freedom” will mean different things to different people. For some, it might mean the ability to work because you love it – without a financial burden. For others, it means the ability to see other parts of the world or to have resources to help other people.

That’s what excited me when I first started investing. I was a first-generation migrant and just an interpreter back then. But I started with the clear goal of having a portfolio that would allow me to visit my ageing parents back in China. I also had a goal to be able to send my kids to private school and support my wife so she wouldn’t have to work unless she wanted to. Sharing money with my parents, brothers and sisters was also very important to me. I also hoped that one day, once I’d found a way to make it work, I’d be able to share my knowledge with other people too.

With this dream in mind, I set a goal to build a portfolio of $20 million worth of investments over a 10-year period. If I could accumulate my investments in those 10 years, it meant that between 10-20 years worst case scenario, I would achieve that future net portfolio value of $20 million which would be financial freedom to me.

But it wasn’t just about the properties, it was about using it for what I want to do in life. And I am so glad that I was able to do those things; when my parents were elderly but still in good health, I was able to visit them in China many, many times. When my mum was diagnosed with a terminal disease and only a few months to live, I was able to visit her every month.

My property journey helped me to do that.

Your goal as an investor or in your career might be driven by numbers, but a certain value of wealth is simply a way of providing you with what you want in life. That is to say, the goal of “financial freedom” will mean different things to different people. For some, it might mean the ability to work because you love it – without a financial burden. For others, it means the ability to see other parts of the world or to have resources to help other people. That’s what excited me when I first started investing. I was a first-generation migrant and just an interpreter back then. But I started with the clear goal of having a portfolio that would allow me to visit my ageing parents back in China. I also had a goal to be able to send my kids to private school and support my wife so she wouldn’t have to work unless she wanted to. Sharing money with my parents, brothers and sisters was also very important to me. I also hoped that one day, once I’d found a way to make it work, I’d be able to share my knowledge with other people too. With this dream in mind, I set a goal to build a portfolio of $20 million worth of investments over a 10-year period. If I could accumulate my investments in those 10 years, it meant that between 10-20 years worst case scenario, I would achieve that future net portfolio value of $20 million which would be financial freedom to me. But it wasn’t just about the properties, it was about using it for what I want to do in life. And I am so glad that I was able to do those things; when my parents were elderly but still in good health, I was able to visit them in China many, many times. When my mum was diagnosed with a terminal disease and only a few months to live, I was able to visit her every month. My property journey helped me to do that.

From Marriage D’Amour to Moonlight Sonata

Since first hearing Richard Clayderman’s Marriage D’Amour when I was in university in Beijing, I dreamed of learning to play the piano. Last year I realised that if I don’t do it now, then when will I do it?

So typical me: once I decide I’m very committed and disciplined; with the help of Youtube videos, and practising (and struggling) every day since July last year, I can now play six pieces including Marriage D’Amour as well as the 1st movement of Moonlight Sonata and Chopin’s Nocturne C Sharp Minor.

The funny thing is, on my way up, I dreamed of having a big house with a grand piano and inviting a pianist to play for my friends and family. Never did I think that I might be the one to play!

What I’ve learned is that your brain is essentially a computer. It will plod along in default/stand-by mode until you give it a command. When you do give it the command, it will find a way to execute the command.

Another thing I’ve done is started cooking. I learned how to cook when I was young from my mum, but now I cook 1-2 times per week. It feels nice after so many years of my wife supporting me and the business, to contribute to our family meals, and the kids also share with cooking dinners as well.

My next personal goal for both my wife and I is to go to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and be able to speak French. I learned French as my second foreign language (after English) back at university, and I am excited to pick it up again with a goal in mind that I can share with my wife.

While my first book “From Bicycles to Bentleys” documented my initial goals and journey as an investor and entrepreneur, I do continue to push myself to new goals and dreams in business and investment, and also personally. Since first hearing Richard Clayderman’s Marriage D’Amour when I was in university in Beijing, I dreamed of learning to play the piano. Last year I realised that if I don’t do it now, then when will I do it? So typical me: once I decide I’m very committed and disciplined; with the help of Youtube videos, and practising (and struggling) every day since July last year, I can now play six pieces including Marriage D’Amour as well as the 1st movement of Moonlight Sonata and Chopin’s Nocturne C Sharp Minor. The funny thing is, on my way up, I dreamed of having a big house with a grand piano and inviting a pianist to play for my friends and family. Never did I think that I might be the one to play! What I’ve learned is that your brain is essentially a computer. It will plod along in default/stand-by mode until you give it a command. When you do give it the command, it will find a way to execute the command. Another thing I’ve done is started cooking. I learned how to cook when I was young from my mum, but now I cook 1-2 times per week. It feels nice after so many years of my wife supporting me and the business, to contribute to our family meals, and the kids also share with cooking dinners as well. My next personal goal for both my wife and I is to go to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and be able to speak French. I learned French as my second foreign language (after English) back at university, and I am excited to pick it up again with a goal in mind that I can share with my wife.

We want to measure our success, by the success of our customers…

That’s why, to celebrate 15 years of Ironfish, we want to hear your own ‘From…To…’ stories.

Tell us what dreams you have achieved, where you have come from and where you are now, and you could win one of three prizes on offer.

SHARE YOUR STORY

What dreams have you achieved?

We always say that as a company we want to measure our success by the success of our customers. So, as we celebrate 15 years of Ironfish this year, we really want to celebrate the achievements of our investors. Less than 10% of Australians are investors – so it is an incredible achievement just to be in this elite few. But we know many Ironfish investors have also made great progress in their careers or personal lives as a result of the positive thinking, the long-term direction they now have and the association with Ironfish people. After all, you become who you associate with.

This month, we invite all our Ironfish customers to come forward and share what dreams you have achieved – large or small since becoming an Ironfish investor. It may be your own “From bicycles to Bentleys” or “From Mazda to Maserati” story or it might be something more personal; like learning the piano in lockdown!

To make it a little more fun, we will pick 3 winning entries from the submissions and have over $8000 worth of prizes on offer for the winning “From….To….” Ironfish customer stories.

We know building wealth is a marathon not a sprint; less than 1% have a net worth of $1 million outside of their family home – it’s not a simple endeavour. Many of you have already achieved this and others well on your way, so we invite you to recognise and celebrate these wins with us.

I look forward to reading your stories, and on behalf of Ironfish, we look forward to continuing to support you over the long-term to help you realise your dreams and goals. Thanks for choosing us as your partners in this journey.

To enter our Ironfish customer competition: “What dreams have you achieved” simply fill out the form on this page: https://info.ironfish.com.au/dreams

For full terms and conditions of entry see: https://info.ironfish.com.au/dreams-termsandconditions

P.S. Here is my progress on the piano – if I can do it, so can you!.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a goal to share my knowledge with others. Since joining the property industry, I’ve been able to share my knowledge with over 300,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and China. Ironfish has helped many people get started on their property journey and to me that’s a dream come true. We always say that as a company we want to measure our success by the success of our customers. So, as we celebrate 15 years of Ironfish this year, we really want to celebrate the achievements of our investors. Less than 10% of Australians are investors – so it is an incredible achievement just to be in this elite few. But we know many Ironfish investors have also made great progress in their careers or personal lives as a result of the positive thinking, the long-term direction they now have and the association with Ironfish people. After all, you become who you associate with. This month, we invite all our Ironfish customers to come forward and share what dreams you have achieved – large or small since becoming an Ironfish investor. It may be your own “From bicycles to Bentleys” or “From Mazda to Maserati” story or it might be something more personal; like learning the piano in lockdown! To make it a little more fun, we will pick 3 winning entries from the submissions and have over $8000 worth of prizes on offer for the winning “From….To….” Ironfish customer stories. We know building wealth is a marathon not a sprint; less than 1% have a net worth of $1 million outside of their family home – it’s not a simple endeavour. Many of you have already achieved this and others well on your way, so we invite you to recognise and celebrate these wins with us. I look forward to reading your stories, and on behalf of Ironfish, we look forward to continuing to support you over the long-term to help you realise your dreams and goals. Thanks for choosing us as your partners in this journey. To enter our Ironfish customer competition: “What dreams have you achieved” simply fill out the form on this page: https://info.ironfish.com.au/dreams For full terms and conditions of entry see: https://info.ironfish.com.au/dreams-termsandconditions P.S. Here is my progress on the piano – if I can do it, so can you!.

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