Archive for October, 2007

Last night, we concluded the last official meeting of The Investors Roundtable of Columbus GA.  It had a respectable run since March 2007.  Our small group (which had gone through some membership changes) made it to the end.  I would say that the success rate will be high.  2 students already closed on their first investment properties.  Another one closes next week.  And yet another student has an offer in.

Essentially, the students learned a lot and I believe everyone was a bit sad that this has come to an end.  However, everyone understood that all things (even good things) must come to an end.

With this ending comes an unexpected new beginning.  Plans are under way to re-launch a modified version of The Investors Roundtable in Colorado Springs!  I anticipate the first meeting/seminar will take place during the first week of December 2007.  An official announcement will come later.

It has been nearly 3 years since my business partner, Wes Weaver, and I last updated our professional photos.

Given our upcoming business plans and website changes, we thought it was time we updated our photos to reflect our most current “image”.  The fact of the matter is we have both “aged” and “evolved” noticeably in the last 3 years.

It is always a bit comical and disconcerting when people tell you that you don’t look like the photos you took years earlier especially ones that were touched up.  So, we are going back into a photo studio in Atlanta to get some fresh new professional shots of ourselves.

We hope we don’t “age” quite as dramatically in the years to come.  I wouldn’t put any money on this one but with any luck, the new photos will last us the next 5 years!

These photos will be used in our marketing and promotional materials as well as our websites and published products.

Wow, what a whirlwind two-week stay in Colorado Springs.  In some ways, it went by so quickly.  In other ways, it seemed longer where I felt I “lived a lot of life” during those two weeks.

I had time to re-evaluate things, get a different perspective, and stretch myself personally by spending an extended time with all-new people who have only recently come into my life. 

What I had intended for that trip was a “magical and life-changing” experience.  It has been only a couple of days since I have gotten back.  And so the full effects and impact of what happened during those two weeks have not fully settled yet.

Staying solo in a cabin up in the hills was really a great experience.  In fact, I want to do it again.  Getting away from what you normally do truly gives a person a different outlook in life and a shift of priorities.

Some distinctions I made are:  there is a difference between being motivated vs. being inspired.  Some “resolved” issues are not resolved as I thought.  Things I were certain about are now not so certain.

As an entrepreneur who have created a lot of personal freedom for myself, I realized how many people remained confined or trapped where they are at.  I must admit I have a greater appreciation of my position.  However, I also realized how easily I could become a slug and lose momentum in life.

And so, I am both happy and relieved to be back in Columbus to reflect.  Ultimately, I will fly back out to Colorado Springs to continue the journey I began a few weeks ago to build an all-new community for myself.  For me to make a stand and take a stronger position in Colorado Springs, it will involve me being open to the huge opportunities of meeting new people that will appear when I get there.

I am looking forward to visiting Colorado Springs again next month at the end of November.

It is crazy.  Yesterday, I got snowed in the cabin I was staying in on the outskirts of Colorado Springs.  My rental car was buried in snow as well as the surrounding areas.  The snow and scenery was beautiful but definitely a surprise.

I eventually got out once the roads were plowed but I don’t recall ever being trapped indoors because of too much snow especially in October.

Anyhow, it looks like I will be able to escape and catch my flight back to Columbus, GA tomorrow afternoon.

In moving forward, I have “retired” the scam-busting website, CobraCollectionScam.com.  While the site has been “retired”, it will not be deactivated or shutdown.  “Retired” simply means no effort, attention, energy, or thought will go into that website and the situation it reported on.

There is lot of negativity related to that site that is no longer relevent or pertinent to me.  And since it was a volunteer “public service” project in the first place, I have decided I have done more than my part.  The ultimate resolution of that situation will be in the hands of the Columbus Police Department and the follow-through of the plaintiffs.

It was an accidental project that had its purpose earlier this year.  Now it’s time is at an end.  If an arrest or prosecution is made by law enforcement, then I will revisit updating the site.  For now, there is nothing more to be done.

It is with a great deal of sadness, and perhaps a celebration and opportunity, that my friend Melita Hunt has launched her own personal blog, MyLeftLung.com.  Unfortunately, it relates to her journey with the recently-discovered lung cancer.

Melita Hunt is the CEO of Van Tharp Institute.  Van, a man I highly respect, wisely chose her to run his office operations.  Unfortunately, I found out a few weeks ago just after my plans to visit Colorado Springs was well under way that she had lung cancer.

I remember vividly how I got the news.  I was up at 3am (as I typically am in the East Coast) and this email from Melita comes through.  She was responding to a long overdue “how are you doing” email from me.  I had thanked her for introducing me to the seminar I attended in San Diego because it was a wonderful experience.  And when I get the response from her, it is so not what I expected.

I felt like I was punched in the stomach.  I have never known anyone directly who had gotten lung cancer and here it was, a young vibrant woman who has contributed to my life in so many subtle (and not so subtle) ways, getting lung cancer.  I can say that I thought it was so unfair.  She didn’t “deserve” it.  (That said, I don’t mean to imply that other people I do not know deserve it either!)

If there is anyone that can pull through this, I think Melita can.  She is of strong mind, heart, and spirit.  Behind the scenes, I had long considered having her as co-writer for my blog but it just never came about.  But now, I get to happily and with great love and admiration announce and support her new blog, MyLeftLung.com.

(If you are wondering why she named her blog, MyLeftLung.com, you are not alone.  I found out that the name was inspired from her “best case scenario” (BCS)  which was to give up and sacrifice her left lung.  Can you imagine that as a “best case scenario”?  Alas, BCS will not happen.)

I regard Melita’s new blog to be a motivational and inspirational one.  And so, any of my commentary regarding Melita and her blog will fall under Motivation & Inspiration category because that is what she represents to me.

I invite you to read Melita’s blog, MyLeftLung.com to get inspired and motivated.  I know I will.

I have been in Colorado Springs (COS) for a week now.  The last time I was here was October 1999 and so it is 8 years later to the month.  It has been a surreal experience being here.  Every day has been a discovery process.  When I am “home” in Columbus, I focus a lot on my business activities.  When I am not, I go into Atlanta to mingle and socialize or I indulge my introverted side such as watching DVD movies, PC gaming, or plain leisurely reading.

The story of why and how I came to “suddenly” decide moving to the West after spending most of my entire life in the Southeast will have to wait another day as that story is still unfolding and being written.  What I will say is that I have never considered Columbus “home” but it has become a very important place for me since the bulk of my real estate investments is there and that is where I launched Ascend Beyond Publishing, my publishing company.

What is signficant in the here and now is that I am planning on making more changes to my business and personal life.  As I shift, it is my intention to maintain my credibility and move it forward into new projects.

My core team and support system in Columbus is strong and optimistic.  They are supportive of Matthew getting a little “wild, crazy, and unpredictable”.  I think I have earned that right over the years.  It has been helpful that I have opened up to share my thoughts and plans to them.

I believe I have made some decisions as it relates to how I will live and do business in Colorado Springs while maintaining my corporate home base in Columbus.  But I am not ready to announce the specifics just yet.  And I may not do so in the near future as almost everything I am doing is a “work in progress”.

I am scheduled to stay another week but I may extend it to a 3rd week.  I will know better come next Monday.