Jim Toner on Finding Freedom from Your Finances

Jim Toner has seen it all in booms and busts, spanning his 25 years of experience as entrepreneur and real estate investor.  “I have had more than my fair share of both good and bad experiences,” Toner said for a recent Ideamensch interview.

The feat of Jim Toner was to seize the reins of his life and business, and “go from broke to a successful real estate investor, mentor, and success coach in only a few short years.”

In the past few years, the average American had a difficult economic period, seeing a new bout of recession, and the housing market crash. Just at that inopportune moment, scam artists and get-rich-quick schemes started preying on the investors aiming to get their head above the water. “Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people lost everything they had in their retirement accounts, real estate, or in other accrued assets.” A lot of new entrants chose an otherwise robust asset class – real estate, but made poor decisions, pointed out Jim Toner. But he also believes there is a best-case scenario coming along:  “We are entering a time of potentially staggering wealth accumulation. In the next five years, opportunities will abound and you will have the opportunity to capitalize—IF you are prepared!”

Attitude is Everything

Your most important weapon, your best tool to seize the opportunity, is your ATTITUDE, believes Jim Toner. This seems too obvious to be a secret, but attitude is often thrown to the wayside, instead focusing on hard measurements. As Toner explains, “Whatever side of the coin you were on was dependant upon how you SAW the economy. Did you see opportunity, or did you see obstacle? Did you see potential reward, or did you see potential risk?”

It may not even matter how much skills, or connections you have, if you harness the right attitude. To master this concept, Toner recommends reading “The Art of Exceptional Living” by Jim Rohn.

Your attitude will be a key component to growing your wealth in real estate, where there is always an opportunity. Many people blame the real estate sector for the financial crisis in 2008, but Toner supports the point that it was not real estate itself that caused the financial crash, but people making bad decisions. “Greed and corruption took the greatest wealth builder in history and turned it into the poster child for all that is wrong with the world today.” Even in 2018, Jim Toner is convinced the best moment is now: “There will never be a better time to buy investment real estate.”

Mentors and Masterminds

Surround yourself with talent and intelligence, and fuel your own growth. This was the path of Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison. Those driven individuals were not alone – they built a team to “utilize the full strength of the experience, training, and knowledge of others.” Don’t skip to explore the idea in depth in the cult classic “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

Jim Toner, raised as the son of a steel worker, imbued the work ethic that one needs to put in significant effort at work. After getting acquainted with the ideas of Jim Rohn, he realized he needed to work hard toward becoming more valuable at work. To that goal, he realized he needed to work on himself,physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  “When you become more valuable, you will always see a dramatic increase in income,” Toner points out.

Being in a good physical condition gives you the stamina to make changes in your financial life. Toner cannot stress this enough:  “I have seen many try to succeed amidst poor health throughout the years, myself included, and all have failed.”

Toner sees good health as a part of a business plan, a necessary prerequisite to a successful financial life. Proper diet and exercise bring about clear thinking, better decision making, and an overall improved attitude to life.

Laughter is indispensable to well-being, notes Toner.  “Physiologically speaking, laughter activates beneficial chemicals in the body that place you in a happy state and returns your body to a state of balance.” This contributes to a good mental health, which is an indispensable condition when setting out to build wealth. Keep a positive mind, and read the stories of successful people, recommends Jim Toner.

Quit Your Job

This is perhaps the scariest piece of advice for those setting out to build their own worth. But remember, says Jim Toner, when you work for somebody else, you cannot work for yourself. Working for someone else is actually bringing instability to your financial life, because lifelong employment and security are not a thing anymore in the 21st century.  “ This is a NEW economy and the rules have changed. Becoming an entrepreneur will be one of the most rewarding paths you will ever take.”

Brutal honesty is still key – make sure you do not wear rose-colored glasses. Admit it when you are broke, take count of the losses and continue onward without a false sense of calm.

Learn Sales

You will often hear Jim Toner say the mantra that “Life is Sales”. Selling is a skill that can be developed, a technique to communicate the three pillars of successful selling – people must like you, respect you, and they need to have a reason to buy from you. For those exploring selling, Jim Toner recommends the book Winning through Intimidation, by Robert Ringer.

Don’t Do What Poor People Do

Tailor your habits to suit the goal of achieving financial freedom. Gear every day toward success. Manage your time the way rich people do – time is your greatest resource. Take the most of your time with a tight and energizing morning schedule, for a successful workday.

Set healthy goals before yourself, so you always know where you should be going, and don’t get sidetracked. And don’t settle for small goals – dream big, and most of all, believe that success is possible. Without that belief, all tips, seminars and techniques will fail.

There Are Really No Secrets

When all is said and done, there are no secrets to success – just techniques to make you discover you held the tools within yourself all along. Jim Toner is skeptical about selling special secrets: “The next time you see some “guru” present the “next big thing”, or some “new” discovery….RUN! There is nothing new! It’s all about the basics, my friends. I know that may not sound sexy, but who cares if it puts money in your pocket!”

And when you achieve success, don’t forget to keep your integrity, and not fall down a path of dishonesty, even in small things. Jim Toner recommends to “always strive to make decisions that you are proud of regardless of what others say or do.”

Connect with Jim Toner: LinkedIn