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June 19, 2022

The Freedom of Purpose (Part 1)

Written by 

Jeff Huston
The Freedom of Purpose (Part 1)

In this blog, we'll unpack the Freedom of Purpose. We'll discuss how to define the purpose and what we should be focusing on to hone our purpose.

Jeff Huston, the Founder/Owner of 3D Money, has a podcast called the Jeff Huston Show — a nonprofit platform dedicated to coaching and inspiring you on your journey towards freedom!

There are four freedoms we talk about here at the Jeff Huston Show: the Freedom of Time, Freedom of Money, Freedom of Relationship and Freedom of Purpose. Today we’re going to unpack the Freedom of Purpose. I’m excited for this topic because purpose is really about what’s going on inside of you. People might think that it’s an external idea, but purpose really comes from within. 


Purpose is really about who you are as opposed to what you do. Who are you when no one is around? Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” 


I’ve mentioned this on previous blogs and podcasts, but when I was in a career transition a number of years ago, I was trying to decide what God wanted for the next chapter of my life. I was so focused during that time in petitioning God and seeking His direction for my life and what he wanted me to do. When I finally heard his voice, it was “Jeff, I’m more interested in what you become than what you do.” 


I set out from that point on to identify the characteristics of what I wanted to become. What did I want more of in my life? What characteristics did I want to expand? Zig Ziglar said, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” What you become is reflective of your purpose. 


I recently met with a couple of young men, two brothers from Spokane, Washington. One of them was just starting college and one of them was just finishing college. They were asking me all sorts of questions about personal development, career decisions and life in general. I really appreciated their interest in gaining wisdom. 


The fact that they asked great questions was impressive. I see many great young people on a regular basis that are smart, interested in life, engaged, growing and succeeding. And that was the case with these two brothers. When I sat down with them, they asked me how I got started in the real estate business. 


They asked, “What are the keys to being successful in the real estate business?” I think there was another question behind it though, and that question was “Why was I doing what I was doing?” I think they expected me to talk about how it’s financially lucrative, how you can utilize leverage, how you have the potential of using other people’s money and working with banking money as opposed to your own money. But that’s not what I started out with.


What I started with was another Zig Ziglar quote, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” So many times the focus is on yourself and what’s in it for you, when the most successful people are more focused on how they can help other people. And I know that when I’m focused on that, I’m more likely going to be at the right place at the right time. 


The first step to accomplishing this is to not focus on yourself. When my business partner and I were starting out a number of years ago and acquiring real estate, we talked to some other landlords and real estate investors. There was one person in particular that said something that was quite offensive to us. He referred to his tenants as “his animals.” As my business partner and I were driving away from that meeting, I said to him, “Let’s make a pact that if that’s ever the track our brains start going down, let’s agree we sell everything and get out.” Because we believe that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of their economic position in life.


Again, it comes back to the mindset of focusing on other people and helping them get what they want. It’s not a give-to-get thing. It’s just your purpose, it’s who you are — as a human being, as a man or woman, as a God follower. And that makes no difference whether you’re a real estate investor, a business owner, an employee, a home-maker, if you’re retired or working for a non-profit. Whatever you choose to do, do it with the mindset of helping other people get what they want.


Stay tuned for the second half of this blog, “The Freedom of Purpose (Part 2).”

The Global Economic Shift

By Jeff Huston • July 25, 2023
The Global Economic Shift

Will There Be A Banking Crisis?

By Jeff Huston • June 12, 2023
Fall of 2020, the Covid Pandemic was raging, the economy was shut down, inflation was 2%, interest rates were near zero, and the Federal Reserve was printing massive amounts of money. While the Central Bank printing presses were running full steam, I heard two economists make statements that seemed impossible to believe at the time, because the world was at a standstill. Chetan Ahya, Managing Director and Chief Asia Economist at Morgan Stanley said: “The driving forces of inflation are already aligned, and a regime shift is underway.” Paul Tutor Jones, Hedge Fund Manager said: “We are witnessing the great monetary inflation…an unprecedented expansion of every form of money unlike anything the developed world has ever seen.” As we now know, our current economic reality is quite different from what it was just 2 ½ years ago. Interest rates have risen significantly, inflation remains stubbornly high, and banks are tightening credit and hording deposits because they have massive unrealized losses in their bond portfolios. There are now legitimate concerns about the stability of the banking system. About the only thing that remains constant is the ridiculous childish gridlock that continues in Washington. I wish they would stop playing politics and start doing their job of governing. But I digress… I was recently piloting my plane from Dallas back to Minnesota. As I began my decent, I flew into the smoke that had migrated down from the Canadian wildfires. My visibility went to near zero. It reminded me of today’s investment environment and outlook. Visibility is currently quite low. Therefore, it is more important than ever before to have a sound, long-term strategy with a clear focus. Risk management needs to be a key priority. This is a good time for investors to do a fundamental review of how they are positioned, and determine what needs to change now to optimize investment results in coming years. Making sound investments has always been based on anticipating how the world might evolve. While no one has a crystal ball on making bullet proof long-term predictions, I believe many of today’s key trends and themes can be utilized to make smart investment decisions. So, while there are a lot of uncertainties in the short-term, I believe investors should remain almost fully invested with high allocations in real assets. This is your downside protection against inflation, a falling dollar, and an unstable financial system. The most important advice we can give you at this point is to set your priorities right. That means, first and foremost, having a very safe and secure place to store your wealth. This is relevant because we have been receiving increased questions concerning our current 6% rate. I recently had an investor ask me if I thought our rate should be higher since there are short term CD’s floating around offering rates that seem too good to be true. My response was that you must ask the question, “Why would a bank be willing to pay…say…5% for deposits whe n they are making loans at 7%?” That spread is not enough for their business model to work. So, why would they do that? The only answer I can think of is that they need more deposits to shore up their depleted capital. All this reminds me of Mark Twain’s quote when he said, “The return of my money is more important than the return on my money.” What to own, has really become one of the most critical questions in wealth and risk management. The recent banking crisis shows that investors simply can’t assume banks are safe anymore. There are great benefits and opportunities to be found when investing in cash flowing real assets. This doesn’t just offer more diversification, but it greatly enhances wealth protection as well. Additionally, we find that our clients use the monthly cash flow for all kinds of wonderful things, enhancing their lives and the lives of those they care about. If you’d like to speak with someone about securing your investments, we would love to connect with you! Gratefully, Jeff Huston and the 3D Money Team invest@3dmoney.com 320-905-3306

Chasing The Wind

By Jeff Huston • May 25, 2023
I’m mad at myself! I let myself get sucked into the endless news cycle again. I’ve never considered myself a news junky, but there have been times when I’ve been more “connected” than others. A few years ago, I made the decision to cancel all my news subscriptions except one. Since then, I have only been reading the Wall Street Journal. No nightly news, no magazines or other newspapers, no talk shows, no social media. I did that, because all the other news sources caused me to do what King Solomon referred to as “chasing of the wind” in the book of Ecclesiastes. It consumed my thinking and wasted way too much of my time. “Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is w earisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.” Ecclesiastes 1:4-8 NLT Reread that last verse, the one in bold print. Isn’t that an amazing summary of the 24-hour news cycle? No matter how much we hear, we are not content! For the past several years, I’ve been true to my self-imposed limits and guardrails in this area. However, a couple months ago, I cracked the door open. I’d go on YouTube periodically to catch up on the latest happenings in the news cycle. As I did that, I got caught in their spiderweb. They kept me clicking for more and more content…wasting more and more of my time. Thankfully, I recognized the error of my ways and quickly put a hard stop to it. It can be such a trap for me! Maybe it is for you too? In the book titled “Your Attention Your Property,” the author addresses “thinking about your thinking.” He says that we can step back and not only see what our attention is focused on, but we can experience how we are fully conscious and present with the particular experience we are having. We can do this at any given time , we just need to make a habit of actually doing it. We must learn to focus our attention, so that we can gain the ability to think about things. For me, the endless news cycle causes an emotional reaction to physical things, to other people, and to other people’s thoughts. When I’m in “the cycle,” I’m not thinking clearly about my own thoughts. I’m 100% focused on someone else’s thinking. When that happens, I end up thinking negatively. However, when I take back control of my thinking, I’m able to align my ways with God’s ways. My thoughts become aligned with God’s thoughts. It’s a beautiful thing. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart because it determines the direction of your life.” So, how do we guard our hearts? There are multiple ways I guard my heart, but one of them comes down to always making my contribution bigger than my reward. I want to spend my life being a value creator, not a value extractor. It’s why I love capitalism. The way I see it, there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that embrace, promote, and believe in Capitalism and those that hate it! For me, Capitalism has been the growth process that has multiplied my uniqueness as a businessperson and as a God follower. The people that want to lead us toward socialism don’t know what they are talking about! Capitalism is about Value Creation. Socialism is about Value Extraction. In 1800, the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say coined the word “entrepreneur.” He said, “The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield.” I love that. It perfectly summarizes our value proposition at 3D Money. Since 2010, we have been doing jus t that. Looking for opportunities to shift resources (people and assets) from a lower level of productivity to a higher and greater yield. Our investment focus on opportunities creating housing, jobs, and food, positions us for an ever-expanding future of value creation for our investors, our team members, and our customers. Once again, we want to thank you for your continued trust and confidence. Sincerely, Jeff Huston and the 3D Mo  ney Team invest@3dmoney.com 320-905-3306 P.S. About a year ago, we offered you a PDF copy of the book “Your Attention Your Property.” If you didn’t get one but would like a copy, please send a request to info@3dmoney.com We are happy to email you one (as a thank you gift from us).
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