"Do everything you say you're going to do. Then do a little bit more." - Jared Blaudow

This morning, Illini Prairie CEO met with Jared Blaudow, an insurance agent with a real estate side hustle from Arthur. Blaudow always knew he wanted to "create something I owned". So, at 23 years old, he went to his boss and asked for every Friday off, so he could focus on purchasing rental properties. That took some nerve, but he proven he was getting the work done, so his boss took a chance and said yes.

"I wanted to do something for myself and my family, so I could invest in our future," Blaudow says. Those real estate investments were his first steps towards financial freedom - his ultimate goal.

His advice for us? Put your phone away. When you're working on your business, on your future, get focused. While you are working, "go all in". Without focus, you won't accomplish as much.

"The timing will never be perfect," Blaudow says. "You just have to go with it if it's what you want."

Blaudow also told us that people want to see us succeed. "Opportunities come from other people," he says. If we want more opportunities, we need to be happy, enthusiastic, energetic. People want to be around positivity.

Goal-setting is important to Blaudow, and he encouraged us to write our goals down, draw them, visualize them. But more importantly, to be intentional and not set empty goals, like owning stuff. "If you want something, why do you want it? What can it do for you, your friends, your family?"

Blaudow also emphasized creating habits and discipline. As Matthew McConaghey wrote in his book Greenlights, "Persist, pivot or concede."

One habit we shouldn't adopt is blaming others. There are the "Why me?" people, and "The buck stops here" types. Own your actions, good or bad. Always remember: "You are where you're at in life because of your own decisions."

In addition to the life advice, we discussed:
- ROI (return on investment)
- OPM (other people's money)
- diversification
- appreciation
- depreciation
- leverage
- loans, loan terms and interest rates
- passive income
- financial freedom

We also had a guest this morning - Mit Appleby, an Arthur Lovington Atwood-Hammond student who was also interested in this morning's talk.
Thank you, Jared and Cara Blaudow, for inviting us to your home and sharing your experience with us! Each of us walked away thinking about our future goals.