Tom Burns's Linkedin Analytics

Is a 9% tax-free return with no guesswork possible? Most people would walk right past it. ↓ I had a call with a young doctor. He had: → $140K in home equity → $260K in student loans, some at 9% His question: “Should I invest the equity… or pay off the debt?” Now, I love investing. I’m a cash flow guy. But I asked him: Where else are you getting 9%, tax-free, guaranteed? Silence. Here’s the truth: Sometimes the best “investment” isn’t a stock, fund, or property. It’s eliminating bad debt, the kind that bleeds cash and compounds stress. When you pay off high-interest debt, you get: — A guaranteed return — No volatility — Lower risk — Immediate peace of mind ➔ No spreadsheets ➔ No market swings ➔ Just more margin in life Sometimes it makes sense to clear the weight first. Then build wealth from a position of strength. What’s one piece of bad debt you’d love to wipe out first? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Don’t just sit there! Start small. Then keep going. ↓ The first property I bought? It made maybe $100–$200/month in passive income. Not life-changing. But it felt like it. That little drip of cash flow flipped a switch in my brain. ➔ It was addictive. ➔ So I kept going. Then something interesting happened.  Momentum took over. Here’s what changed: ➔ Sellers and brokers started bringing me deals, because I’d close. ➔ Partners started showing up because I had proof of action. It stopped being “buy one.” ➔ Now I sometimes buy 40 at a time. That first little deal? It didn’t change my life financially. But it changed the way I thought. And that changed EVERYTHING. Big moves start with small wins. But only if you keep going. What was the first small win that made you believe this path was real? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

The untold secret to winning big in real estate? Let inflation do the heavy lifting. ↓ Inflation isn’t the enemy, it’s actually your ally. But only if you’re in your real estate at the right numbers. This is where most investors miss it. They’re betting on: → market heat → momentum → or plain luck That’s not a strategy. Whether you’re buying or building, the math has to make sense today, not based on what might happen tomorrow. ✔ Underwrite it right ✔ Stress test the deal ✖️ Don’t count on the wind at your back Inflation will work for you, but only if your numbers already do. How are you protecting your next deal from hope-based math? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter and receive my $299 Rich Life Toolkit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Markets change, but winners don’t. Here’s their hidden edge. ↓ ➔ One quarter it’s AI. ➔ The next it’s oil. ➔ Then it’s multifamily, mobile home parks, crypto… Strategies shift. But one thing stays the same: ➔ The winners are always backed by world-class relationships. Because the real leverage? It’s not the market. It’s who you’re in the trenches with. Top investors don’t just underwrite deals.  They underwrite people. When things go sideways (and they always do)… ➔ It’s not the spreadsheet that saves you ➔ It’s the operator who picks up the phone ➔ It’s the partner who doesn’t panic That’s why I believe in building your Personal Board of Advisors: ➔ Informal ➔ Intentional ➔ High-quality inputs only Your circle becomes your shortcut. Your network becomes your margin of safety. Your people become your unfair advantage. Who’s in your corner right now? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

One person gets 100x the output. This is the new game. ↓ Things are about to change… fast. Naval Ravikant broke it down years ago. There are 4 types of leverage changing the world: → Labor → Capital → Code → Media Most people are still playing the old game: – Trade time for money – Climb the corporate ladder – Work harder to earn more But today, you’re not competing against people. You’re competing against leverage. → One person with the right tools can outperform 100 without them. → Write a piece of code once, and it works for you forever. → Record one video and it earns for years. The new game looks like this: – Leverage code to automate – Leverage media to scale – Leverage capital to grow – Leverage labor to multiply The gap between those who do and those who don’t? It’s widening fast. Choose your leverage wisely. Because soon, not using it… will cost you more than ever. Which type of leverage are you building right now? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Toolkit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Chasing freedom is burning you out. Here’s why it’s not working. ↓ Everyone wants financial freedom, but almost no one defines what it really means. We say we want “freedom,” but is it: → Time freedom? → Location freedom? → Creative freedom? → Or just freedom from stress and uncertainty? Until you define it, you can’t build it. You can’t measure it, and you definitely can’t design a plan to reach it. Here’s what I’ll explore in tomorrow’s newsletter: – Why “freedom” is often just a vague placeholder, and how to give it shape. – The hidden costs of chasing the wrong kind of freedom. – A simple framework to uncover your personal freedom metrics. – How clarity turns fuzzy dreams into focused, trackable outcomes. Tomorrow, I’ll show thousands of subscribers how to define and design their version of freedom so it stops being a wish and starts becoming a plan. If you want to join us, the link is in the comments. ↓ So tell me... What does freedom look like for you?

Slow down to scale up. Your edge isn’t where you think it is. ↓ Ever notice how your best ideas come in the shower, on a hike, or halfway through a lazy morning coffee? Turns out, there’s real science behind that stillness, and it might be the secret weapon you’ve been ignoring. Here’s what we’ll touch on in tomorrow's newsletter. → The hidden cost of constant “productivity” → Why your brain needs boredom to innovate → The surprising neuroscience behind walking and insight → What Special Forces, Tim Ferriss, and vineyard strolls have in common → How to shift from “always on” to “strategically still” Tomorrow, I’m showing thousands of subscribers how to slow down just enough to unlock: – Faster growth – Deeper focus – Sharper ideas Where do your best ideas usually show up when you're grinding or when you're still? Want to join us and get the newsletter? The link is in the comments. ↓

Don’t be fooled by a “great” cap rate. It’s not telling you the whole story. ↓ I was deep in a spreadsheet last week when a red flag jumped out at me. The cap rate looked too good to be true. On paper, everything worked: → NOI was strong → Upside looked sexy → Cap rate was juicy But that’s exactly the problem. Cap rate is deceptively simple. It’s a shortcut, not a full valuation tool. If your NOI is: – Inflated with pro forma numbers – Forward-looking instead of current – Missing key expenses ...then your cap rate is lying to you. Most investors learn this the hard way. Luckily, I caught it before we wrote a check. Lesson: → Cap rate ≠ reality → Context is king. What hidden metrics do you use to pressure-test deals? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

It's always nice to talk to someone who shares the passion to help others live richer lives.

This one number could ruin your entire deal. Most investors never see it coming. ↓ They think they’ve got cap rate math figured out. But if you’re not factoring in this one thing, your entire model could be off from day one.  Here's what I'm discussing in tomorrow's newsletter: ➔ The cap-rate shortcut most investors rely on ➔ A subtle cost that warps your whole model ➔ Why sponsors love glossy pitch decks (and what they leave out) ➔ The simplest math check to avoid negative leverage It only takes one bad assumption to throw everything off, especially in today’s high-rate environment. As an example, a deal advertised as a “10% cap” might actually be bleeding cash. Want the full breakdown? Tomorrow, I’m showing thousands of subscribers how to spot the trap before they wire a dollar, and how to structure deals that actually cash flow. The link is in the comments. ↓

They had money but no freedom. I paid attention to the pattern. ↓ In med school, I looked up to the surgeons ahead of me. But when I studied their lives, not just their careers, the pattern was clear: ➔ Burned out ➔ No time freedom ➔ Second or third marriages ➔ Regret about missing life’s best moments On the surface, they had it all.  Underneath, many were quietly miserable. I realized I didn’t want their version of success. I loved orthopedics, but I needed leverage. A path to both wealth and freedom. So I built one. Here’s what I learned: ➔ The right investments work 24/7 ➔ They compound while you sleep ➔ And they don’t need your permission to grow Even when you’re in the OR or office, your net worth can be moving. The numbers still don’t lie, but now they work for me. What pattern are you following, and where is it taking you? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Still drowning in busywork? You’re not alone. But here’s how to flip it. ↓ Most high earners are still trapped in an employee mindset. They do more… instead of doing what matters more. Here’s a simple shift: ➔ Calculate your Freedom Rate. If you make $200/hour, your freedom rate is $50. That means any task you can outsource for $50 or less? You should. ➔ Here’s what to delegate immediately: - Housework - Errands - Admin - Bookkeeping - Research - Tech setup All of it? Gone. Your job is to get more leverage. ➔ Every low-value task you hold onto is: - A silent drag on your ROI - A bottleneck to your next level - A signal you’re still operating solo I made this shift and 5X’d my output. You don’t scale by adding hours.  You scale by thinking like a CEO. What would change if you stopped doing $20/hour tasks forever? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

There's a big "lie" in real estate deal presentations... That most investors fall for. ↓ Here's an example: A 7% cap rate? It sounds solid, until it isn’t. Layer in real costs like acquisition fees, reserves, and upfront capex, and suddenly that “healthy” spread over 6.5% debt shrinks. It can even turn negative. The deal now bleeds until NOI catches up. If it ever does. I’ve seen sponsors preach “no negative leverage” in theory. Then they push deals where the actual cap rate doesn’t even clear the debt constant. Always ask your sponsor: → What’s really included in the cap rate? → Does the cap rate clear the debt constant after costs? → When does the pro forma actually cross into positive leverage? → What happens if rates jump 50 bps or costs run 10% over? This isn’t nitpicking. It’s investor self-defense. Positive leverage should: – Lock in cash flow – Amplify returns – Compound your equity Not: – Bleed cash – Hope for future growth – Trigger capital calls Cap rate clarity = long-term safety. What other “flags” do you look for before wiring funds into a deal? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Want to be a magnet for top investors? Put yourself in rooms like this. ↓ I recently wrapped up an event in Austin, and I’m still buzzing. Yes, we had speakers on due diligence, gold, and options. Yes, the content was strong. But that’s not what made the room powerful. ➔ It was the people. ➔ The energy. ➔ The way everyone showed up—to learn, to stretch, to connect. We even went ziplining together. And when someone hesitated, the whole group rallied. ➔ That’s trust. ➔ That’s growth. ➔ That’s the kind of room that actually moves the needle. Because here’s the truth: The right rooms build momentum. The right people pull you forward. The right vibe makes you bolder than you thought you were. The smartest room? It’s not the one with the biggest headlines. — It’s the one where everyone levels up. — It’s the one where action > ego. — It’s the one you walk out of changed. So here’s the real question: When’s the last time you walked into a room that made you better? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

What everyone ought to know about time. You can own it if you stop chasing cash. ↓ You don’t need more money. You need more time. High income? Great. But if you're still stuck in the day-to-day, you’re running a broken equation. We keep asking: → How can I make more? When the better question is: → How can I work less without losing momentum? That shift changed everything for me. It wasn’t about stacking cash. It was about building systems that made money without me. Here’s what that looks like: — Tasks delegated — Meetings minimized — Ops optimized — Time protected True freedom is when your calendar is filled with the things you want to do, not what you have to do. Wealth is nice. But ownership of your time? That’s the real flex. Curious, how close are you to owning your calendar? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

The hidden mystery behind that “10 Cap” deck. Most investors miss this until it's too late. ↓ That “10-cap” deal on the flyer? It’s probably a 9.1 Cap in real life. Why? Because every closing comes with a tail of hidden costs: → CapEx budget → Due diligence & inspection reports → Title, survey, prepaid taxes & insurance → Lender fees, legal costs, and sponsor promotion That “$1M deal”? It’s probably $1.1M all-in. $100K NOI / $1.1M = 9.1% cap rate Which is not the "advertised" 10%. When you only divide NOI by the purchase price, You miss the actual cost of ownership. And if your model starts with fiction? Every number that follows is flawed by default. Chasing cap rates without including total basis = mispricing from day one. Real returns start with real inputs. Are you underwriting for the deal you saw... or the one you bought? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Everything you know about wealth is wrong. Your W-2 won’t set you free. ↓ Real freedom isn’t about working harder. It’s about building income that doesn’t need you. Physicians, high-income earners, and professionals: You’re smart and resourceful. Those two traits are common among great investors. But most of us were never exposed to this world. I had zero business or real estate training through: → college → med school → residency I had to go hunt it down myself. Books, podcasts, masterminds, trial & error. Today? It’s easier than ever to access this knowledge: → Online communities → Mentorship → Investor networks → Real-world case studies Still not easy, but it’s no longer hidden behind closed doors. If your income stops when you stop working, it's time to rethink the game. What was your first wake-up call that W-2 income alone wouldn’t cut it? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

Nobody teaches this in school. But it makes all the difference. ↓ I spent 16+ years in school. ➔ Learned how to treat patients ➔ Diagnose disease ➔ Even save lives But not once did anyone teach me how to build wealth. And that’s not just a doctor problem. It’s a high-income earner problem. ➔ Physicians ➔ Lawyers ➔ Architects ➔ Consultants We’re trained for one thing: Trade time for money. But the truth? Real freedom doesn’t come from working harder. It comes when your money works harder than you. Passive income doesn’t care if you’re: ➔ In clinic ➔ On vacation ➔ Coaching your kid’s soccer team It just shows up. And here’s the part nobody tells you: ➔ You have to go find it. ➔ No one’s handing it out. ➔ No syllabus. No lectures. But the good news? It’s never been more accessible. And you’re only one decision away from learning how. 👉 What’s something you wish school had actually taught you? If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓

The Hidden Mountain Most Never Climb It Doesn’t Look Like Success (But It Is) ↓ What if wealth wasn’t the summit? David Brooks writes about the two mountains we climb in life. The first: ➔ Achievement ➔ Status ➔ Accumulation The second: ➔ Purpose ➔ Contribution ➔ Connection Most people stay stuck chasing the first… It’s what society rewards. It looks good from the outside. It gives you titles, trophies, and temporary highs. But the real fulfillment? It’s on the second mountain. That’s where real wealth lives. Not just financial, but emotional, relational, and spiritual. And here’s the truth: ➔ Most people never even start the second climb. Ask yourself: ➔ Am I climbing the first mountain—or the second? Because one gives you status. The other gives you meaning. Choose wisely. If you enjoyed this post, join my free weekly newsletter & get my $299 Rich Life Tool Kit as a bonus. The link is in the comments. ↓