The Financially Fit Blueprint by DeAngelo Watson
3 Bullet Book: 2020, book #46: “Financial literacy is a topic a lot of people in our community rarely discuss. Whether it is generational trends or lack of knowledge, it’s time to change the narrative” — DeAngelo Watson
Finished on July 6, 2020
I connected with DeAngelo through a few friends of mine on Instagram last year. It was pretty cool to watch the way he established his vision and realized that he could add some value by putting his thoughts together and pushing out a book through Gumroad. Now, DeAngelo has his own trucking company and a number of other businesses. There are a handful of people that you encounter who move differently, they have hyperfocus — DeAngelo is one of those people.
The 3 Bullets
1. He makes it very clear throughout the entire book, and in the overall context of everything that he shares, that we need to have a solid foundation before focusing on investing and creating wealth. An emergency fund is one important step. Freeing yourself of all high interest debt is one important step. Educating yourself on the different avenues of investing that you are interested in is also one important step.
2. DeAngelo spent some time outlining his history. The context provided from that section of the book was quite beneficial. It was important to understand at a high level where he comes from. He talked about some of the choices that he made to ensure that he could position himself for the goals he was pursuing. He writes, “sometimes you must put yourself in uncomfortable situations and make sacrifices to get the results you desire.”
3. The other main takeaway for me was the focus on business. When I was first thinking about going to college, I knew that I could really do anything and ultimately, with some hard work, I’d be good with whatever I chose. Yet, everything has a cap. What happens once you’re the best doctor in the world? You’re the best doctor. Now where do you go? The saying goes, it’s lonely at the top — there’s no one there with you. But business? Business does not have a cap, there’s no limit. AND you can work with every single industry. DeAngelo harps on the value of business and the ROI that can come with business will surpass every other avenue. Period.
Pg. 36, I would not recommend investing in the stock market if you have high interest debt and/or do not have an emergency fund, unless you already have an employer-sponsored retirement account.
Pg. 39, If business is done right, it will beat any return on investment that you will receive through participating in the stock market or real estate. The goal is to create a business, reinvest your profits into the business, figure out a way to scale your business, and then use those profits to diversify into the stock market, real estate or another business. It is much easier said than done, but if you have a solid understanding of wealth and how money works, you can turn it into a reality.
I gave this book a 3/5
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