Giving and Receiving Respect on Your Financial Roller Coaster
Who doesn’t love a rags-to-riches story? Bill Bartmann is a living example of one, going from high school drop-out and gang member at age 14 to millionaire by the time he was 30. Kathy, his wife, helped turn him around. They’ve been married over 30 years, and through the ups and downs, she has never left his side.
Kathy is the one who convinced Bill Bartmann to get his GED, undergraduate degree, and later his law degree, all with a great deal of effort necessary. Because of his hard work and unwillingness to accept failure, Bill was able to open a law practice helping people who couldn’t afford to hire an attorney.
Bill Bartmann’s financial roller coaster ride began when he left the law practice after about five years. It was the 1970’s, and he made a fortune in real estate (which at the time, was fairly easy to do). He was a millionaire by the time he was 30 years old. He then went into the oil business, but when the price of oil dropped from $40 per barrel to only $14, his fortune disappeared.
To add insult to injury, debt collectors started hassling Bill and Kathy over the phone. It was appalling how rude these people could be! Even if he had the money, he wouldn’t have wanted to pay those awful people. That’s when it hit him. Why not start a “nice” debt collection business? This idea was so successful that Bill was once again a millionaire.
How could such a business NOT succeed? Most people are generally good-hearted and really want to pay their debts, but when something happens like a job loss or an illness, people are simply unable to pay. Bill knew that yelling wouldn’t solve the problem, so his company showed respect and asked people to send whatever they could.
In everything Bill Bartmann has done, whether it brought him rags or riches, he did it with passion. He didn’t listen to teachers who told him to get the job that pays the best. What good is a great-paying job if you’re too miserable or too busy to enjoy the rest of your life? He knew that in order to find success, he would have to be happy.
Through it all, Bill has gone bankrupt twice, but he has also been a millionaire three times, and now he’s a billionaire. He uses the real-life knowledge he’s acquired to help others through his Billionaire Mentor Program. In Bill’s program, you’ll see things you won’t see in other programs, and you won’t see things you do see in other programs. Why? Respect.
Just as he respected debtors in his collection business, Bill respects entrepreneurs in his business school. He doesn’t have pep rallies and rah-rah sessions. He doesn’t do all day infomercials. He doesn’t give you a lot of fluff you already know. Everything you get is on your level and included in the price of the membership.
