June 18, 2009…

For most, including myself, it was a normal kind of day. However, as the day unfolded, I would meet a man (and his family) who would forever change my life.

My father had surgery on June 11, 2009 to fix some ligaments that were torn and stretched in his lower back. Because of his subsequent incapacitation, I was doing my part (the good son) by helping my mom get him settled back home and attending to some of his property management duties.

It was about 6:00 PM when I made the trip up to the local video store to rent my dad a movie, as he was not allowed to leave his bed for a few more days.

I pulled into the video store parking lot from the right side entrance, and made my way to the closest parking space I could find. I walked into the video store, browsed through the available new releases, selected a film I thought he would enjoy (we share the same tastes in movies), paid for the rental, and walked out.

Normal, everyday stuff… so far.

As I got into my car I noticed there was a backlog of cars trying to exit the main entrance and I didn’t want to be bothered with having to wait in line, so I drove my car around to the left side of the building and around the back, my clever way of getting ahead of the traffic jam.

As I drove around the back of the building and then turned to the right, something unusual caught my eye. It was a little girl with long bouncing curls playing in the parking lot, wearing nothing but a diaper.

She couldn’t have been much more than two; with the brown curls bouncing off her shoulders, I had to do a double take because she looked just like my youngest daughter.

There were a few cars stopped ahead of me at the stop sign, and this pause in time allowed me to get a better look at the girl. I needed to look, mostly to convince myself that she wasn’t my daughter, but also to determine why this young child was playing in the parking lot.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a man, woman, and two other young girls sitting on the sidewalk, lounging against the wall of the video store. This scene struck me as odd, so I pulled back into the parking lot to get a closer look.

I pulled my car up to the right side of what I assumed was their car (it was), killed the engine and then tried to decide what to do next. Something about this situation just wasn’t right and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

I got out of my car and slowly walked around behind their car, smiling at the little girl who had earlier grabbed my attention. As I came around the back of the car, the man sitting on the curb noticed me and our eyes made contact. As quickly as our gaze connected he looked down and away as if he just wanted me to walk on by.

“Is every thing ok?”, I asked. “Yeah, its cool”, was his reply. I wanted to believe him but something inside of me said, “This guy needs a hand”.

As a man, I understand pride. I understand how pride can wreck a life, a marriage, a family. The last thing I wanted to do was judge this guy or cause him any shame… I just wanted to help. So I asked again, “Are you sure? Maybe I can help.”

As soon as I said those words the woman sitting next to him looked at me as if to say…please. As I smiled at her his eyes left mine and darted to hers. After exchanging a look with his wife, he turned to me and said, “What did you have in mind?”

His response actually caught me off guard and all I could say was; “I don’t know, lets talk.”

I won’t go through the entire conversation, but I will provide some highlights so that all of this will make sense to you.

His name is Steve (not really, but for his privacy that is what he as agreed to be called). He is 44 years old. He and his wife have been married for 16 years. They have 3 daughters aged 12, 9 and almost 3. He lost his job a little over a year ago and they are at the end of their rope.

As we had our conversation, my first thought was to give him some money. However money is just a temporary solution. Steve needs money… yes. However, what he needs even more is a friend who understands… some hope… a sense of control… and a means to provide for his family no matter what the economy does.

We talked for almost 40 minutes and during that time I laid out a step by step plan that he could begin immediately. So with his permission and the support of his wife we have agreed to dive into the core concepts and truth of M.E.R.C.A.T.O. to help Steve rebuild his life as quickly as possible and I am going to chronicle it here.

I am going to be very up front and transparent about something. I have a selfish motive in all of this.

You see, I have spent most of my adult life traveling around the country teaching investment strategies to others. Most (if not all) of the investors I have worked with over the last 20 years had some investment knowledge, resources, funding, skills, and desire to pull from.

Steve has none of these. I get to start from the very beginning with him. I get to teach him everything I have learned about making money and, most importantly, keeping it (something that even I have struggled with in the past).

My selfish motive is this… I get to chronicle his journey and I get to participate in the life of a family that will forever be changed. And I get to prove to myself and at least one other person that the principles I wrote about in the book M.E.R.C.A.T.O., really do work.

I invite you to come along on the journey with me, Steve, and his family as we get to share and enjoy this thing called life. There is nothing to buy here unless you want to help Steve as he builds his financial empire over the next few months.

I have but one goal… help Steve and his family amass one million in net-worth within the next 12 months. Our goal is that by July 04, 2010 Steve and his family will truly be enjoying their “Independence Day”.

I expect to throw one heck of a BBQ party next year to celebrate.