Eric's collection

Great words, maximum respect

 

Make it happen. It sounds so cliché but it's absolutely 100% correct. There are two types of people: those who act, and those who are acted upon. For about 8 years I sat around thinking that it was absolutely impossible to get my own business started. I had begun an MBA program and literally every business case we studied on my entreprenuerial track had a founder / owner with some sort of socio-economic power not generally available to the public (e.g. a founder with a Harvard MBA and a friend in venture capital willing to fund the startup). I didn't have any of that (a powerful social network or a large supply of readily accessible capital) and I spent far too long looking for business ideas that were sure to make me a lot of money instead of being things that I really wanted to do.

After I folded the 2nd business (IT Consulting - bleh...) I struck upon a simple formula which has brought me a great deal of happiness and an increasing amount of personal wealth:

1. Do what you love.
2. Surround yourself with people that love the same thing you do (the thing which you're making your work) and work with them.
3. Really believe in your idea/business - if you truly believe and commit to the success of your idea/business/venture then you're nearly there.

It's absolutely an amazing feeling to take something I thought was impossible given the absence of assets / start-up capital and see it start to take shape. The synergies I've been witness to when a group of people are working on something as a labor of love is phenomenal.

Eric's a great example of someone who has made it happen with extraordinary results. It's a pleasure to run into someone that can remain so grounded in spite of the success.

 

Education isn't overrated. The school system is, however. I get my education from the school of hard knocks yo!

 

Heh, no. but i know alot of people that do. they drive lambo's and all kinds of nice cars because they do deal.

But i was raised in a good home and know right from wrong.
i also have more options then they do for making alot of money, but making it legaly takes longer.
Otherwise i'd have a Enzo or F50 GT by now..

 

LV_Eric, I believe these pictures I took on my sidekick were of your enzo. I was in Beverly Hills Ferrari the day they started it up and drove it to you. It was pretty mean sounding, and I was amazed at how much effort it took to get out of the show room. Anyways, correct me if i'm wrong, but I could have sworn it was your car. You took delivery around the end of March 2006 correct?
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Could a drug dealer really get away with driving an Enzo? Wouldn't that be a little suspect.

 

Ready for the pep talk coach!

 

I don't know about an Enzo, but a 360 or Gallardo with a few years on it certainly isn't a stretch.

 

Depends on how well you launder your money in legit businesses.

Now if all you do is deal then go out and buy a nice car in cash, then prolly not gonna get away with it for long.

its all about hidding where the money came from.

 

OK, I stand 100% corrected. You nailed it, You have to be smart to survive smarted to get rich to be blunt about it. Where you get your education is moot.

 

Eric, your stroy is one of my many influences in striving harder in life and school


thank you for putting up with us!!!

 

wow. after being "let go" from my job last monday due to budget cuts this thread is just what I needed to see. Over the last week I have been wrestling with what I was going to do with the rest of my life and looking at the fact that my dreams may not really come true. I take this as a "light bulb" moment. Thanks man, for your pics and story.

 

"Ding"

Eric, your responsible for a better tomorrow!

 

But for just $1.00 a day you could change the life of a young entrepreneur today!
lol

 

soon as my back is good and I can work double time, my current interests keep me busy, i'm gonna do a Anthony Robbins sort of thing, obviously with a twist because I have my own way of getting the best out of people at all levels and I dont need to copy his material, but self improvment will be my next business, i live by what I have shared here and other boards, it will be a great business and since i'm a great marketer it will work well as a bussiness and help alot of people. I enjoy helping people, it comes from within just like great actors they act for the love of performing not the $$$. Same for me.



thanks again for the nice words, now i just need to get my back fixed, i'll ebd up with 3 operations in 12 months. i have been in bed for the past 24 hours and will be until i go to the dr tomarrow, i can walk to the fridge etc but cant sit in a chair for more than 15 minutes. i refuse to take oxycotion etc

 

Well, if you ever decide to do this, please include a symposium on actually getting people to LET you help them. I come across this all the time and it's a real drain on my enthusiasm. I'm sure others can relate: you see an opportunity to help and lend your skills but the other person wants nothing to do with you, doesn't know/trust you, would rather let their dumbass know-nothing poker buddy help them and things end up worse. By that time, I don't feel sorry for them anymore. The real challenge is not coming across like a salesman. This I'd pay to see.

RMX

 

Good, those things will f'k your head up bad, plus they make you feel like **** everywhere else.

 

A lot of people are just lazy.

 

What the hell is wrong with your back?

 

+1

 

Everything is wrong with my back, I had a degenerative disc thing going on for the past 20 years, so I got into bodybuilding in 93 to get stronger and push forwad the inevitable, as i got older the pain would come more often and be stronger, about 2 years ago it became a constant thing,

this past summer I had 2 discs that were 100% dehydrated(gone) so I went to Germany where they are the best Drs in the worl in this area of medicine, here in the US they are many years behind thanks to the FDA. I did a ADR artifical disc replacment operation, it went perfect but no pain relief, on dec 15 I did a L5S1 fusion-no pain relief, So now I'm working with a neurologist who knows my Dr in Germany(Who became a VERY close personal friend, by accident) and they are looking at my facet joints and running a sseries of tests on them now(about 6 weeks) it looks like I will need a 3rd operation within 12 months, i'm in constant pain.

Sometimes I dont leave the house for 2 days or longer, I can get up to got to eat etc other times I have to lay flat(no pain when I'm laying down) to eat, today and yesterday have been the best 2 days i have had since Oct. but its just tempoary. Driving the sports cars usually is OK because the vibration helps relieve the pain, the Phantoms hurt like hell. I can usually sitin a chair fr 15-30 minutes, today however is different. I have been very cautious with the drugs, no percocets ot oxycodoen,oxycotin, i refuse to use such strong opiates, i use hydrocodone which is still bad and I restrict my intake to as little as possible, thankfully I have not built up much of a tollarance over the past 18 months.


so thats the short version of a very long story. I have lost about 7 degrees range of motion because of the hardware in my back thus making it harder to get out of the Lotus, i hope with the next operation I dont lose more, i want to keep that car, I can get in and out of anything else fine, what really want is to go back to the gym, I like that more than cars.

 

Eric, that's unacceptable medicine.

Here's what worked for my dad: http://www.spine-health.com/dir/kyph.html
http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1912.html

Like you he had 100% disc dehydration in multiple locations, and excrutiating pain.

Pain is gone post surgery for him (2 months ago and going strong).

 

Eric, thank you so much for some insight into your life! It's really great to be able to sort of get to know someone who would otherwise be way out of reach.. the internet really is a wonderful thing. I congratulate you on everything you have accomplished, and can only hope to achieve the same one day.. I'm still young, so who knows!

I had one question though, I was in vegas last august, vacationing from the Netherlands, and while walking out of the lobby of my hotel (the Wynn) I saw this white RR Phantom, I was wondering if it's yours? The driver told me ''I should see the other car's in the owners collection!''

I took some pictures of it with my phone back then.. is that yours?

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck with the back surgery, and hope you can keep your spirits high throughout the ordeal!
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thats not his. he has stock wheels on them

 

Looking at the pictures of Erics cars, I believe it is indeed not his but the black Phantom looks to have aftermarket alloys on it and the white has chrome standard wheels.

The wheels on the white one above are gorgeous, thumbs up!

Matthew