I published this post on my other blog, but I figured it would make a great addition to this site, as this is where my home will be. This should be fun, at least I’ll get a kick out of it! 15 Things About Me.
Christmas Time Fun…
1) I have a wonderful wife, Annie, and 4 Great Kids, and live near Latrobe, PA
(Sticking with this past years Christmas theme):
2) I have a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. I’ve lost 2 jobs due to companies shutting down. Enough of that…I’m on my own from here on out. I’ll make my own rules and tell myself when to shut myself down.
3) I spent 6 years in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard as an Infantry Scout. Spent about 6 months in Sniper training. Loved the times and camraderie that was built there was second to none.
4) We have no pets, but had a great dog that passed last year. Thinking about getting another. We’ll see. (Update: 6/17/2010 – we just put a deposit down on a dog last night! Whoo-hoo) Have 2 Cool dogs.
5) I love swimming, used to love basketball (no can do any more due to rupturing my achilles tendon), hunting, and camping.
6) TV: I don’t watch it regularly, except Pittsburgh Steelers and Pens sports. I always figure there is something better to do with my time.
7) I love Christ. I enjoy being a giver and striving to live a Christian life.
8 I have a 2nd Degree BlackBelt in Taekwondo, though I’m not currently practicing. It’s an awesome sport though. I won first place in the 1st and 2nd Degree Black Belt Sparring Competition in Monroeville, PA in 2007.
9) I’ve been on the buying side of over 100 real estate transactions. I live in my own house for basically free, now. You could say I live by Kiyosaki’s creeds. I’m not saying his seminars are the ticket. They aren’t. His fundamental philosophies of money absolutely are. I did have a nice gentleman from Manhattan steal the profits from about 1/2 the houses, but can’t get into details about my lawsuit that I had to file to get a fraction of what was owed to my family when he left us high and dry. Best of luck to him.
10) As part of my duties as a Residence Assistant & Director at UPJ, I experienced many crazy things. Attempted suicides, breaking up fights, and hallway floods. But the most memorable was the time I walked into the middle of a hostage situation. Some quick reacting, refusing to follow the demands of the gunmen, etc allowed for a quick phone call. Within 60 seconds, the building was surrounded by police and all ended peacefully with nobody hurt. Those moments live in my mind constantly.
11) My favorite books: The Bible, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Crush It, Never Eat Alone, and Awaken the Giant Within
12) My #1 Goal in life is to leave a legacy. I want to leave a mark on people I interact with for the better. I want things I say, and do, to be felt for generations to come. I don’t want to live an ordinary life. I want it to be EXTRAOrdinary. When people get into real estate investing, or internet stuff, I just want them to mention that I helped them. It makes all the difference to me.
13) I currently drive a Chevrolet Cavalier with 164,000 miles on it. If you really know me, you will know that I am a huge believer in only taking on big liabilities if somebody else is paying for it. That thought pattern goes clear to the home I live in. I didn’t want to take on the large debt burden, so I have a single family house and a duplex on my property. My 2 tenants pay for my mortgage, property taxes of over $4,000 per year, and my insurance. PS. Did I mention I didn’t use a bank to buy that property? And yes, it was listed on the MLS, asking $350K, and the sellers took $210K, PLUS owner financed it. You just have to know how to ask, and then take action to make it happen.
I don’t bring that up to brag. I bring it up so that you realize that ANYTHING is possible if you put your mind to it. If you never make offers for anything in your life, how are people supposed to know what you want and need?? Ask and you shall receive.
14) I love motivating others to take ACTION in their lives. This life is not about being passive, sitting in front of wii’s and TV all day long, living off of society, isolating ourselves from the world, and enjoying our own space 100% of the time. That is NOT what we were put here to do. Yes, we all need “alone” time, but it should not be your life.
15) I love comedies. I love to laugh, hence my satisfaction from watching good comedies. Viva The Three Amigos!
Living Life,
Brandon Yeager
Nice to learn more about you Brandon. 164k miles huh? Puts my 98k to shame. Still, I should be able to catch up…
Reading about your achilles tendon made me quirm a little…thanks for that!
Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last [type] ..John Smith and the Blue Mackintosh
Hey Mo, you know…I’d actually love to read a post like this from every single person who reads this blog. So, if you have one, or ever create one, please drop a link here for me (& others) to check out. I love learning about people and where the connections are, etc…
Regarding car…yeah…I hate car payments and will drive every vehicle I ever purchase to the ground. Carrying $400-$600 car payments is not in my blood. Now, if I had a spare $5MM laying around…I could possibly be convinced otherwise.
Congrats on welcoming another dog into your life! You will likely get a lot of material for future blog posts from your new family member
We have old cars too . . . my husband loves fixing things and we aren’t big on over-consumption, so it works for us. Love having no car payments and super cheap insurance!
Jean Sarauer´s last [type] ..Confessions of a Backsliding Blogger
Hey Jean, Yeah, I suspect it will give quite a few insider thoughts into blog posts.
My other vehicle is a Dodge Caravan and it is nearing payoff…whoo hoo! We made a mistake about 7 years ago of entering into a vehicle lease. I guess the lease itself wasn’t the mistake, but the fact that the mileage allowed was so much less than we actually drove (notice, I’m not claiming victim here…I signed the lease…I’m manning up to it…and I’m paying it…unlike everyone crying over the housing crisis). In the end, we were left with $7,000 worth of charges that had to be added to our present car payment. uggh…lesson learned. payoff cars…save money…pay cash. That’s what we did for the Cavalier.
Nice Brandon. Really good to learn a little more about the man behind the curtain. You have a really beautiful family and I know it’s just a photo but your children look like they have their head screwed on, clearly a good father figure has been there all their lives.
You can tick off no. 14 because you are doing that in spades.
Interesting mix of favourites in the old book list too I might add.
Thanks for sharing Brandon
Alex´s last [type] ..How to Optimize your site with your Googles on
Hey Alex. Glad you enjoyed seeing an inside look.
Thanks for the #14 comment. I’m not perfect. I take all of you InfoPreneurs suggestions with open arms. I want your feedback, good, bad, indifferent. It all helps me focus on getting better. But I do want to learn to better present myself so I can speak in front of large groups…motivating them to take actions in their lives to change. Like I mentioned before…I have some self-confidence and self-esteem issues to deal with. always working.
Where is your list?
I would love to read everyone’s.
Brandon, most of this I already know:)
I want to hear more about the new dog! I have a 14-year-old golden retriever.
John Soares´s last [type] ..Declining Traffic: Why It Happened
Hey John, oh yes…one of the readers from my prior life.
Well, our last dog that my wife and I had for 12 years was a small beagle-terrier mix. Was a great family dog. But at the end of her life, we had some issues with allergies and Asthma in our family. 2 of my kids have asthma, so this go round we wanted to make sure we got not only a great family dog, but one that didn’t shed, and had little, to no dander. I’ve been researching hard and heavy, and we finally decided upon what we would get…a Caton de Tulear. We found a breeder selling them a little South of Cleveland, OH (about 2.5 hours from my house). My family drove up to meet the pooch’s family, and see how they reacted “asthma and allergy-wise” to the dogs yesterday. No, it’s definitely not a big ole’ manly dog (though I love them too). But it was really a choice of getting a dog that worked for the family versus not having one at all….and we really wanted to get another one to fill the emtpy space from the other one. So, that’s what we went with. We get to bring him home the weekend of July 18th. ! Whoo…hoo.
Brandon, I understand totally the need for a dog that doesn’t trigger breathing problems.
I’ve done some house-sitting in San Francisco for a family that has a cockapoo, a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle. Very loving, smart, and athletic dog that doesn’t shed.
I miss him!
John Soares´s last [type] ..Declining Traffic: Why It Happened
Yeah, it was definitely one of the biggest points we were searching for. There are many family friendly dogs, but to find one that is good with smaller children and doesn’t have the allergy issues…that’s golden.
It’s nice to get to know you even better. Always fun getting to know new bloggers. I personally love dogs and always have. All my life we’ve had cats and dogs up until now.
I also am a fan of Robert and his book Rich Dad Poor Dad. I want to learn how to do some of the teachings found in his book in order to live a better life and teach others what I’ve learned as well.
Last but not least here, this is really cool that you’re doing this as I’m doing something similar on my blog in the very near future.
Eric´s last [type] ..Family Is Important, Here’s Mine
great Eric. glad you enjoyed. I look forward to seeing yours. please do come back and put the link in this post.
I love the philosophies of RDPD. I first read it in 1998, and have used it to build many of my “buying” decisions on. good stuff.
Hi Brandon, thanks for sharing these insights. We should have a catch up about property sometime. My tenants pay for my house too!
Matthew Needham´s last [type] ..Why you need a Mastermind Group
It’s an awesome feeling having someone else pay your way. Yes, it can take some time, but it’s worth it when you can find the right property.
Glad to know you a bit more Brandon. Thanks for this list.
Julius´s last [type] ..Assistive Technologies for Persons with Dyslexia
Hey Julius,
Thanks! looking forward to reading your soon also.
Awesome post. It’s nice to see a bit of information behind the YouTube face
Karl Hadwen´s last [type] ..Stop buying and start doing
I really enjoyed this post (both times, really)! Especially that picture with the fancy ear-rings and #8.
Have a great night!
mark´s last [type] ..On Change: How To Get Promoted
Thanks for dropping in Mark…both times.
Yeah, those earrings were very expensive. silver plated gold hooks.
Yeah, monroeville is pretty close to your neck of the woods. Perhaps you heard the air leaving my lungs when the 250 pound guy punched me in the chest to open my first round. I know it caused a ripple on the geological earthquake charts. Fortunately, it still only counted as 1 point.
I am a Christian as well. I can’t imagine living my life without Christ. I know that everything I have is because of him and I’m thankful for that. Good to find out a little more about you.
Mike Roosa´s last [type] ..I’m Baaaack! Almost
Hey mike,
I hear ya’. Glad you enjoyed some of the info. I’m looking forward to learning more about you also.
B
Hey Brandon,
Some great books you mention there. I also love Rich Dad Poor Dad and Crush It.
Our family dog died a couple of years ago and we have yet to get another one. Not too sure if we will. He is a hard act to follow. A Border Collie.
Andrew
Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last [type] ..WordPress SEO Plugin: Do We Need Another One?
Hey Andrew,
Yeah, it’s heart wrenching when the family pet passes. I knew we’d get another…just wasn’t sure when. Well, the kids have realized it’s time to bring another on board, and we’re venturing forward. Good stuff. Take care Andrew!
Brandon
Hey. Great to know a bit more about you now
I dig at least one book in your favs…Crush It kicks arse!
Gurl´s last [type] ..Confessions of an Internet Addict
Hey gurl, glad you liked it.
You should check out all the others too…all good.
Thanks for the insight Brandon – I’m totally with you on The Three Amigos…
I’m a little surprised at how many of my favourite bloggers are Christians too – mostly without them having said anything about it on their blogs. Wierd, eh?
Chris´s last [type] ..Bloggywood Squares starts today
Huh…that’s cool. Thanks for chiming in Chris.
Regarding the 3 Amigos…man, since I’ve been a kid I’ve always loved it. Anytime you can have those 3 on one movie…it’s got to be a classic.
Hi Brandon,
Well we have a degree in common. Sounds like you have been through some rough patches in life with suicide attempts. I sure hope your religious belief would have made you to hang in there and keep going. I’m not Christian though. Catholic is mine. Nice blog and well done on the Alexa rank.
- Louis
Louis´s last [type] ..The Importance of Keyword Research For Internet Traffic – Part 1
Hey Louis,
Perhaps I wasn’t clear in my writing…IT WASN’T ME who had was the one attempting suicide…it was the other students.
Anyway, talk later.
Hi Brandon,
Ouch. That what happens when I have reading so many blogs lately hopping around getting to meet people.
- Louis
Louis´s last [type] ..The Importance of Keyword Research – Part 2
Yo Nodnarb– it’s your sister! This site is really great! It’s my first time visiting, but I keep hearing out it from the parents…keep up the good work!
Whoooahhhh!
Look who is back from the Honey Moon….Hope you enjoyed it!
Stop back….Your Brutha, from the Same Mutha’,
Brandon
Brandon,
As we begin the adventure of creating my first Word Press I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your help. Reading all these comments that people are writing makes me realize that I haven’t seen you in years! It’s great to get back in touch and look forward to hearing from you more often. Thanks again for everything!
Vynn
Vynn Credible´s last [type] ..Florida Magician Rocking the House Now!
Hey Vynn,
Glad you stopped by!
Don’t be a stranger.
B