Author Background

Media Questions with Answers.

Q. What is your message in the book, 100 Days of Love™?

A - Joseph: We must never quit or give up on ourselves or life, never, ever, so that our children do not give up in their own Life. We must uphold our good beliefs through personal integrity and initiative, and uphold others. This is how deeply we must love, for our children. This realization is the true essence of life, and a source of untold, continuing strength.

Simply believe in Life, in your own life. Encouragement requires love through self-betterment. Self-betterment™ starts with personal integrity. All great keys are forged in the honest belief of ourselves, this becomes the reflection of things we touch in life, this is the essence of the emerging Renaissance of Romance.

A - Zachary’s answer: Never give up, you can do it. Don’t get caught in the chaos of quitting. Me and my Dad are like the little engine that made it.

Q. What is the Babylonian system you used with the pop bottles and beer cans?

A - Joseph: The strategy for the money is not made in the actual collection of the bottles and cans, it is in what you do with each one when gathered. Each bottle and can is a seed, and if truly treated like one, can actually be used to grow a future. It is the system and that daily discipline of implementing it that is the crucial secret. So, for example, in Babylon, some slaves came to know that it was the clay tablets that were much more important than the gold, in other words, the knowledge of the principles of money was much more important than the money. Money is often lost and sometimes regained, often with difficulty. But with the knowledge of the principles of money, then can it be regained quickly, even more so than previously. So the knowledge (clay tablets) becomes much more important than the money (gold) for it can be implemented anywhere, anytime, to again, sow the precious seeds of freedom.

(Joseph) Shall I expand on this further? First, a question, ‘Which would you rather have, the clay tablets or the gold?’ Really?

The Babylonians used a system of constantly culling 10% to break their indentures. Knowing no matter how small that once a fissure starts, with constant pressure it will grow. Knowing that if you can live off 100% of your wages, you can live off 90%, that it is the 10% that holds the key to a different future. Zachary and I decided to cull 15%, and once we got off the street to a home base we made a new rule, that until Zachie turns 18 he will cull 85%. And interestingly enough, this is the money that Zachie offered for us to finish and publish the book, coming full circle from 7 years ago. Zachie uses his spending money to buy used books, he says he gets more for his money this way (sounds like Dad’s plan of teaching his son about the mechanics of leveraging money is working...)

Q. Now how did you turn that $480 into over $100,000 in less than nine months?

A - Joseph: Besides being stupendously in love? I created another system, based on daily discipline. I read the local paper every morning at 5 am, to become familiar with the ongoing flow of goods locally. Then I created a tracking and logging system for the ads and items in a master buying book. I would keep an eye out for anything I thought would be a good deal, I could spend a lot of time here, but I’ll keep it brief. I mastered the ‘critical success event’. I started to notice some peculiarities and tendencies and I used these to help drive my sales. The gain/profit is not made in the sale, it is made in the buy, and realized in the sale, this is so important. I employed an impeccable business and telephone manner, and everyone that I bought items from, I told them my story and my Dream, and they in turn came to help me by bird-dogging other items & deals for easier, and additional cash margin turn overs.

The first item I started with was phonograph, I would painstakingly collect quality items and take them to the high end antique and furniture auction, i would buy stolen bikes from the police for $5, clean them, sometimes fix them and sell them for $100-200 or more. Then as my cash reserves grew I would buy multiple items and host neighbourhood garage sales, and place specialty items into designated specialty publications and advertising to attract a more qualified buyer to that particular item. I them started buying larger ticket items, that had a very easy turn over, such as cars, and very, very carefully boats, and I even optioned some property based on buying with US no money down systems (Robert Allan) I learned and then reinvented them. Of course, nothing substitutes for the personal finesse of integrity, listening to, and really dealing well with each person on the journey.

Mostly, I really trusted my grandpapa’s advice; that a yes is a yes, a no is a no, and a maybe is always a no... this made it so much easier to be in the right place at the right time, and I honed my gut instincts to the point that I knew 90% of the time if I was going to buy an item just from seeing the ad. I found the use of a reverse directory extremely useful for viewing outside items offered in the early morning hours before the seller was even out of bed. I remember several months in, one 1986 F250 Super Cab XLT diesel I bought off the retired original owner, and bidding against a car dealer for $10,000, and the dealer was not leaving, so I offered $500 above asking price and broke his psychological will to the deal. Well I took that truck and within 25 days sold it in a specialty truck publication to an out of town buyer for $16,800 cash, my full asking price. I better stop now, I’m getting all excited and the old stories are starting to flow out. Ask Zachie a question...

Q. Zachary, why did you offer your dad all your saved bottle and can money after 7 years?

A- Zachary: I could feel it was important to tell about our story.

Q. Tell me about your funky Volkswagen van?

A - Joseph and Zachary: Our van has become a mobile office called, The One Book Book Store. We had so much fun hand painting the van, you see, we needed a cost efficient (cheap) office, so the van creatively became just that - and folks, especially children, just love the artwork, the flowers and the reading bee, the fire breathing dragon, and the triskele (celtic knot).

Q. Did you really publish this amazingly professional quality book doing everything yourselves for under $1000?

A - Joseph: Hey, thanks for that question, part of our experiment was to write, develop, edit, do the layout and graphics, self-market and self-publish, 100 Days of Love, and create an office (van) all for under $1000, to show others that they too can do it, and be inspired to pursue their Dreams - and we actually did that with new printing technology with a very wonderful outcome. We feel very fortunate!


Q. Tell me more about Going On Oprah?

A - Joseph: Yes! We have made contact and received an initial response. For the details and what we are doing see our website, www.GoingOnOprah.com or www.atruelovestory.com

Q. Are you going to run for Prime Minister?

A - Joseph: Zachary might.

click here to see 100 Days of Love™
excerpts