Remember this Name: Ben Kjar

“Take yourself outside right now and spank yourself!” That was Ben’s first bit of advice as he told me I need to read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. We laughed for a moment as Ben carried on explaining to me that his dad was a mixture of the rich business savvy dad and the poor highly educated dad as depicted in the book. Ben’s father taught him that the most important part about being successful in life is to “know business and how to create value.”

                Ben’s home life was unlike all his friends. “When we were home, we were working.” He remembers buying his own clothes with the money that he made from doing chores and for getting good grades in school. My favorite story he told me was when he worked as a kid on a golf course owned by his family. He worked alongside a groundskeeper who was in his forties and he remembers thinking that he looked much older. He remembers as a young boy realizing that he did not want to be that man and he knew he wanted more. It was about this time where I was told two more times to go spank myself for not having read two more books, “Good to Great” by James C. Collins, and “Richest man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason. He remembers as a young boy learning from his father that making money doesn’t have to be a matter of showing up, or in other words to have a job. Making money can also be done by creating assets that work for you.

                Ben wanted to be just like his dad and that gave him the drive to do well in everything he did. He was an ok student, but a fantastic athlete. He received a full ride scholarship to go to school and wrestle for Utah Valley University, which is the only reason he attended and graduated from college, although he does not regret getting his degree. After college, he competed in wrestling professionally and “did the whole Olympics thing,” and then moved on to the private sector.

                Ben’s biggest turning point in life came when he was working for a company owned and run by his father and brother. Ben was working in a highly technical sales position, and “was not a very good employee.” His desire to do a good job could only take him so far and eventually he was fired by his own family. This was a great shock to him, but it was also what started a major shift in his life. He was given an opportunity to continue working for his father at an equal salary, but Ben decided that he was going to risk everything instead. Ben had a mentor who owned an Einstein Bagel shop. This person challenged Ben to ask himself “what do you do when you are off task?” In other words, what do you choose to do for yourself, when you are not obligated to do something else for somebody else? Ben realized that he loved watching shows like Fixer Upper and scouring the MLS for homes. He was fascinated by real estate and home improvement and so, Ben decided to enter the business of flipping homes.

Ben’s first step in his new venture was to educate himself, but he didn’t have the cash in hand for schooling. Ben called his credit card company and asked for an increase in his credit balance so he could purchase admission to a real estate training course. They granted him the increase and he landed his first home via seller’s finance shortly thereafter, which included the two classic cars in the garage. After selling the cars and investing $40,000 in renovations that took 6 months, Ben sold the home for a gross profit of $41,000. Since then, Ben has purchased over 50 rental properties and is currently working on equally as many home renovation “Flip” jobs. The key to Ben’s success was his willingness to find and invest in his own vision of himself. Ben says that when you are hired to work for a company, you are investing your time and effort into their vision. The only way to do what you are meant to do on this earth is to find your vision and invest in yourself. 

Ben’s next step in life is one of the most inspiring parts of our whole interview. Ben was born with a disorder called Crouzon syndrome. Ben had a childhood like the fictional character named Auggie in the inspirational movie “Wonder.” Ben speaks at schools and events all over the country sharing his story and helping people realize that it doesn’t matter what you look like. Ben preaches about a victor mentality that we must all have and that we need to break down our walls of normality to open a new world of love and kindness. Ben’s success has caught the attention of major television networks and he said that within a year he will be starring in a new show where he will be flipping homes and donating all profits to sponsor another child who needs facial reconstruction surgery. On top of that, he and his wife have adopted two of the most adorable children I have ever seen. Ben feels that he has found his true purpose in life and that he would have completely missed this opportunity if he was not willing to risk it all to invest in himself and his vision. 

At this point in the interview, I asked him how I could apply what we are talking about to replicate his success. I should have seen it coming when he asked me, “what do you do when you are off task?” I took a moment to think and answered that I love listening to podcasts and learning about leadership and personal development. My dream is to help other people to find and be the best version of themselves so that they can inspire and excite others to do the same. This dream is fueled largely by my history of being bullied for being overweight as a child. He then challenged me to start a podcast and start sharing with the world. He told me that perfection is the enemy of progress and that I need to do it now or else I probably never will. This challenge truly inspired me, and I vowed to stop saying words like someday and eventually. I even told Ben that when he writes a book, that I want to interview him and spread his influence to as many people as possible.

I learned from Ben that if you want to find out what you are truly meant to do in this world, you first need to have your own vision. Once you have that vision as a clear picture in your mind, invest in yourself and work every day towards that vision. Right now is always the best time to start and to not let fear dictate your boundaries of what you can and can’t do. I can be the influential person I want to be and it starts right now. Make sure you remember this name because Ben Kjar is the real deal, and so am I, and so are you.