Would you rent this house?! It’s technically $13,500 a month. A total steal!

Let’s chat about living life on your own terms.

I live in a nice beach town. A really nice beach town to be more precise. The next town over from me is Manhattan Beach, an even “nicer” (read: more expensive) beach town, and it’s where I play beach volleyball most days.

Every summer I see a whole bunch of For Rent signs (or For Lease signs if they want to be fancy) going up in front of the houses near the beach. Now, these aren’t dinky little beach shacks. We’re talking multimillion-dollar houses, just a block or so away from the ocean. They’re a big deal.

I actually snapped a picture of one while walking back to my Jeep earlier this week because I knew I was going to want to share this email with you and I’m fully aware that if there isn’t a picture a video, it didn’t happen.

I counted five other homes within a five block radius that also had for rent/lease signs up, including another house just a block away that had one of those fill-in-the-blank hand-written signs that said it was going for…wait for it…$15,000 a month. I’m not gonna lie, I couldn't help but smile when I saw what is basically a garage sale sign posted on the gate of such a high-end house. I like when things challenge preconceived notions.

Which brings me to my main point:

I’m writing to you this morning not to ask if you want to go in with me on a summer rental, but to hopefully open your eyes to the fact that there are so many markets out there, so many ways of doing business, and so many different ways of building your best life.

The traditional narrative pushes home ownership, and yet here we have proof that it’s not the only way, and that renting a house absolutely isn’t a sign of inferiority. Yes, I know that these are summer rentals, but I see plenty of For Rent signs go up throughout the rest of the year (I’m also that person that looks at things I can’t afford on Zillow) which speaks to the fact that people of all socioeconomic statuses do in fact rent.

I realize that writing an email about million-dollar beach houses and five figure rental properties isn't inherently the most relatable topic, so allow to me explicitly draw the connection: The stories we’ve been about how to live our lives, how to run a business, and how to make money, are all exactly that: Stories.

If you want to rent, rent. If you want to buy, buy. If you want to use a hand-written sign to advertise your product, do it.

Live your life, run your business, and build your happiness whatever way you want.

Write your own story and have the courage to do what’s right for you.

This isn’t a suggestion to give a big middle finger to those around you and pretend that your actions don’t impact other people. Quite the contrary. It means considering those who you care about while also making sure that you’re not giving your own wants and needs a big middle finger. It’s bringing your whole self to the table and encouraging others to do the same.

People inherently want to be able to show up as themselves, and while the support may not be universal, having the courage to challenge traditional narratives that just don’t fit you will show you that you’re not nearly as alone as you may think.

Is there a narrative that you want to challenge? Hit me back and let me know. I read every single email.

Yours in doing the thing,
Maestro

Want to learn more about building your best life? Check out this blog I wrote.