NFA Finance

If you had a time machine and could send just one message to your past self, what would it say?

If I had a time machine and could send one message to my younger self, I wouldn’t give him a stock tip.

I wouldn’t tell him which cars to buy.

I wouldn’t tell him which deals to make, which people to trust, which relationships would last, or which opportunities would turn into absolute disasters.

I wouldn’t even tell him how to make more money.

I’d tell him something much more valuable:

Stop wasting time.

Not because I think I wasted my life. Far from it.

I’ve lived.

I’ve built businesses. I’ve bought and sold thousands of cars. I’ve made money. I’ve lost money. I’ve taken chances most people wouldn’t take. I’ve had great years and years where it felt like the whole damn thing was coming apart.

I’ve built things from nothing.

And I’ve had to do it more than once.

That’s exactly why I know what I’d tell that younger version of myself.

Build Something You Own

I learned how to hustle early.

Cars. Detailing. Auctions. Dealerships. Financing. Buy Here Pay Here. Real estate. Deals.

I’ve always known how to make something happen.

But there’s a difference between making money and building an asset.

I wish I’d understood that distinction earlier.

A deal pays you once.

A skill can pay you forever.

A business can operate beyond you.

A piece of real estate can produce income.

An audience can grow while you’re sleeping.

A reputation can open doors money can’t.

And a body of work can keep introducing you to people you’ve never met.

If I could go back, I’d tell myself:

Don’t just make money. Build things that compound.

Own the business.

Own the assets.

Own the audience.

Own your name.

And document the whole damn journey.

Stop Waiting Until It’s Perfect

This might be the biggest one.

For years, I thought the finished product was what mattered.

Now I realize people want to see the build.

They want the busted knuckles.

They want the car that doesn’t start.

They want the deal that almost fell apart.

They want the 4:00 AM drive.

They want the mistakes.

They want the comeback.

They want to know how you actually got there.

The unfinished part isn’t something to hide.

It’s the story.

I would’ve started documenting everything decades ago.

The first little car lot.

The auction trips.

The cars.

The customers.

The wins.

The disasters.

The lessons.

The times I was broke.

The times I was crushing it.

The times everybody thought I was crazy.

Because today I understand something I didn’t understand then:

Attention is the new currency.

And authenticity compounds just like money does.

Don’t Confuse Motion With Progress

I’ve never had a problem working.

That’s not the lesson.

If anything, I’d tell my younger self to be more selective about what deserves that work.

You can work sixteen hours a day and still spend years going sideways.

You can be incredibly busy building something you don’t actually want.

You can chase ten opportunities and miss the one opportunity that could’ve changed everything.

Hard work matters.

But hard work pointed in the wrong direction is just exhaustion.

Focus is a force multiplier.

Pick the things that matter.

Go all in.

Let the other shit go.

People Matter More Than Deals

I’d also tell that younger guy to pay very close attention to the people around him.

Some people will believe in you before you’ve earned it.

Remember them.

Some people will help you when there’s absolutely nothing in it for them.

Remember them too.

And some people will teach you exactly who they are.

Believe them.

Don’t spend years trying to turn the wrong people into the right people.

You can replace a deal.

You can replace a car.

You can make another dollar.

You cannot manufacture another twenty years with somebody.

Time is the only currency you spend without knowing your balance.

Use it accordingly.

You’re Going to Lose Things

This is the part I’d really want him to understand.

You’re going to lose.

Money.

Deals.

Businesses.

Relationships.

Opportunities.

Maybe even versions of yourself that you thought would exist forever.

And when you’re standing in the middle of it, some of those losses are going to feel enormous.

They’re going to feel permanent.

They’re not.

You’re going to rebuild.

Then someday you’ll look backward and realize something strange:

The losses weren’t the most important part of the story.

The rebuild was.

Because every time life strips away something you thought you needed, you find out what you’re actually made of.

And if you’re willing to keep moving, you become dangerous in a completely different way.

You stop being afraid of starting over.

You’ve already done it.

Bet on Yourself Earlier

That’s probably the final thing I’d tell him.

Bet on yourself.

Earlier.

Bigger.

Not recklessly.

Not arrogantly.

But confidently.

Because nobody is coming to save you.

And that’s actually good news.

You don’t need permission.

You don’t need everybody to understand the vision.

You don’t need perfect conditions.

You need a direction.

You need discipline.

And you need enough balls to keep going when the scoreboard temporarily says you’re losing.

Stack the days.

Stack the skills.

Stack the relationships.

Stack the assets.

Stack the content.

Stack the wins.

Because eventually those little wins stop looking little.

They become a life.

So What Would My One Message Actually Say?

If the time machine only gave me enough room for one message, this would be it:

Stop wasting time trying to make everything perfect. Build something you own. Document the journey. Keep the right people close. Walk away from the wrong ones faster. Buy assets instead of appearances. Protect your reputation. Take care of your body. Stay focused. And when life knocks the whole fucking thing down, don’t sit there staring at the rubble. Build it again.

Because you’re going to make money.

You’re going to lose money.

You’re going to win.

You’re going to get your ass kicked.

You’re going to love people.

You’re going to lose people.

You’re going to make mistakes.

You’re going to have moments where you wonder how the hell you ended up where you are.

Keep going.

The younger version of me probably wouldn’t understand all of that anyway.

That’s okay.

He’d eventually figure it out.

I did.

— Nicholas Francis
Modern Day Dealer