As an NC native, I graduated from NC State University. During the summer of my junior year, I was working at an internship, doing one of the most mind-numbing tasks of all time – data entry. It was only an 8 week position: 5 days a week, 8 hours a day…nothing crazy or intense at all. The opposite, rather. However, about 3 or 4 weeks into the job, I remember thinking to myself, “okay…how do I ensure I *never* end up in any other position like this again.” That was a powerful and motivational blow to my then 20-year-old brain. This sparked a journey of all things financial on YouTube. After stumbling upon videos about stock investing, day-trading, selling products on Amazon…you name it – I finally stumbled upon something that really resonated with me. Real Estate Investing.
I discovered a passion through real estate and how powerful of a machine it can be to create financial freedom. Once I figured this out, I was all in. I started listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, books…you name it. Then, I had a brief learning hiatus where real life set in and I was about to graduate college and of course…needed to find a ‘real’ job. I couldn’t just tag myself as a real estate investor right out of college with less than $1,000 in my bank account 🙂
With the real world came a job at Amazon in California. This was a rather early interview in my senior year of college, and since I got the job, it turned out to be the only interview I participated in. It was one of those, ‘you accept the job and we’ll send you where we want you go to’ situations. Once I found out it was in California, I was practically sold (hence not doing any more interviews).
The first 6 months or so at Amazon were spent with real estate in the very distant background, with my new position being the forefront of my focus and energy. After getting into the swing of things and becoming more comfortable with my new role, I started to dive in, once again, to learning all things real estate. Again, listening to podcasts and audiobooks as much as I could, usually on my hour-long commute from Newport Beach to Moreno Valley. I also found time to cram in knowledge as I was cooking, working out, or just sitting on the beach. I was certain this was the path for me.
Fast forward a year or so, and I found myself really disliking my current position at Amazon. It’s a great company to work for, it truly is, it just wasn’t for me. At one point I had a realization. That realization was “I would actually rather be an Uber Driver, than to continue at my position at one of the largest and most successful companies in the world.” Once this had set in, I knew it was time to begin making my exit. Nothing against rideshare driving by any means, I was certain my near future would some driving shifts!
I quit Amazon in February 2018, and with a slightly larger bank account this time, jumped full-time into real estate. Well…after an obligatory trip to Europe, several escapades to Florida and a few ski trips to Colorado, of course. I was foolishly acting like I had already retired and the reality was I had yet to make a cent in real estate. Oh well, sometimes you just have to let loose a little when you quit your job :).
Anyways, back to the point. I really didn’t start my real estate journey full-time around April/May of 2018. After months of stumbling and failing, I finally landed my first real estate deal. I was unbelievably excited…