I just quit my Job

[Gabriel Garces]

Hello BP,

I guess I'm just writing this post so I can clear my mind right now.

I'm 23 and I graduated from college in 2014 with a degree in Civil Engineering. I'm a pretty smart guy. I graduated with Highest Honors. 

I've always had a thing for Real Estate. My dad owned some commercial real estate that he rented out and made a great living. He put my sister and I though college without any problem. My junior year of college I read a book by Australian Billionaire Jamie McIntyre called "What I didn't learn at College but wish I had"

This book pretty much told me about being financially intelligent, having multiple sources of income, being financially free, and having the mindset for success. This lead me to read books like Think and Grow Rich, E-myth, Rich Dad Poor Dad, 4 Hour Work Week, Building Wealth One House at a Time, ABC's of REI, and other books listed here on BP.

It changed the way I saw being successful and being wealthy. So I decided that I was going to invest in real estate once I started working after college. However, my first year after college wasn't so great. It took me 25 interviews with various companies to get my first job, that was underpaid. I took it b/c I was desperate. It sucked. I studied Calculus 4 yet I was swinging a hammer. I knew I picked Construction Management as my focus, but why was I swinging a hammer? Why did my dad pay $80,000 so I can swing a hammer???

I quit after a couple days. I found another job that paid the same but I was desperate, but at least I wasn't swinging a hammer. It was ok but I knew I could have gotten paid 50% more. I quit once I found another job that paid good. It was great. But 6 weeks later I got laid off....I was only 22 and I got laid off....

I went into a mild depression. I worked so hard in college, busted my butt to get straight A's some semesters. Why am I struggling so much in the real world? Two months later I got an job, the pay was awesome. Doing some math work, but once again I was swinging a hammer at times. I didn't mind because my pay was very good. However, I'm waking up at 5:30am M-F, my boss is a dick, the foreman are unprofessional and give me a tough time, and I have 11 hour days. My job sucks. Did I work this hard in college to have a ****** job?

I decided it's time to start looking at RE. I decide to get my license.

Once day my boss gives me a review and tells me he's unhappy with my performance. He tells me I don't looked focused and think about what I want to do. 

This was last week. I thought about it and now I decided I'm going to quit and go to Real Estate full-time by being an agent. I told him on Friday that I'm putting my two weeks.

I go to work today and he fires me on the spot b/c he has someone lined up. This was 2 hours ago. 

I'm home now. I made this decision to go into RE full-time. But now it's actually happening. I have my interview with my broker in an hour. I never felt this feeling of fear. My whole life I was never scared of failing b/c I thought I had it made. When I was little I thought my life would be easy. I've always done well in school and I am very personable. What a shock I'm having. But this is the first time I am taking such a big leap. As I'm finishing this post, I'm feeling a little more at ease. But I still can't shake off this feeling of certainty and doubt. I guess this is normal. I made this choice and I know it's the right one. I spoke with other members of BP who are engineers and it seems the consensus is that "Engineering can give me a comfortable life, but RE can give me a financial freedom"

And I'm really to fail a 1000 times for financial freedom and happiness. I'll rather have a great life than a comfortable life. I think I'm ready to create the life I want.

[Gabriel Garces]

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to give an update on my progress so far. 

I have been a licensed agent for 8 months and I love it! I love Real Estate! I love entrepreneurship, I love being in charge of my own success. I'm on my way to being a Top Producer in my area.

8 Months in and I have closed 2 deals and I have 3 more closings in June. My pipeline is ridiculous. If I keep this up, I'm seriously on my way to making 100k in my first year. My first deal was a short sale. The sheriff sale was one month away when I took the listing. I got the house under contract in one business day and got the necessary paperwork in for the bank to push the sale date one more month. Long story short, I worked hard everyday to have the short sale approved. I saved my client from financial disaster and even got him the 10k relocation fee =D

It's amazing, I never worked so many hours (averaging 70 hours a week) but felt more alive. It's such a rewarding and fun career. I hustle everyday. I love how if I want more money I just need to work harder. I never been happier seeing my hard work pay off. 

I work with first time home buyers, investors, I handle short sales, and I am even trying to get a million dollar listing with my friend. (It's 100x more nerve-wrecking knocking on a million dollar house, but I'll be sure to post when I get it).

It's actually been two years today since I graduated college. I would have never thought 4 years of engineering would lead to a career as a real estate agent. Never be afraid to take a leap of faith or follow your passion. Maybe things do happen for a reason. Sometimes you don't know what life is going to throw at you. All I know for sure right now is I'm going to be one of the top agents in Jersey. So if you're looking to buy or sell your house in North Jersey, give me call.

@Brandon Turner We're going to have a podcast together one day