My "Aha!" Moment

As a kid growing up, there would have been only one answer to the question of what I wanted to be: A professional athlete. From the age of five I was somewhere on a field, court, or track somewhere. I loved playing sports for the competition, and I was good at whatever I was playing. Fast forward to the end of my collegiate football career ... and despite performing well enough on the field over my time there and garnering enough attention to at least get a look from an NFL team, I realized I had likely come to the end of the road in my football career.

This is when I decided to drop my pursuit of the Professional Athlete dream, and move on to the next chapter of my life. I finished earning my degree in Business-Marketing that following semester, and my girlfriend (now wife) and I moved to Atlanta, GA to start our new life in the Real World.

Over the nearly 12 years since then, I've started down several different career paths. From a "Management Trainee" at a rental car company (which showed me exactly what I don't want to do), to working in management at a parking company, to my current career in IT here in Seattle, I've learned a lot about what makes me happy and what I want to do.

Over the last couple of years there have been many times during my hour-long commutes to or from my job where I have questioned what it is I am doing, and where I am going in my career. 

A little background on how I got to where I am ... I worked very hard to get into the position I am now as a Programmer Analyst. I went back to school full-time for a year and a half to earn a degree in software development (which happened to be what I originally was enrolled in the first time around in college). Upon finishing up that degree (and a concurrent internship), I landed a job with a very cool company, making very good money. And I actually do not dislike the job I have.  But I have always felt that there is something bigger and better in the cards for me. I have grown to absolutely hate the idea of having to commute to a job and spend eight hours a day busting my butt to make someone else rich. I can't do it. I won't do it.

I've always had dreams of owning my own business. I want for my success, financially and otherwise, to be directly tied to how much work I put in. But in my mind I was always held back by the thought that there is nothing that I can produce or provide as a service to start a business with. I've tried opening Ebay businesses, as well as other e-commerce ventures without success. I've been roped into a MLM type of business before, but quickly figured out that is not something I want to be a part of. So I've continued to just climb the ladder in a traditional 9-5 work environment. 

I've always had the itch to at least try flipping a house ever since the shows started coming on TV over a decade ago. But never had the courage, money, or knowledge to actually do it. Despite never actually jumping in the fix & flip waters, my interest in doing so is still strong. 

So, about that Aha! moment ...

I was on that hour-long commute home, excited to see my wife and three kids, and my mind went off thinking about what business I could venture out on that would make me and my family more happy. The checklist looks something like this:

• I can work for me.
• I can have a flexible schedule.
• My income = My effort.
• Not sitting behind a desk from 9-5, everyday.
• Constant new challenges to keep things interesting.
• BONUS: Something that I can start building before quitting my 9-5 life.

Right about that time something must have taken my mind to Real Estate. Probably one of those cheesy "Do you wan't to make an extra $20K a month flipping houses?!?" commercials. Aha! Real Estate Investing could be my vehicle to where I want to be and what I want to accomplish!

I had always thought of flipping a house as a short-term project to try and make a few dollars. I'd never thought about Real Estate Investing as a way to eventually make a living and build some wealth! 

This was a week ago, and I have spent a large amount of time since doing my due diligence on the subject. And I am genuinely excited about the idea of building my way to making a living from Real Estate! But, if I'm honest, I'm probably left with more questions that before I started looking into it! There is so much to learn, and so many paths to take to success!

I have to figure out what I am going to do now. Do I go and get my Real Estate license? Should I look into being an agent so that I can work in the industry while I build up enough capital to start flipping houses or acquiring cash flow properties? Should I give wholesaling a shot?

One thing I do know ... I'm ready to take the first step!

I don't know if anyone will read this, but if you did, Thanks! I will continue to make posts periodically to track my progress, so check back if you're interested in my progress. If nothing else, it will provide me a way to look back into what my thinking was when I began my journey.

Thanks for reading!