The $ vs 🧠 Bet I Made in my 20s

It wasn't rainbows and butterflies, but it was worth it.

Mar 14, 2021

This is part 2 of 4 of a series called “Finding My Own Path.”
In case you missed it, here’s part 1.

My average bank account balance in my 20s was ~$500.

It wasn’t sexy.
It wasn’t glamorous.

I still remember the nagging thought in the back of my mind every. time. I swiped my credit card, “careful, you don’t want to hit the overdraft fee,” and then I’d compulsively check my bank account to make sure I had enough funds.

I don’t think I was proud of it either.
But I knew what bet I was making.

When I met my to-be mentor 6 months into my real estate career (circa 2013), I made him an offer that epitomized my beliefs about money.

I told him, “If you pay my living expenses, teach me everything you know, give me a budget to experiment or play with, I’ll build your company.”

I was 23 at the time.

I knew knowledge would serve me the rest of my life and that money was a byproduct of knowledge applied skillfully.

Is knowledge a better treasure than money? - Careerindia

I knew that, when properly incentivized, I could learn incredibly quickly.

I knew that because of my learning capacity, I could reproduce the same wealth my mentor had if I cared enough to.

So, that meant, money could wait.

This trend continued throughout the rest of my 20s (I paid myself ~$1500/m while working on Orenda in my late 20s while living in San Carlos).

I remember reading about Warren Buffett’s advice for those who wanted to replicate the success that he had:

“Read 500 pages... every day. That's how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

My mind was the most aggressive investment vehicle.

Whenever I made a chunk of change from closing a real estate deal, I invested in books, courses, or to build my network.

I remember countless weekday nights I’d be up reading about marketing, business, or some other personal growth literature and my inner critic would come out of nowhere and say:

Dude. Everyone your age is probably out drinking, partying, unwinding and having fun. You’re such a loner!

I’d remember the pit in my stomach as the thought came up, “No one wants to be friends with you… you’re broke!”

15 Things To Do When You're Tired of Being Broke | Marketing For Hippies

Those were the moments I had to remind myself about what was important to me, not what society might think.

2 marshmallows is worth it.
“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”

Those subtle moments were defining for me.

Those are the moments that matter.

The moments where no one else is watching.

The little things done in secret, done consistently that shape you more than any singular event or conference.

During my 20s, there were stints where I spent hours editing videos for my old YouTube channel, 3 hours a day to develop my Quora presence, learned grit/resilience/sales by door-knocking for 9 months straight, hired and managed 2 virtual assistants for 2 years, sent thousands of pieces of direct mail, coached hundreds of other real estate investors, and became accustomed to talking to multi-millionaires (our investors).

Those moments weren’t necessarily the most “fun,” per se.
I didn’t have very many friends at the time, so even the successes were lonely.

But ultimately, all of these skills directly impacted my ability to help build Orenda Academy, is the foundation of my current role at Searchlight, and shapes how I prototype my various side projects (Substack, Parent Project, Zone of Genius).

The fact that I even have bandwidth to run 3 side projects while having a full time job is a direct result of having done the hard work in my 20s, building up these skillsets and competencies.

I feel pretty confident about my ability to make money, on demand, if I wanted to, even if I lost my job tomorrow.

I feel pretty confident about my ability to retire early and be comfortable.

I feel pretty confident about my ability to pick up virtual any skill I wanted to.

Overall, it gives me a sense of autonomy/mastery when it comes to designing my life as if they were lego blocks — it’s an incredibly liberating place to be.

To me, that confidence is a dividend of years of learning, study and practice through books, videos, courses, and mentors.

I’m not sure I’d have that level of confidence in all those arenas if I went a more traditional path — finishing college and then getting a job — and that makes me think this bet was worth it.

What resonated with you? What questions come up for you?

Musings, Reflections, and Life Lessons

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