When we grow up, most of us are taught to “go to school, get good grades, go to college, and get a good job”. Like a lot of high income earners, grade school was easy for me; I got good grades, tested well, and was particularly good at math, and loved science. My family would say, “You’ll be an engineer like your grandfather!” My grandfather was laid off/retired early at 55, not because he wasn’t good at what he did, but because he didn’t want to play politics at work. Either way I kind of just shrugged my shoulders because I wanted to race my bicycle. I figured that I would go to college, race my bike, turn pro and then go back to school to get a graduate degree and really decide what I wanted to do. 

Prior to finishing college I had several life experiences that greatly shaped my view of the world and how I wanted to spend my life. I lost my father at age 5 and was raised by my mother and stepfather. Before I started racing my bicycle I played basketball and baseball, growing up watching Cal Ripken on TV. I also developed a bit of an entrepreneurial streak as I not only held odd jobs (like cleaning the garbage from our community trash) but also had a paper route and a “landscaping business” where I could make as much in a weekend as my friends did working part time for a month. I continued this in college where I sold knives and had a loft business where I’d sell 100 or more lofts in a weekend before college started. I’d sell them for $100 a piece with minimal overhead aside from 2 weeks of my time at the end of each school year. Clearing $10,000 the first week of school was always a nice way to start the year! However, during the Summer between my Freshman and Sophomore years I also lost my best friend who was my training partner and roommate to a brain hemorrhage. I only raced one more year after this.  

During this period I determined that I wanted freedom. The freedom to live life on my own terms. Whether I wanted to race my bike, travel, or just choose the career that was most fulfilling to me I determined that I needed financial freedom to do this. 

After I decided to quit racing my bike I realized that I didn’t want to be an engineer. I hated it! This was in 1998 and the stock market was on a TEAR. I stayed up late (sometimes all night) and read all that I could about business and investing. I read 2 books a week (over 250 books) during these years, mostly on the above. I day traded and tripled my initial investment before losing most of my profits in the ensuing crash. I learned about risk the hard way. I also learned a lot about real estate during this time. My parents had a few single family rentals and I knew it was a good “get rich slow” plan. I eventually bought my first rental property in 1999 at age 21. After considering a career in medicine I finally figured out what I wanted to be and do. I wanted to be an INVESTOR and I would facilitate this plan by building a career in the medical device field. I was determined to make a lot of money and become financially independent. Before age 40 I achieved this goal and want to help others do the same so that they can pursue their passions in life. 

Our Mission at Next-Level Income is to share education and investment opportunities to help others achieve financial independence. If you’d like to learn how I used the Next-Level Income strategy to build a portfolio of passive income investments, go to our website to get a free copy of my book and learn how to get access to these types of opportunities.