Honored to be a guest on the FIRE Drill Podcast, a show about side hustles, real estate & financial independence. We discuss how my one-year sabbatical in 2015 turned into full FIRE (financial independence retire early).
We also discuss the Man Overseas Blog & Podcast, the coaching business I started to help others achieve FIRE, and my European tour guide side-hustle.
Additionally, we talk about the value of a strong work ethic, emotionally detaching yourself to get deals done, and how I made the decision to walk away from my corporate job.
What fueled my FIRE
In my twenties, I switched careers, keeping my real estate license active so that I could continue to do real estate deals. Eventually after years of prioritizing my life to work two jobs and consistently acquiring income-producing real estate assets, my passive income exceeded my expenses.
We discuss landlording—it can be a lot of work. But I explain that by doing the grunt work upfront you can save yourself tons of headaches and ensure your real estate will provide income streams for the rest of your life.
To ensure you get great tenants, screen them thoroughly. Call their previous landlords, check their credit scores, verify income & assets, do criminal background checks, and much more.
Life in Early Retirement
We discuss what’s going on in my life now. Namely, I’ve found the skills sets that I acquired in the corporate world were transferrable. For example, sales skills are communication skills—business writing, listening skills, educating, building relationships, formulating good questions—all of which assist me in everything I’m doing now.
Meanwhile, I’ve got yet another side-hustle. Man Overseas Travel Services gives me an opportunity to share my passion for travel with American clients.
Why do I work at all? Because those with the discipline & fire inside (no pun intended) to retire early won’t be content to sip margaritas at the beach between naps.
“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.” – Viktor Frankl
The beauty of FIRE is that you get to work on projects of your own choosing. In my case, I usually create those projects for myself—my next tour group will join me in Europe in two weeks!
Listen here:
You can find more listening options (Apple, Android, Google & Stitcher) in the FIRE Drill Podcast show notes.
