“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
– Warren Buffett
Do you feel like you’re stuck right now?
Stuck in your job or your business or even just life?
I get it.
For 10 years, I worked in medical sales making over $200,000 a year.
Sure, I was financially stable, but I wasn’t content with how my life looked.
Leaving a job like that was really hard, I won’t lie.
It was hard to really get that freedom.
If I was to do it again, I would do a few things differently.
Today, I want to share those things with you.
Let’s get into it!
1. Treat Investing Like a Business, Not an Afterthought
The first thing I would do is start treating investing like a business.
You work hard to grow your wealth in your job, but we don’t really apply that same diligence when it comes to investing.
We don’t take time to access deals and go to events.
We know we should be doing these things, but we don’t.
People usually have three different ways they approach wealth.
They’re either wasters, warriors, or winners.
To be a winner, you really need to go after it.
Make sure you put the effort in.
There’s a great book called Relentless by Tim Grover, who coached Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
In it, he says that there are people whose highest level is a cleaner.
Someone out there who cleans floors can be the best they can possibly be in that field.
You should aim to be the best possible you can be in your own field.
People who really value their financial wealth grow it over time.
They tend to really put a high level of detail and effort into their deals.
They’re also very diligent in every aspect.
When they invest, they do more than go on investor trips.
They look into the deals themselves, do background checks, ask questions, and look at all the things that could go wrong.
They are also very conservative, especially when things are going well in a deal.
Along those same lines, another thing I would do differently is prioritize the idea of investing first.
The classic book, The Richest Man in Babylon, says to pay yourself first.
It means you should set aside money.
Even Robert Kiyosaki says this.
He says the middle class lives on what they make, and then invest what’s left over.
The wealthy do the opposite.
They’ll invest first and live on what’s left over after that.
That’s the equation that really allows people to become wealthier.
According to Barron’s, U.S. retail investors poured approximately $20 billion into stocks in early 2025.1
People are waking up to the power of consistent investing, and you can also take full advantage!
2. Build Your Value and Your Brand
The next thing I would do is build my value and my brand a lot sooner.
I didn’t really start building a brand until seven or so years ago.
To be clear: A brand doesn’t equal a lot of followers online.
I’m more talking about a personal brand.
Your brand can be as simple as how you show up and how people know you.
If you’re known as a person of value and someone who helps people, that’s a great brand to have!
When you find your brand, you can then try to grow and scale it.
We’ve leveraged our brand to raise over $50 million from retail investors.
Full transparency: Sometimes, we haven’t done things perfectly.
We’ve definitely had deals that have not done well and learned a lot along the way.
We actually use that in our brand.
We want to be very transparent when communicating with investors.
In my experience, people take notice when you show up and you’re authentic.
They value those types of brands.
3. Replace Earned Income with Passive Income
The last thing I wish I had done sooner is replacing my earned income with passive income.
If you have to go to work for your income, it’s not nearly as powerful.
I’d say residual income is 10x more powerful than salaried income.
That’s because $1,000 a month over time will grow to $1,500 and then to $2,000 a month.
Passive income grows over time.
And, as a bonus, you didn’t have to go to work for it!
You can make good money with traditional jobs, of course.
But what happens if you suddenly can’t work?
What happens if your family needs support and you need to be there for them?
What happens if you lose your passion for your work?
This is where I think a lot of people get stuck.
They can’t figure out a way to do what they love.
This is why 64% of people said in a 2024 Empower survey they would quit their jobs tomorrow if money wasn’t an object.2
If you can relate to that, passive income might be for you.
In order to replace your yearly income with passive income, you need to find your rat race number.
Mine was not $200,000 a year, which was my old salary.
I found out I only needed $60,000 a year.
That was more than enough for me at the time.
As I started earning more passive income, my lifestyle has adapted to that.
Inflation also plays a role.
But I share this with you to say that sometimes, you don’t need to replace your full amount.
That can make the transition feel a lot more attainable!
My goal is for you to not only find what you’re here to do but also achieve financial freedom.
Freedom and financial control are on the rise.
According to MarketWatch, Americans are embracing “revenge saving,” with personal savings rates climbing to 4.9% in April 2025.3
That shift is exactly what passive income is about.
Now I want to hear from you!
Before you leave, make sure to check out our special report about inflation investing. It shares the best choices to invest during an inflationary environment.
If you are interested in investing with us, we are happy to answer any questions that you may have. Join our investment club today and we will be in touch.
Check out my bestselling book on Amazon!
Disclaimer: I am not your investment advisor. This is for educational purposes only. I am not giving specific advice on what you can do. I am simply giving my opinions.
Works Cited
1. Salisbury, Ian. “Americans Are Gorging on Stocks. Why They May Keep Buying.” Last modified June 16, 2025. https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-us-trump-fed-5b09117e.
2. “The Price of Financial Happiness? $1.2 Million.” Empower, November 8, 2023. https://www.empower.com/the-currency/money/research-financial-happiness.
3. Wong, Venessa. “Americans are ‘revenge saving’ after years of splurging: ‘Savings are a great way to have some certainty’.” Last modified June 2, 2025. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-are-revenge-saving-after-years-of-splurging-savings-are-a-great-way-to-have-some-certainty-f676a037.
