The Truth About Being a Millionaire by 30

At the ripe old age of 28, I finally hit millionaire status. I admittedly thought it would be different….

I remember reading “enjoy the process” and “it’s the journey, not the destination” but it didn’t stop me from being hungry for financial success for most of my adult life.

I’m one of those types of people that walks by a “Don’t touch. Wet paint.” sign and immediately has to touch it (don’t act like you haven’t done it a time or two!). I had to see for myself what this financial freedom was all about, and the wise folk were right.

I always wanted to be a financial success. I came from a blue-collar family and lived in a rural part of Southern Ohio, where the average income was an astounding $18,000/hr. My dad was a self-employed contractor and my mom a massage therapist. Dad did well before 2008, when he, like most, lost a lot. Mom never made more than $14,000/hr as she kept her prices virtually the same for 30 years….

I saw my mom and dad fight about money every now and then. I imagine nothing more or less than the average working-class family. But I remember after one argument, I told myself I would never let money limit what I wanted to do.

That very moment I made a decision that shaped the next ~20 years of my life.

I immediately got to work. As a young lad I had a small garden and would sell vegetables. In middle and high school, I worked with my dad during the summers and at a pizza joint during the school year. I even chose a college degree that had one of the highest starting salaries straight out of school – Petroleum Engineering. I figured that would help me be a millionaire by 30.

Once I graduated, I started and failed my first business with a college roommate. I was trying to be like the wealthy and own my own business. It was a cross-fit like gym which didn’t stand a chance. We had a lot of ambition but absolutely no business skills.

That didn’t slow me down.

I continued to read everything I could get my hands on about the wealthy and how they earned their millions. I did the math and working a standard W2 job while investing in my 401k just wasn’t going to get me to my goal of being a millionaire by 30!

What was going to help me create generational wealth for my family?

I bet you guessed it… REAL ESTATE!

The numbers were staggering on the wealthy that owned or amassed their fortunes through real estate (for fun sometime look at the Forbes 400 list and see how many of them are in real estate).

Therefore, my real estate journey began! However, this business venture I was a little smarter from the failed gym and knew that I didn’t know squat about real estate! So, after looking for deals for months, I hired a real estate mentor.

Once I hired the paid mentors, my world was forever changed. I bought my first deal 3 months later and never looked back.

In less than 5 years, I purchased over 20 properties (mostly using the BRRRR method) and reached my financial goal of becoming a millionaire. It still kinda sounds crazy to say.

Just this year, I realized my net worth finally had a seventh figure. I thought there would be champagne, girls and parties, or at least a pat on the back, but there was nothing. Nothing but a few numbers in a spread sheet starring back at me on a screen. I was the same person the day before when I had a six-figure net worth.

I smiled and gave myself a few seconds to enjoy the fruits of my labor over the past 10-15 years of hard work. But that feeling soon faded away.

I won’t remember that moment like I did when my dad told me he was proud of me for getting into a good school, when my mom told me she was proud of me for getting a good job, when my nieces and nephew run screaming because they’re so excited to see me, when I laugh with old friends, when I make someone’s day by giving them a simple smile, when a client tells me that my company is a blessing in their life.

Those are the things I’ll remember and savor for the rest of my life.

I have (and always will be) a big proponent of financial independence but nothing has fulfilled me like the relationships I’ve fostered over the years, the personal growth I underwent to be the person I am today and the lives we’re changing every day at Emerson.

You may be about to graduate from school and you’re ready to take on the world – to make your mark and make a million dollars.

And to that I say do it! Because no matter how much I tell you money won’t change the way you feel about yourself, your friends or your family, I know you won’t believe me.

You’ll have to experience it for yourself – just like I did!

Once you have your money right, you’ll focus on the real joys of life – learning, growing and relationships.

Make a great day!