At the age of 27, Andrew Sallee was making six figures through selling windows and sliding doors. He had reached the goal in his 20s to make it to six figures and buy the home, the Rolex and the Corvette. But Sallee knew there was more he could be doing to reach his goals.
A couple years before, Sallee had read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It influenced his thinking and changed his perspective on how he should conduct the rest of his 20s and, really, the rest of his life.
Sallee knew that he could do more. What he really wanted to reach was a level of passive income that would earn him money in his sleep. This thought turned Sallee to real estate. He realized it was time to sell those fancy toys and watches and invest in creating his own home improvement company. The company was started at the ground which of course meant his normal income of $350,000 a year would be on hold until profits began. “I gave it all up to focus on owning my company,” Sallee says.
While actively working on his business, Sallee began purchasing and investing in apartments. He was dabbling into a passive income outlet he knew little about until 2008 when he decided commercial real estate was where his income should be invested.
When he began real estate purchases in 2008, he purchased a commercial strip mall. This purchase did not come easy for Sallee. After trying to get approved for the purchase through 12 different banks, one finally approved him. During this purchase time, Sallee had 600 apartments in his name but wanted to turn to commercial real estate to really reach his goals. He did this without partners, without raising capital and without taking any of the usual avenues.
At just 39 years old, Sallee had built his portfolio, closed his companies and transitioned all 900 of his apartments into strip malls. Now, he regularly attends seminars, mentors young investors and is sitting on a $130 million portfolio that earns him passive income to support his lifestyle.
But how did Sallee manage to reach his goals besides just through investments and hard work?
Get around like-minded people
Being surrounded by people who share similar goals and values has an unexplainable influence on your success as a business person, as an entrepreneur and as a good person in general. Influence by the people around you happens regardless of what you are trying to accomplish but especially when you are trying to reach financial goals.
Sallee noted that part of his success had to do with getting around people who thought similarly to him. This taught him how to think, new ways to gather success and to speak openly about his goals with others who understood what he was going through.
It is vital to level up your network as you are working toward your success. Sallee was willing to spend that extra money and take the time to hear from professionals in his dream field, to speak with those who he was hoping to mimic in terms of success. The longer you are in the business, the better you should get at networking and learning from others. Being surrounded by those who will motivate you, encourage you and influence you in the best ways has unfathomable results on your success.
Educate yourself and learn constantly
You must be willing to think bigger if you want to reach your success sooner rather than later. This looks like surrounding yourself with like-minded people, hearing from successful people in your field and learning from books and seminars. Reading and listening to how others reached their success and learning from their mistakes is something that is necessary to reach your ultimate goals.
“You have a bookshelf, don’t you?” Sallee asks. “I have read 55 books this year. Spend money on that. Spend a weekend and read for 18 hours.”
That bookshelf could be filled with things that have no relevance to your education and success, or you could choose to fill your mind and time with reading and learning how others reached their goals. Learn from their mistakes. Listen to professionals speak and teach on what they did to reach success. Read books that have relevance to your journey and teach you how to be more successful and be a better person.
However, Sallee notes that it is important to make sure you also do not overload yourself. Stay focused on what your goals are. Deferring your focus will prevent your growth for success.
Enjoy the process
While focusing and learning continually are certainly key factors for success, enjoying life and the process is just as vital. You never want to hit burn out when you are trying to reach your goals. You have to love what you do and love learning, but you also need to love the process.
It is not wrong to enjoy yourself while you work on your goals. If you never wake up excited for what you are working toward or never take time to enjoy your life without just straight hard work, you will get burned out and quit your goals just as quickly as you started them.
“I want to be sitting at a billion dollars in assets. But I want to do that while giving back and enjoying life,” Sallee explains.
If life is not enjoyable, what is the point of reaching your goals? Being sure that what you are doing you love and you are enjoying the process as you work is vital to your success.
Success is earned, not given
“The challenge is everyone wants to become a millionaire in a year. I want to get rich for certain, not just for the short term,” Sallee says.
The thing about Salle is that he has learned as he reached his goals. He was focused on the rat race in his early 20s. He was making the money he wanted but blowing it on his lifestyle. Then he shifted his focus to real estate and business while getting serious about his money. Now, Sallee focuses on moving forward and learning and growing his passive income to freedom.
Sallee never stopped learning and never stopped growing. As soon as one goal was accomplished, he created the next one. He never stopped creating and accomplishing and does not plan on it now either. At 40, Sallee is sitting on millions in assets. Most people would think his goals have been reached, but he knows his passive income work toward freedom has only just begun.
