My Personal Story of Where I Started From I had meager beginnings

My Personal Story of Where I Started From
I had meager beginnings. My family way back on both sides are people of strong fiber and character, hardworking, but poor. My parents continued in that tradition. Oh, we were not destitute or anything like that. We always had food on the table and a roof over our heads. (I was the oldest of four boys.) I remember one Christmas when money was tight, and all Dad and Mom were able to afford was a pair of gloves for each of us and a camera to share. Do not get me wrong; we had more good Christmases than not, and I am not complaining. I am thankful because I know there are those who had it much worse. My point in sharing this with you is to say, "If I can do it, so can you!" As a teenager I learned to work hard. I made a commitment to myself that I was going to find a way to achieve financial independence. I could have graduated from high school, but I did not. Lacking maturity, and wisdom, (during this time of my life) I instead dropped out, and joined the U.S. Navy. I spent five years there, got my G.E.D., and worked in the medical field. During my last two years I worked nights in the emergency room at the Great Lakes Naval Medical Center, and went to college during the day. I had gotten married and had my first son. There seemed to never be enough money. I went to school days, worked nights, and part time on weekends delivering pizza, and still could not make ends meet.

I felt strongly that being in business for myself must be the key. Achieving success via higher education was tempting me. I worked closely with doctors, and that profession was of interest; however, the time commitment in getting there and a doctor’s schedule was discouraging to me. I got my paramedic’s license and went to work for an ambulance company making $17,300 a year. The money was not enough, and the hours were demanding, even though I enjoyed the work of helping others.

I started to focus my thoughts on the fact that I kept hearing about people who were successful at investing in real estate. I was intrigued. So I took a real estate course and got my license. I went to work part time for a typical real estate brokerage office. I asked the broker about investing, he said "just focus on listing, the investing will come later" I did not want to wait for later. I saw an article on the front page of the real estate section of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. It was about a man named Gary Furstenfeld. He was very successful at buying foreclosures. The article indicated he taught classes at a downtown learning center. I called them and asked for his phone number. When they would not give it to me, I asked them to call and ask his permission. They did, and he did, and I called him. I told him of my interest in buying properties, and if he would teach me, I could then duplicate his efforts. I would be willing to work for him for free, just for the opportunity to be around him and learn. He arranged an interview appointment with me. It lasted two hours.

I left my paramedic job and went to work 12 to 14 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week for three months — for free! I was not paid a dime! However, the education that I got, — well, Napoleon Hill said it best, "If you feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for life!" Nothing was just handed to me; my hand was not held. I pushed and shoved, asked for direction, and made things happen!