From Hustle to Leverage: How Relationships, Not Luck, Built My Investing Edge

Most people see the end of the story and assume it is inevitable. As an example, they look at the investments, the portfolio, and the freedom of the wealthy. They then conclude that it all started with money, elite connections, hustle, or some unfair advantage.

That’s not always the case.

Having grown up in a hardworking, blue-collar family, I learned that faith, relationships, and integrity were more important than money. I learned from my parents that if I wanted spending money, I should earn it. There was no “Bank of Mom and Dad.”

When I was in seventh grade, I took a job selling newspapers door-to-door for a 100% commission. Yeah, it was brutal.

Doors slammed in my face. “No” became the most common word in my vocabulary. Rejection felt personal at first. As time went on, though, it became more educational. Eventually, it empowered me.

It was a lesson I would use throughout my life: confidence, preparation, and repetition change outcomes. As soon as I memorized the script, anticipated objections, and showed up with certainty, everything changed. As a result, I improved my performance and became a top performer.

And guess what? It was a pattern that repeated itself throughout my entire life.

Learning Sales Before Anyone Taught It

It was during those early years that I learned communication skills, resilience, and how to read people, as well as asking for things I wanted.

Despite the obvious importance of sales, personal finance, and investing, schools don’t teach these skills. However, learning sales early builds a foundation that compounds for a lifetime.

For instance, when it came time for college, my parents wanted something they had never had: a graduated child. However, they were unable to pay for it. That’s when I found Cutco.

Selling high-quality kitchen products door to door was a turning point. Suddenly, I wasn’t selling something people tolerated — I was selling something I believed in. Most people don’t realize how important that is.

Eventually, I moved into leadership after paying my way through college and graduating debt-free. Even though I enjoyed selling, recruiting, coaching, and creating systems, I enjoyed building teams more.

As a result of those leadership skills, I became a consultant.

The Question That Changed My life and Hustle mentality

While consulting was profitable, I traded my time for money.

Eventually, I asked myself a question that quietly changed my life’s trajectory: Do I want to continue trading hours for income? Or do I want to own assets that generate income without my involvement?

Books like Cashflow Quadrant and The Millionaire Fastlane gave language to what I felt. I needed leverage. I needed ownership.

It was through mentorship that I learned about investing in mobile home parks. Rather than replacing my income, my first deal replaced my wife’s income.

For us, that mattered more. As a teacher, she had a rigid schedule. A single investment, however, gave her the freedom to spend more time with her family. She then was able to retire. Even better? We started our family.

As a result, every deal had a purpose:

• Survival income was replaced by one
• In addition, lifestyle expenses are covered
• After that, everything became surplus

That’s when investing became intentional—not reactive.

Why Passive Income Matters More Than Net Worth and Hustle 

People obsess over net worth. I don’t.

The reason? Net worth is theoretical. Passive income, on the other hand, is practical.

Because my passive income exceeded our cost of living, I had financial freedom before I was considered wealthy. This gave us options, such as flexibility or time.

In the long run, net worth will follow, but for now passive income provides utility.

That philosophy is why I wrote The Lifestyle Investor. It wasn’t because I wanted to write a book — but because a close friend asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks: “What happens if you die and your kids never learn what you know?”

By writing the book, I passed on fundamental principles that aren’t taught in schools — principles that will assist people in recapturing their time and living intentionally.

It’s important to understand that real wealth doesn’t come from accumulation. It’s all about freedom.

The Power of Relationships to Find Deals Early

As an investor, people often assume that I use spreadsheets, deal structures, or some other secret framework in order to be successful. The real difference, however, is not my discipline with investment criteria. My true superpower is relationships.

There are ten core investment criteria that I outline in my book. Among the most important is finding invisible deals — opportunities that never appear on the open market. They aren’t bid up by the competition. Often, they come from conversations with owners who weren’t even sure they wanted to sell.

In my opinion, those are the best deals because they’re built on trust, timing, and conversation-not hype.

It’s the same principle that applies beyond individual transactions. I’ve taken early positions in single-family rentals, mobile home parks, cannabis lending, robotics, and AI not because I’m lucky, but because I know people who see trends before they happen.

In other words, proximity creates opportunity. And proximity comes from relationships.

Why Relationships Beat Hustle

At the beginning of my career, work ethic was everything. While I didn’t have the skills yet, I could outwork anyone.

The hustle got me off the ground, but it also became a ceiling.

Let me explain. One of the lowest-leveraging ways to grow is by grinding harder. What actually speeds up progress are skills, precision, mentorship, and relationships.

I remember a night around 10 p.m when I was still at the office, turning down friends who wanted to go out. I realized I was okay with the sacrifice for now—but this wasn’t how I wanted to live forever.

It was that night that I made a quiet commitment: these sacrifices were temporary. Long-term, I strived to work smarter, build systems, surround myself with the right people, and focus on the 20% of efforts that deliver 80% of results.

Everything changed when the focus shifted from effort to precision.

How Relationships Create Better Deals

In my experience, the best deals I have done don’t come from cold outreach or aggressive tactics. They came from people who trusted me — people I’d already helped, people who knew my character.

The way I build relationships isn’t transactional. By out-giving, I add more value than I receive, without expecting anything in return.

That’s what creates reciprocity, ironically. If you have clean intentions, people will want to help you. You discover opportunities early that way.

My definition of a real relationship is simple: honesty, transparency, trust, and enjoying life together. In the future, there will be transactions — but I want to make them with people I respect and care about.

The Framework I Use to Choose People

Whenever I meet someone new, I ask myself these questions:

• Do I enjoy their company?
• Even when it’s uncomfortable, are they honest?
• Is their behavior kind towards others, especially to those who cannot offer them anything in return?
• Are they joyful?

Joy and kindness are underrated filters. You can tell much more about a person by how they treat their waiter than by their summary.

In addition, I choose to assume that people are good. Yes, I have been burned. However, living guarded creates an energy I prefer to avoid. I’d rather risk getting burned than miss out on meaningful relationships.

Over the past two decades, I have made it a habit to grab coffee or dinner with someone every week, even on vacation. The goal for me is simple: to learn something new. If you pay attention, everyone has something to teach you.

The Real Return on Investment

I strongly believe in peer groups and masterminds because of this philosophy. Financially and personally, one conversation, one relationship, or one mindset shift can generate exponential returns.

Your relationships will always dictate how far you can go in life.

In the end, my challenge is simple: take one intentional action today. One step toward financial freedom. Deepening of a relationship. Starting a conversation.

If you do that consistently, your life will look very different a year from now — by design, not by default.

Key Takeaways

• Confidence is built, not inherited. Outcomes are changed by preparation and repetition.
• Sales is a life skill. Communication and handling rejection are lifelong skills.
• Passive income matters more than net worth. Cash flow is more important than paper wealth when it comes to achieving freedom.
• Early deals aren’t found — they’re shared. Off-market opportunities are unlocked through relationships.
• Hustle has diminishing returns. Effort alone does not scale as quickly as skills, systems, and mentors.
• Out-giving creates reciprocity. Long-term opportunities are attracted to clean intentions.
• Your relationships determine your reach. You should invest in people the same way you invest in assets.

Featured Image Credit: Git Stephen Gitau; Pexels: Thank you!