I’ll never forget my first day of work out of college.  I graduated on a Sunday at 2pm and started work at Principal Financial Group the next day.  Two hours into my day I felt a sense of shock.  I was sitting in my cube thinking to myself “is this the next 40 years of my life?”  I saw people that had been at the company 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years.  Same company.  Same spot!  It scared the hell out of me.  I thought to myself there has to be more to life than this 8 to 5 corporate grind.  I was in commercial real estate lending as an analyst.  I was lending $5M to $100M to investors buying real estate.  Our clients were making great money off their investments. Clearing thousands of dollars every year off passive real estate investments.   Creating passive income for themselves.  The problem with a normal job is the fact once you stop working you stop making money.  You don’t show up for work.  You don’t get paid!  You are the asset generating the income for the company.  Passive income keep coming with minimal time investment.

I was perplexed with the people I worked with!  Why weren’t the people in my office not trying to get out of the grind or investing in real estate themselves.  The irony of it all was the fact that most people in my office were more educated than the individuals that we were lending too. Then it dawned on me.  The people around me were content with their jobs.  They were making 6 figures and to them that was okay.    To most that’s the American dream.  They didn’t want to take on the risk of striking out on their own.  For me it was a nightmare. Clocking in and clocking out every day for the rest of your life.   I had to figure out a way to take control of my own life.  The only foreseeable option was starting a business that would build assets that would create passive income.

Passive income, when used as a technical term, is defined as either “net rental income” or “income from a business in which the taxpayer does not materially participate,” and in some cases can include self-charged interest.  In other words it’s making money when you aren’t working.  This is not PTO from a company but money generated from investments.

If your like most entrepreneurs the 8 to 5 sounds more like a prison than a great job!  Luckily for me I was laid off in 2009 when the economy tanked and was able to start a landscaping business with $250.  People laughed at me.  Why don’t you go get a job in your career field?   You have a degree.  Why are you mowing lawns?   They couldn’t see the forest through the trees.  They couldn’t see my vision or understand it.  You see for me it was never about the lawns or the landscaping.  It’s always been about the business and generating assets that return money when you aren’t working.  Build the company to run with minimal time investment.  The goal is to trade money for time.  Not your time for money.  It hasn’t been easy but I’ve been able to turn the corner, build the business where it is returning a solid return and now am able to invest in property that is generating rental income.   You don’t have to be a genius to start a business or begin investing.  You need to educate yourself in a few different areas and then just do it!  Starting is the hardest part.  Once you start and get a taste of freedom you will likely be hooked like most entrepreneurs.  Below are a few examples of passive income.

Examples of Passive Income

• Business Ownership
• Dividend Income. …
• Peer-to-Peer Lending. …
• Get Out of Debt. …
• Open a High-Yield Account. …
• Write a book. …
• Rent out a Room in Your House. …
• Affiliate Marketing
• Create A Blog and Get The Affiliate Links Cranking
• Sell Physical Products Online
• Build An Online Store For Real World Service
• Get A Rental Property
• Buy A Property For Your Business And Lease Out Extra Space
• Buy A Turn Key Business
• Buy and Rent Out Equipment Businesses or Home Owners Use

Are you ready to free yourself from the rat race and start your own grind?  Will you make mistakes along the way?  Yes.  Will you get knocked on your ass multiple times?  Absolutely.   Will it be challenging?  Yes!  However, if you stay focused and keep grinding you can get out of the 8 to 5 rat race and build a life of financial freedom.  You drive the ship.  It doesn’t drive you.  Set your sails in the direction you want to go.  Hunker down and fight through the hard times!

Envision where you will be in 5 to 10 years.  Start the grind, never give up, and make your best life happen!

How are you creating passive income?  Want to create passive income?  Let us know in the comments section below!