YOU ARE FIRED! MY JOURNEY TO QUITTING MY W2
by Daniel Campana
Hi, we likely have not met before. My name is Daniel Campana and I have been working with Arrows Capital Group since the start of the new year, while also keeping my full-time job.
May 2022 marks the end of the W2 chapter of my life. I, like many others, am able to quit my W2 because of the power of Real Estate.
On other blogs, the powers of cash flow, appreciation, and tax efficiency have been thoroughly explored, the two powers that have had the most impact on me, however, have not been explored and that is what I wanted to discuss this month. The powers of: Purpose and Community.
My family and I moved to the USA from Ecuador when I was 11. From that moment on, my family and I hit the ground running and worked hard so that one day, we could achieve our American Dream.
Through hard work, a dictionary, and many late nights, I was able to graduate high school and college with top marks and secure a coveted spot at a Private Equity Fund.
At that point, I felt like I was on top of the world. I had finally achieved my family’s American Dream with a good, stable, job. I had finally realized the goal of all immigrant children to make their parents proud and reassure them that all the risks and sacrifices they made were worth it.
Yet, that feeling was fleeting. Time passed and that excitement was replaced with routines, reports, and the whims of an industry that encourages narcissism, short-sightedness, materialism, noncooperation, and status.
I was disappointed. I had done every single thing that society told me to do. Work hard, study hard, get good grades, get a good job, conform. Yet why was I so empty? There had to be more to life than just going through the motions. Something was missing.
I did what everyone does when feeling confused – enter Dr. Google. My internet searches eventually lead me to BiggerPockets. I poured through all their content, blogs, and books and eventually bought my first house at 23 years old. Before I knew it, I had my second and then my third. BiggerPockets gave me my first taste of Community. I had found others that felt the same way I did about the stagnation in their lives. I had found people that wanted more out of life and I fed off the actions they were taking to change their circumstances.
With this new online education, I continued to work at my W2 while investing in real estate. I had determined that this strategy was the safest path toward investing my way out of my W2.
Eventually, my journey led me to investing in apartment buildings, and my mind was blown. It was everything I loved about real estate but supercharged. I joined a community of investors to learn how to invest in this asset class. While learning how to underwrite deals, I came across our very own Operations Leader, Loren Jacobs. Loren introduced me to the rest of the Arrows Capital Group team and at that point, I knew I had found my community. The rest is history.
I joined Arrows Capital Group to not only acquire assets but to do it differently. I strongly believe we can do Real Estate and Private Equity differently from all other Operators and Fund Managers by having a people-centric approach. By luck or faith, real estate has once again allowed me to find another thing that I lacked at my W2; purpose.
Armed with a deep sense of community and purpose, I finally felt confident to give my two months’ notice at my W2 in February. Beyond that, I finally was able to look my parents in the eye and tell them that I have found my American Dream.
My Dream is to make an impact in the lives of others. Join me and everyone in our Arrows Capital Group community as we continue to live life with purpose, outside the boundaries of the norm.
