576. Why Pick One Path? Diversify!

Amir Baluch

Amir was a shoo-in for medical school, or so he thought. He would follow his father’s path and become a doctor. But when the rejection letter came, he asked himself, “Is this what I should be doing? Maybe this is a sign that I should look into something else.”

Dr. Amir Baluch founded FundingNest with the specific purpose of providing turnkey investment opportunities to sophisticated investors and his physician colleagues from around the globe. Amir and his team have closed more than $450 million in real estate transactions over the past five years. In addition to being a successful real estate investor, he is also a realtor, business owner, holds a securities license and is a board-certified Anesthesiologist.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“Even when I was 15 years old, I looked forward to every Saturday when I could go to work at a burger restaurant in the mall. I looked forward to it every Saturday. I always had a challenge—how fast can I cook this burger, or how fast can I work the cash register, or how well can I predict when the customers are going to come? By creating these challenges for myself, I could see myself progressing.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“Probably the most important event that happened to me was back in 2000. I got a rejection letter from medical school. My whole life I had thought I would go straight through medical school, become a doctor like my father in internal medicine. When I got that rejection letter I had to rethink what I was going to do with my life. I started asking myself, ‘Can I do anything else? Is this really what I should be doing? Maybe this is a sign that I should look into something else.’”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“I was so rattled by not getting into medical school, I began thinking there is nothing sure in life. I decided to create multiple streams of income and explore all my talents. That way, if one door closes, another one might open. Even through medical school and residency, my brother and I created side businesses. We would repair salvage cars with some of our friends. We would get watches wholesale and sell them. I put together study materials from sources all over the United States and sold them on eBay for a while. I was always entrepreneurial, even while I was going to med school. Instead of giving up on med school and becoming an entrepreneur, I decided to do both.”

On His Bookshelf

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2018: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers, by Richard N. Bolles

Make It, Keep It: The New Rules of Wealth Preservation for Doctors, by Amir Baluch

Steps to Success from Amir Baluch

1. Talk to people in the field you’re considering. Instead of working in a field three years to see if you like it, why not learn from others who have already been doing it awhile?

2. Find mentors who can help you find what you are good at, what is your sweet spot—something that combines what you are good at and what you love to do.

3. Making progress toward a worthwhile goal is the key to happiness. It’s never just achieving the goal itself. As soon as you achieve it, set another goal.

4. Put together a team of like-minded, motivated people who work well together. Success is more than one person’s accomplishment.