Ep. 36 - Understanding Your “Why” And Having A Meaningful Purpose In Life with Dan Austin
Dan Austin is an Army Ranger veteran turned Real Estate Entrepreneur. After leaving the military, Dan decided to pursue a more traditional career as an Electrical Engineer but he quickly realized that finding life fulfillment went beyond having a successful W2 career. In 2016, Dan began buying real estate properties as a way to accelerate his path to time freedom. Today, Dan runs a 7-figure off-market real estate acquisition company that focuses on residential real estate while also maintaining his W2 career. Since starting his company in 2020, Dan has purchased over 40 units, wholesaled over 100 properties, and flipped dozens of properties. Dan is also the host of the Collecting Keys podcast and coaches other investors on how to successfully scale their own real estate business.
In this episode, Dan shares his story about how he was able to transition successfully from the military to his new career. He advises listeners to always be willing to take risks and pursue their passions, even if they don’t know where those passions will take them. He tells a story of how he became successful in real estate, starting with buying and renovating rental properties. To learn more about Dan and how to make tough decisions under pressure, listeners can visit his website at, Investor Dan!
[00:01 - 10:47] Who is Dan Austin?
- Dan talks about his decision to join the military and how it led him to real estate
- He shares his story of how he ended up in the Army as an airborne and infantryman
[10:48 - 30:04] Developing Skills And Discipline In The Military For Real Estate
- Dan shares how his military experience and how it helped him develop skills that he could use in his real estate career
- He started his own real estate business in the early 2000s and has been successful ever since
- He recommends networking with others to help you achieve success
- He shares how he transitioned from the military to college quickly and unsuccessfully tried to keep himself busy with too many commitments
- He discusses the importance of coming of age and maturing, citing the military as a key factor in this process
[30:05 - 41:05] Understanding Your “Why” And Having A Meaningful Purpose In Life
- He discusses how the military teaches soldiers how to make quick decisions and act decisively in dangerous situations
- How the military teaches soldiers to be confident and self-sufficient, which can be beneficial in any field
- Dan discusses one of the keys to building what you want is understanding your “Why”
- It’s important to establish your “Why” and it can be evolving
- His background in the military and how he understands the challenges that veterans face when they leave the military
[41:06 – 52:45] Closing Segment
- How would you know that you’re winning? How do you measure your success in life?
- He says, “As long as he is challenged in life and pushing forward, and showing some level of engagement in all those avenues.”
- What are your KPIs that you are successful with your health?
- He has a personal trainer that programs his workouts
- What brings you the most joy in your life right now?
- He says, “The fact that his family is so well taken right now, we’re in a comfortable financial situation.”
Connect with Dan!
Website: Investor Dan
LinkedIn: Dan Austin
YouTube: Dan Austin
Instagram: Dan Austin
Want to learn more about creating multiple streams of income, wealth protection, financial freedom, or real estate investing? Join our investor club, check out our blog, get our free ebook on investing, or join us for our monthly wealth and whiskey virtual meetup. Take the first to your wins in life just head on to http://www.valkeregroup.com.
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Key Quotes
“One of the reasons the military taught me, for better and worse, of reaching goals is there's always something, some badge, some certification, some rank you can get. But once you feel like you've reached that goal or you've gotten that badge, you never want another badge again. That's when you're really probably going to be in trouble.” – Dan Austin
“I'm just publicly saying that I haven't figured out all of my "Why's" and I think it's okay as long as you're working in the right direction and it's probably one of the most challenging exercises I've ever done is to truly sit there in my brain and say, "Why do I want this?” – Dan Austin
