“We have infinite potential through the power of the mind, but we have to simply be brave enough to use that potential.”
Austin Zelan Tweet
Meet Austin Zelan, a 26-year-old investor and mentor who is no stranger to the corporate world. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Austin was introduced to entrepreneurship by observing his parents’ business.
Despite initially losing sight of his entrepreneurial passion and pursuing high-paying corporate jobs, including a consulting position at Microsoft, Austin soon discovered that the traditional 9-5 lifestyle left him feeling unfulfilled.
Realizing the potential in his side hustle of investing and creating passive income, Austin made a pivotal decision to take it more seriously. This choice transformed his life, allowing him to achieve financial freedom, time freedom, and geographical freedom.
Now, he is on a mission to share his knowledge with thousands of students worldwide, helping them achieve these same freedoms.
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So glad you could join me for this conversation! To kick things off, would you mind sharing a memorable story from your past that you think will give our readers a good idea of who you are?
Austin Zelan: I grew up in Seattle, Washington and had the opportunity to watch my parents operate their business. I think that’s what got me interested in entrepreneurship and I knew that even if I would get a job, it would be something temporary.
As I grew older, I forgot those thoughts and ideas that I had as a child and I began to buy into the idea of having a high paying 9-5 where I didn’t have to worry about much besides my direct responsibilities.
It looked like an attractive lifestyle where I could clock in and clock out each day and still make multiple six figures. Now I know that I was only having these thoughts because I hadn’t expanded my thinking and hadn’t developed my mindset.
This led me to accepting several corporate jobs, including a consulting position for Microsoft. I thought that I was well on my way to achieving the “American Dream” but quickly realized that I was feeling very unfulfilled and bored at my job.
During this time, I had already begun investing into several things and creating some passive income for myself on the side. This realization caused me to take my passive income more seriously because I saw an opportunity to now escape my 9-5 and create a lifestyle that I was searching for.
A lifestyle where I could have a positive impact on the world around me because that’s what really matters. I knew that the only way I could do that was if I didn’t have to worry about where my next paycheck would come from. I had to take care of my personal finances so I could go out and help others.
Now, I am a 26-year-old investor and mentor to thousands of students around the world. I am so thankful for the experiences that forced me to look for a better way. The experiences that caused me to look for ways to invest and create passive income so that I could have an impact on the world around me.
I see that you have had quite a bit of experience with investing and passive income. Why do you feel that it is so important?
Austin Zelan: Passive income is extremely important because it allows us to achieve the 3 freedoms in our life: Financial Freedom, Time Freedom, and Geographical Freedom. This means that we can finally do what we want, when we want, and with whoever we want.
This is the only way that we can have an impact on the people around us. There are so many people that we can help but we have to figure out our own personal financial situation first.
Even when we fly on airplanes, they tell us to put our own mask first before we help someone else with theirs. You have to help yourself first before you can help someone else.
The reason that people see a lack of impact in their life is because they have a lack of passive income. This means that they have not invested their money into opportunities that are paying them without creating more work.
They are still focused on trading their time for money. This means that they are distracted from their true purpose in life and have to spend time away from what really matters to them.
Is it possible for anyone to create passive income?
Austin Zelan: Anybody who takes investing seriously can create passive income. I remember when I was first starting out, I also thought it was close to impossible because I didn’t see anyone around me doing those things.
Over time, I gained some confidence because of my successful investments and I realized that as long as you follow a proven system and strategy, literally anyone can be successful. It will always take time and effort and even money to set it up, but once it’s up and running, it’s amazing how passive income can change your life.
I never thought that I could not only create passive income for myself, but also help thousands of others to do the same.
This is exactly what I had been missing in my corporate job and instead of helping a massive corporation grow their profits, I can now help regular people make more money and live off of their passive income so that they can focus on the things that they love to do.
Who is your inspiration in business?
Austin Zelan: I love to look at what the big players in the tech space are doing. I have always been fascinated by technology and how it can increase our efficiency. One of the my favorite things about technology is how we can keep our inputs the same, but use technology to increase our outputs.
This causes me to look up to people who are most prominent in the tech space. People like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are huge inspirations to me because of what they have built using technology.
They all started from very small beginnings and now their businesses are larger than life, even though they had several failures along the way. I know that all my biggest successes in my life came after I had felt like I failed. Looking back, I now realize that the only way to fail is to stop trying.
How much money does someone need to start making passive income?
Austin Zelan: Realistically, people can start investing with as little as a few hundred dollars. Because I had to start with nothing, I had to take the time and find ways that I could make money with very little invested.
As I scaled, I also learned how to make money more efficiently with larger sums of money. This has given me a very broad range of investments that I can make passive income from.
This has given me a large toolbox of strategies that I can share with other people to show them how I have been creating passive income. Then, they can just copy my strategies and do exactly what I did to make their own passive income.
But at the end of the day, it does not take much to start and there are many options available to get access to capital for investment.
How long does it take someone to start making 6 figures in passive income?
Austin Zelan: There really isn’t a set time limit on a goal like that. Students in the program have been able to make 6 figures in as little as 57 days, but of course that’s not a typical result. Some students will take several months and that’s ok.
It’s up to the student to decide how fast they will take action. It all depends on factors such as their ability and willingness to execute on investments, the right opportunities and of course the performance of their investments.
It becomes a mix of both investor dedication and action as well as market conditions and opportunities.
What are your goals for your company?
Austin Zelan: My goal is to help 1000 people around the world become millionaires through the passive income strategies that I teach. I believe that we are teaching some of the most cutting-edge investment strategies on the market today and it is truly changing people’s lives.
This is more than just passive income, this is about true impact in our generation. And I believe that the only way you can have true impact is by helping people achieve financial freedom.
A decreased level of impact is simply a lack of passive income. I believe that the only way you can truly live a normal life in today’s economy is by putting your money to work and letting it produce passive income.
The world has forever been changed by technology and the new normal is to have passive income.
What else would you like to share with our readers?
Austin Zelan: One of my most important realizations as an investor and entrepreneur is that you can literally achieve anything you put your mind to.
If you decide you can’t do something, that will always be true. If you decide that you CAN do something, that will be true as well. We have infinite potential through the power of the mind, but we have to simply be brave enough to use that potential.
Think about it – the entire world around you was created because of thoughts in someone’s mind. That should give you the confidence to know that you can achieve just as much and even more.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Austin Zelan for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Austin Zelan or his company, you can do it through his – Instagram
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