Career trajectories aren't always what you would expect. It's possible to go to school for something, do it for a few years, and then change your mind entirely. And once you're in a job that you love, you might be compelled to teach others how to follow in your footsteps. Brian Carruthers worked to build sales teams for leading brands before moving to inspire upcoming entrepreneurs to develop passive income and live their dreams.
Brian graduated from Villanova University with an accounting degree that he never had any intentions of using. He moved into real estate but soon realized that he didn't like working so hard and exchanging his time for money. At 28, he had the perfect opportunity to move into his business, building sales teams for brands. It had no overhead, no employees, and total flexibility. "This is the opportunity that taught me all about being an entrepreneur," Carruthers said.
When Brian started working as an entrepreneur, it was a dream come true to earn money. He worked part-time to see how he and his work get along. For six months, he kept looking for reasons that would make him quit and reasons that would make him stay. The reasons to stay outweighed the reasons to move when he realized that he was good at what he did. Once he knew that, he knew that earning a steady income will just be a matter of time. And he was right. After only 365 days of his hard work had made himself a millionaire. The accomplishment was "surreal," he says, "I felt I had come to some new place in life. A place where I could look the world in the eye and say I am here, what do you need, what do you want done?"
In addition to his work building teams, he'd started teaching others to build side businesses like his. "I know how important financial freedom is. I wanted to advocate for it and teach more people about its power. I wanted to start a revolution." Brian had a billionaire mentor who helped him break out of the 9-5 lifestyle and start treating his work like his ministry. "I want to be that person for others. I want to show them that success and a lifestyle of freedom is possible."
Brian has always been vocal about the role his mentor played in his life and its growth. In fact, it wasn't until he found the mentor that he started to see himself and the productivity and efficiency he brought to work from a different light. He believes that a mentor "is like a focal point who can help one bring into focus scattered ideas and aspirations and give them a concrete form. And when your goal gains a concrete form, it becomes clearer to see, clearer to achieve, and suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall in place. As a mentor, that's what I hope to achieve with people. I want to strengthen their minds by helping them unclog the reason(s) that might be preventing that from happening. It's incredible how directly organizing one's mind is linked to one's overall well-being. In fact, I believe there's no other way to fulfill your dreams than to approach them with a mind that is clear about where it's going and why."
Carruthers doesn't discount any of his experiences that brought him to where he is today. "Going to college and working in real estate taught me a lot about work ethic and grinding hard. I might not be where I am if I hadn't had these experiences. I learned that we all are portable story machines, and best connections are formed when we help one another advance in our stories, hopefully in the direction of personal growth and evolution." One of the most important things that he teaches his students is to start as soon as possible. "Many people never actually get around to starting their business or side hustle. They get too caught up in the details and psych themselves out. You can learn along the way, earn while you learn. Make steps to start today. Even if your family and friends aren't supportive, you need to follow the path you want to earn the type of income you need." And perhaps the 'type' of income one really wants one that enables freedom. "Almost all entrepreneurs, Brian says, "start out to reclaim their freedom. And almost all of them soon forget it in the mire of gazillion business shenanigans. As a mentor, it's my duty to remind them why they started and help them explore the meaning of freedom."
If you feel like the career you're working at right now is the only one for you, Brian Carruthers is evidence that it might be helpful to try something new as well. It doesn't have to be OR. It should be AND.