What if the biggest advantage you could give yourself as an entrepreneur wasn’t speed — but patience?

This week’s conversation with Michael K. Cobb was a powerful reminder that real success is rarely fast. In a world obsessed with overnight wins and viral moments, Mike represents the opposite: long-term vision, deep preparation, and the willingness to do work that doesn’t pay off for years — sometimes decades.

With over 30 years of experience building businesses across Central and South America, Mike has turned curiosity-driven side projects into enduring enterprises in international mortgage financing, real estate development, banking, and sustainable forestry.

Most side hustlers and high performers fall into short-term thinking.

They feel pressure to move fast, go all-in early, and chase the next hot opportunity. If results don’t show up quickly, doubt creeps in — and projects get abandoned before they ever have a chance to mature.

Speed feels productive. But it often comes at the cost of mastery, patience, and compounding returns.

Mike’s success didn’t come from a master plan — it came from prepared observation.

In the early 1990s, while visiting Belize, he noticed something strange: beautiful condos were being built, but construction had stalled. The reason? There was no financing. U.S. banks wouldn’t finance property in Belize, and local banks wouldn’t lend to foreigners.

That gap — that friction — was the opportunity.

One simple question sparked a business: “Would you sell your paper at a discount?”

And just like that, a mortgage company was born.

Not because Mike was searching for an opportunity — but because he was ready to recognize one.

Here’s what most people miss: this didn’t replace Mike’s career overnight.

For years, the business stayed a side hustle. Mike continued working in the computer industry, traveling overseas periodically, learning remotely, and letting the business grow quietly in the background.

This is the part most entrepreneurs rush past.

Sometimes the smartest move isn’t quitting and burning the boats — it’s patient overlap.

Mike is the author of How to Buy Your Home Overseas and Get It Right the First Time — originally created to help people avoid costly mistakes when purchasing property abroad.

🎁 Free for listeners
📩 Email: [email protected]
📝 Subject line: Mike’s Book

When asked what mistake he hopes listeners avoid, Mike’s answer was immediate: hubris.

Assuming you know what you don’t.
Letting excitement override diligence.
Believing speed matters more than preparation.

The antidote is humility, curiosity, and patience.

Success doesn’t need to be fast to be meaningful.
Side hustles don’t need to be rushed to be real.

Build slowly. Prepare deeply. Stay ready.

Because luck favors the prepared — and missed opportunity haunts the unprepared.

Reflect honestly. Choose intentionally.

And keep surviving the side hustle.