ABOUT NICK RICCO! Pronounced: Nick Rick-Oh not Ree-coh like Uncle Rico
In 2012 I survived a heart attack. That changed everything. When you are faced with your own mortality it changes the lens in which you look at the world.
By the time I had my heart attack, I had already spent 9 years working within Medical Device Sales and Sales Management. It was a career I started right after college. I realized 2 things very quickly when I started this career. One, I was good at selling within the hospital environment. However, the second thing I learned was this was not my passion. It wasn’t what I thought I was meant to do. The problem with this dichotomy is that when you are good and successful at something, there are rewards that come with it. They come in the shape of promotions, salary increases, larger commissions, stock options, also known as Golden Handcuffs.
Looking back my heart attack was a gift. I had just gotten married to my wife Ali. Right after my heart attack we started a family. Side note, you want a quick way to decide if it’s time to start a family, have a heart attack and things will move pretty quick! We have 2 beautiful kids, my son Zac and my daughter Avery, they are my world.
This is when my life changed.
As I would share my story of my heart attack with those that asked, I would always finish the conversation with, take me as an example, I won an NCAA DIII National Championship in the 5K to finish my college career in 2003 and completed an Ironman Triathlon in 2006, if I can have a heart attack, anyone can. Make sure you are living a life of purpose and one that you are proud of.
The problem was, I wasn’t taking my own advice. I had a good safe career, but I wasn’t passionate about it. My Mondays would ruin my Sunday’s. I would wish the week away just to get to the weekend.
I decided to start practicing what I preached.
It was 2016 and I had a few Real Estate Investment properties. I decided I would go get my Real Estate License. I started engaging more around the conversation of selling homes.
I worked on my business nights and weekends, and it started to grow. By the summer of 2017 I set a goal to put myself in a position to leave my job by August 2020. I looked at that goal every single day. It was printed on my office wall.
By August of 2020, my real estate income surpassed the income I was making at my job.
My last day in Corporate America was January of 2021.
I am now working with others who are looking to do the same.
I built a program to work with professionals who are looking to transition out of a job they aren’t passionate about but don’t know where to start.