It took me 11 years to become an overnight success

Let me tell you the story of how getting rejected from medical school 73 times, a stint in real estate, and bachelorette parties all led to my present success.

If you read this newsletter, you might think that I shoot nothing but net. 

But the reality is far from that.

While I definitely hit certain financial numbers faster than others, and even numbers some never hit their whole lives, it didn’t just happen overnight 

There many years of bullshit, hurdles and breaking points.

My entire 20s was about taking 2 steps forward just to take 2 steps back. 

Until something worked, but I don’t see these as failures.

I was just trying things I was curious about, and individually they didn’t pan out,

But without each step, I would not be here today. 

Let’s get into it. 

The Med School Rejection Saga

Let’s start at the beginning. 

I was half way through my Biochemistry & Physiology degree where I finally decided I was going to become a doctor. 

To become a doctor, you have to first get accepted into medical school, which is a highly competitive process. 

I got A’s and B’s in my classes at that point, but to have a real shot, I needed to step my game up and get straight A’s.

When a few of my classmates who were also gunnin’ for med school heard,

They laughed at me.

And some professors also.

But I had a few good friends who encouraged me, and a handful of profs that saw my work ethic, and that’s all the encouragement I needed.

So over the years, I balanced being a full-time student,

I had a part time job as a swim instructor, where I got to work with my good friend Jay (more on him later),

Also, weekly volunteer roles in a suicide hotline, hospital and local youth programs,

While doing grad school level research under the supervision of a professor. 

On paper, I was shaping up to be quite the “ideal candidate.” 

My first time applying, I got an invitation to interview,

I was so stoked.

I’m great charming my way into anything, I’ll crush this. I thought. 

I practiced doing mock interviews with 3 other guys who also had invitations. 

We would practice 2-3 times per week for a few months, and all of them agreed:

I had the best interview skills. 

But then, on the day we all heard our verdicts…

I was the ONLY guy from our group that didn’t get accepted.

I was devastated. 

I had to wait an WHOLE YEAR just to be able to apply again. 

I figured…maybe I just had bad luck, “most people apply multiple times”.

Next year will be MY YEAR.

….

But it wasn’t. I had the same results, they just didn’t want me. 

I refused to just give up. I was going to make something of myself. 

What did I do with all that extra time in between application cycles?

I looked for side hustles to stay busy and that part time job as a swim instructor I referred to before, 

Remember my friend Jay I previously mentioned? Don’t forget him, he’s important for this story. 

Well, Jay saw how hard I worked. 

Both in school and on all of my other hustles.

He was even there to witness Bachelorette Party Era…

But that’s a story for next time…

Stay tuned…

- Vessal