Retired from Corporate at 26

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4 Minutes Read

Episode 105

Today you’re in for a treat with our guest Sammy Warrayat, a millennial who positioned himself to retire from corporate America at the ripe young age of 26.

He has always been passionate about finding a way to be financially independent to do what he loves most: coaching personal finance and being a life coach in areas of success for millennials his age. As the Successful Millennials Podcast host, he is dedicated to informing, empowering, and inspiring millennials to get out into the world and live their most successful lives. 

Sammy realized that money is important to unlock time freedom, but it’s not the only piece needed. This was a key motivator for him to dive in and see what else is required to be successful in life. Covering all the stuff you wish you’d learned in school, we explore the steps to success in five key categories: money, happiness, health, relationships and career.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the complete Episode:

  1. Learn how Sammy Warrayat could retire from corporate America at the age of 26.
  2. Find out about his decision to leave corporate America and how he made the transition.
  3. Discover the lessons he’s learned through the entrepreneurial journey.

Episode Highlights

Who is Sammy Warrayat

    • Sammy is an avid learning enthusiast and loves reading, hiking, sport and travel.
    • After retiring from corporate America at 26, he spends his time pursuing entrepreneurial ventures while traveling.
    • Host of the Successful Millennials Podcast, he is passionate about empowering and inspiring millennials to live their most successful life.
    • He focuses his life on the idea of discipline.

His background

    • His father was a hard-working immigrant who came to America to create a lifestyle for him and his family.
    • Sammy knew he wanted to go to college, which was important to his parents, being a first-generation American.
    • He wasn’t sure what he wanted to study but decided on computer science as it was versatile.

Corporate America

    • Sammy didn’t know what he wanted to do in the corporate world.
    • He bounced around for the first few years in a rotational program, finding himself in data analytics which he enjoyed.
    • He had five roles in three companies over six years.

His job criteria

    • Sammy moved from job to job and was labeled as being a jumper.
    • He had two criteria for jobs, the ability to learn more or earn more.

Being a high performer

    • Sammy worked up to 70 hours a week, mastering each role in a short amount of time.
    • He would move on if the opportunities weren’t there at his current job.
    • He was a high performer in every role as he was working 60% more than everybody else.

Deciding to leave corporate

    • Along the way, Sammy experienced corporate politics, which drained his energy.
    • If he was going to leave, he needed to find something he truly loved.
    • Sammy always loved reading, listening to podcasts on his commute, and was committed to continuous learning.
    • He knew he wanted to help millennials take actionable steps to achieve success.

The transition

    • At the age of 23, Sammy set a goal to leave corporate when he turned 30.
    • He invested, focused on removing debt, and was fiercely disciplined in budgeting and spending money.
    • He pursued a bunch of side hustles to find out what he truly loved doing so that he could walk out of corporate without leaping.
    • When he ended up leaving corporate America at the age of 26, he had a podcast and consulted.

Freedom in travel

    • Sammy wanted to travel, which motivated him to stay disciplined and focused.
    • He says that he gets a sense of freedom when traveling, trying new things, and meeting new people.
    • Being in a place for a limited time allows you to live life to the fullest.
    • Traveling energizes him.

Lessons learned as an entrepreneur

    • It’s not as glamorous as people make it out to be.
    • You have the freedom to do whatever you want, but you must be disciplined.  
    • It’s essential to keep commitments to yourself and is very different from corporate.

Your circle changes

    • Entrepreneurship can feel very lonely as it’s a very different lifestyle.
    • Forming relationships and a circle with other entrepreneurs is vital for camaraderie.
    • Your circle of friends will get smaller and will change as your interests are now different.

The books he recommends

    • First Things First by Stephen Covey.
    • Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.
    • Mastering Your Moods by Dr. Melvyn Kinder.

His interest in psychology

    • Sammy loves reading psychology books.
    • He says that people don’t focus enough on who they are and where their strengths lie.
    • It’s important to know how you’re wired, so you know what to build on.

His view on millennials

    • Many feel a lack of purpose and hopelessness as they don’t align with corporate life.
    • It’s become more important for this generation to find what they love and take the time to do so.
    • Millennials are redefining success where happiness is the overall goal.

Consulting as a business

    • The focus is on discipline around budgeting.
    • Sammy offers e-courses, coaching and consulting.
    • He can design a program for some time to help with accountability.
    • His goal is to empower individuals to do it themselves so that he is not needed anymore.

How does Sammy Warrayat want to be remembered?

    • That he gave full effort, all the time,100% no matter what.

 

3 Powerful Quotes from this Episode

07:37 – “So it was all just like a goal for 30 to leave corporate, and really just invest as much as possible. Do a bunch of side hustles and figure out what I truly love doing so that I can kind of walk out from corporate into this instead of just leaping”. 

11:35 – “So I think the most important thing is to know what you want to spend your money on. And do that only, not get distracted by people who want to go out or you want to eat at restaurants or impulse decisions at the grocery store, which everybody falls trapped under. You have to really be focused and disciplined”.

25:33 – “I just think that if you’re able to know more about yourself and able to kind of be your own cheerleader, as like corny as it sounds, or as people kind of shun that away, you have to know where you stand how you act and where your weaknesses are, so that you can attack them.”

 

About Sammy

Sammy’s father was a hard-working immigrant who came to America to create a better life. He worked hard, eventually entering the corporate world and becoming successful. Unfortunately, he spent more than he made, making it hard to retire. 

This inspired Sammy at a young age to become great at managing money. It inspires him today when making decisions to help himself and others attain the ultimate goal: financial independence. 

While financial independence is money success, it doesn’t mean overall success. Sammy’s podcast and blog cover the five categories of success, bringing on other millennials and emerging experts to do deep dives in the four different categories: career/purpose, relationships, happiness, and health. He believes that having success in all of them will directly correlate to having a fruitful and happy life.

Connect with Sammy Warrayat

Website 

Instagram 

Sales and Marketing: How to market against bigger brands and Close THE DEAL with Darrell Evans

 

Resources

Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz

First Things First, Stephen Covey

 

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Thanks for listening,

Darrell

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Darrell Evans

Darrell Evans is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and Co-founder/CEO of Yokel Local Digital Marketing Agency. He and his teams have helped businesses generate over $300M+ in revenue online. Every month, he leads virtual workshops teaching actionable strategies and tips from his experience helping companies market, grow, and scale.

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