My name is Sandra Pearsall from Baltimore City. I have a true success story of my own.
I am a 39 year old black female born and raised in Baltimore City. I come from a broken home with a long list of family problems. I attended public schools. My family and I lived from house to house and many times the houses was not even fit for living. There were times we did not have heat or electricity. I knew as a child this was not the way I wanted to continue to live. I had a dream and never gave up on it.
I faced even more obstacles as a teenager. I was living on my own from age 17. Even though I was an above average student I did not graduate high school.
I did not let that stop me. I had nothing. No money, no job, and no direction to go.
I decided that I need to make some major changes. I found a little fast food job where I worked hard from sun up to sun down. I was making $3.95 per hour, just a little above minimum wage. I knew even at that time I was at a dead end job. I continued to work hard for over the next 10 years.
In the year 2002, I really decided I wanted more out of life than working hard just to have no money at the end of the week. I started my research on real estate investing. Shortly after I was able to purchase 14 houses. I built my dream home in 2006.
Just on a part-time base I was able to increase my income more than any raise I would get from my job. My properties now bring in a yearly salary of over $110,000 per year. My rental income exceeds my total debt. I was able to quit my job at the age of 34. In 2006, I was awarded National Real Estate Investor of the year by George Ross, Donald Trump Mentor.
Real Estate has changed my life. I still remember the night waking up about 3 am, looking up at the ceiling saying to myself I have to do something to improve my life. I was tired of working so hard. I was tired of my employers telling me what I’m worth. I was tired of not spending time with the family. I was just tired of being tired. I do strongly believe that when you reach a certain point of being sick and tired. That’s when you will take action.
Investing a few hours a week in my spare time I was able to gain financial freedom.
What I have learned I want to pass along to motivated people just like myself. In order to be successful we first have to change our ways of thinking. If you live in a negative environment it’s not hard to develop a negative attitude. The downfall is a negative attitude leads to negative results. No matter how bad things may seem to be, keep a positive attitude to have a positive result in the end. I tell everyone If I can do it anyone can and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. To even personalize my story I was raped at 16 and it landed me pregnant. A few months later I had a miscarriage. It was like I was destine to fail. Faith and Belief kept me going. God has been good to me.
Even if it’s not real estate, focus on your future. It’s never too late.
Submitted by: Sandra Pearsall
