Doubling Down
CHAPTER 1: Who am I?
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I – Sam Jusino – am nobody. My last name carries no weight, I grew up with no connections and I didn’t go to Yale or Harvard. In fact, I’m the first person in my family to graduate from college. I can hit a baseball pretty far, but other than that I have no overwhelming physical talents. If you see me on the street, you would probably walk past me and never look twice.
I was born on Long Island, NY. My parents were both high-school dropouts just trying to make ends meet. They lived paycheck to paycheck and spent several years apartment hopping until they finally settled in the small town of Center Moriches, NY. That’s exit 69 off of the Long Island Expressway with a current population under 8,000 people. You know you’re in the right place if you see a farm-stand just off the highway. If you have a chance to visit, make sure you go to Anton’s Pizzeria for a slice. It’s hands down the best!
Growing up, I was an only child and a good kid. I studied hard, played sports and made lots of friends. Home wasn’t the happiest place, so I signed up for every band, club and sports team I could find to keep me away from the house. I had a lot of good experiences too, so it wasn’t all bad.
Being active in the community helped me meet a ton of awesome people and it kept me out of trouble. I’m forever grateful for the relationships I built with my friends and their families. They helped me through a lot and showed me what life was like for hardworking, suburban families. I wanted to be like them, and they all pushed me to pursue a college education. I didn’t choose the conventional route or a predictable major, but I completed my degree and was ready to follow the path to middle class.
When I graduated from college, my goal was to find a job – ANY job – as quickly as possible. I was “fortunate” to land a position working in sales support for a consumer audio company before finishing my degree. My starting salary was $25k per year with no incentives or commission. It wasn’t much, but I made it work.
After one year, I became restless and decided to pursue my dream of living in NYC and working in the music industry. I spent my early 20’s running to and from various recording studios as a Music Producer/Audio Engineer. It was a lot of fun, but fun didn’t pay the bills. The sessions were few and far between and most work had to be done for free in order to gain exposure and build credibility within the industry. I found myself broke, defaulting on student loans and constantly late paying rent. I once had to hide in the bathroom when my landlord stopped by unexpectedly to pick-up his check. I had hit rock bottom, and was on the path to complete financial ruin.
I’d had enough of the struggle and needed to make a change quickly. I started researching obsessively about how to get a better job and/or make more money. A few examples of my Google searches included:
- How to improve my resume
- How to get into law school
- How to invest in real-estate
- How to become a model
I tried to find any and every way to get out of my terrible situation, but I had very little work experience, no money to invest in business or enroll in school, and I wasn’t modeling material. However, I stumbled upon one search that seemed promising – how to teach English overseas.
I spent countless hours researching and read every blog, article and website I could find. I found an online community forum where English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers shared their experiences. I began pulling all-nighters to review their posts and take notes. I had found my golden ticket and began doubling down to see how quickly I could make this goal a reality. I read through country profiles, created charts listing pros and cons and built rudimentary spreadsheets to analyze financials. I even told my friends and family about my idea. They all thought I was crazy, but I was hooked on moving overseas and no one could convince me otherwise.
With my heart pounding, I applied for a teaching position in Japan. I used all of the tips and tricks learned on the forums to sound like a pro despite having zero experience. I attended an interview in New York City and was told on the spot to pack my bags and get ready to go. Six weeks later, I was living in Tokyo and attending new teacher orientation.
This was my first experience doubling down. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but it felt right and I made it work. Over the years since then I’ve changed industries, taken roles in management, built organizations and travelled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.
My experiences, both good and bad, laid the foundation for who I am today. The challenges of growing up in a poor household helped me to become more creative and driven than I ever could have imagined. I’ve had to survive without even having the bare essentials. If I could endure that, I know I can accomplish anything. In comparison, there is nowhere else to go but up, and I’ve never looked back.
People that overcome pain and hardship often have the strength to do what most believe to be unimaginable. The key is you’ve got to truly want it. Though I would never wish stress or struggle on anyone, I’m actually very thankful for my experiences. They lit a fire in me that cannot be put out. From an early age, I formed a vision of who I wanted to be and what I wanted my future to look like. I didn’t know what career I would pursue or where I would live, but I did know that success was the only option.
All of my accomplishments post-college have been completed on a limited budget with no prior experience. When I don’t know something, I learn by using free resources or attending low cost programs. Most people think they need an MBA from a top-tier school to get ahead in life. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are some industries that require one, but most do not, and advanced degrees are often looked at with skepticism by hiring managers that hustled to be where they are today.
At the time of writing this book, my life is very different compared to my humble beginnings. I’m a digital marketing executive, an entrepreneur, a published author, a real-estate investor and I own a home in Manhattan, NY. I’m married to an incredible woman that is equally driven and reminds me to love, seize every day and live life to the fullest. The wild thing about my current life is I was able to accomplish virtually all of this within 5 years.
These opportunities were not handed to me. I had to create and nurture them all on my own. So, if you’ve ever felt that life was unfair or “wished” you were born into a wealthy family full of opportunity, get over it. In life, nothing is fair and handouts are few and far between. If I can do it, you can do it – period. It’s a matter of mindset. You need to define your goals, be serious about what it takes to achieve them, get organized, stick with the plan and get it done. If you fully leverage the materials in this book, the sky is the limit, but you need to want it badly enough. I’ll provide you with the coaching and tools to get there, but the rest is up to you.
I may be “nobody”, but I’m here now. I’ve got your back and I want to see you achieve success beyond your wildest dreams.
So, what do you say? Are you with me?
Don’t allow fear to block you from your destiny.
No more waiting. The time to act is now. Let’s go!