Everyone has different motivations for their real estate investing journey, but nearly all investors' end goal is creating or funding a lifestyle they’ve dreamed about. Maybe it’s traveling the world or funding a kid’s college without debt. Whatever it is, happiness is the ultimate goal. On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Catie Lawrence to the show. Catie is a real estate investor and agent based in the Denver, Colorado, area who left her W-2 position two years ago. She is also an Airbnb superhost, a fix-and-flipper, and a financial freedom advocate. Jonathan and Catie start their conversation by exploring Catie’s accidental entry into real estate investing with her husband, Mike, when they moved to Colorado from the East Coast and held on to their home. You’ll hear about her first intentional property investment, how she finds deals through networking and wholesale, and why she is opportunity-focused rather than paying attention to FOMO. Catie explains how she limits her time on social media, her focus on financial freedom, and the benefits of holding a real estate license as an investor. Catie Lawrence left her W-2 job behind to pursue happiness and success in real estate, and her conversation with Jonathan explores each intentional step she takes to increase her financial freedom. In this episode, you will hear: How Catie knew it was time to quit her W-2 and pursue real estate full-time Her introduction to real estate investing, her experience with long-distance landlording, and why turnover was the biggest issue Automating property management and being proactive as you manage the property The first property Catie bought off-market and what she and her husband did to flip it The benefits of buying flips in familiar neighborhoods Finding deals through networking and wholesale Properties Catie retains versus the ones she and her husband opt to sell Being opportunity-focused instead of having FOMO Finding a mentor and Catie’s advice for finding the right meetups Sifting through social media to find good information Why you should consider putting a limit on your social media time and curating who you follow When Catie Lawrence realized she was a real estate investor Understanding what you want long-term to create financial freedom Analyzing flips to determine which ones to keep and which to sell The benefits of having a real estate license as an investor Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, we've created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at http://www.trustgreene.com/podcast/zen/113 to download it. Supporting Resources: Happy Homes Real Estate website - happyhomesltd.com Find Happy Homes on YouTube - youtube.com/@happy_homesltd Catie Lawrence on Facebook - www.facebook.com/catiellawrence Follow Happy Homes on Instagram - www.instagram.com/happy_homesltd Connect with Catie on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/catielawrence Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - https://www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits: If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you