Grind Story With Corey K

Growing up in a poor neighbourhood with nothing but bad influences surrounding my friends and I, we were forced to adopt a positive mindset. Grind Now Shine Later is a saying we came up with to motivate each other! No matter how hard the struggles, no matter how deep the tunnel, we were forced to see light. Growing up less athletic and not as strong as most of the basketball players my age, I was forced to concentrate and work extremely hard on my shooting ability. I would spend hours and hours at local basketball courts just trying to catch up to my competition. This hard work allowed me to play CEGEP basketball and compete at a high level. Fast forward 5 years, my wife, girlfriend at the time, and I decided it was time to elevate our grind to a whole new level. We both started to work at call centres where we were given part time hours and late shifts. It got to the point where she would work overnight and when she came home I would leave. We knew that if we were to have a better life, we had to grind. I worked for CIBC credit card services while in school.

I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in investments. I believed that is how I would be able to give my wife and I a better life. I decided to register for the necessary courses while in school and still working. I was sleeping 4-5 hours a night and putting in all nighters just to pass my classes. I wanted to shine, I wanted to live the dream, and this was the only way I knew how. No matter how hard you grind, you need a WHY. The reason you wake up in the morning and the reason you stand up when knocked down. At this point in my life, my girlfriend and her happiness was my WHY. We then decided to travel to Mexico and get married on the most beautiful beach. Our next goal was to purchase a property. We decided that we would have to sacrifice our freedom, time and apartment to make that happen. We rented out 2/3 bedrooms in our apartment to friends and we gathered all the money paid to us by our roommates and set it aside for a down payment. We then received the most amazing news in the world: we were pregnant! Our WHY factor quickly changed and our motivation for success was at a new level. We picked up extra hours, we cut coupons and did whatever we could to save money.

Once we had enough, we purchased our condo and then when our beautiful daughter was born, we were able to let loose and SHINE for just a moment. One thing about us is that we are never satisfied and we are always willing to work harder. How could we do better? We decided that I would need to adjust my career for us to take the next step. I decided to get my real estate license. Our lives quickly took a hit, I was working 9-5 and then going to classes to get my license from 6-10 and then travelling one and a half hours back home. All while my wife was working her 9-5 and taking care of our baby. After 6 months of this, I took the exam and passed on my first shot. My wife and I both shed tears; we were so relieved that we once again were able to beat another obstacle. My real estate career quickly took off, I was working 13 hour days to give my daughter everything.

Because we always want better for ourselves we decided we wanted to sell our condo and buy a home, where we would have a backyard. We then found out that our daughter was going to be a big sister! This gave us a timeframe to sell and purchase our new home. There were so many days where I felt like giving up and taking it easy. I would tell myself I should be happy with I have and not kill myself. My wife brought me back on my feet and gave me the confidence I needed to sell enough properties to double our initial down payment, sell our condo, and find us a new home!

During this process our second baby was born. Our sleepless nights and long days continued. We had bags under our eyes but we did it! We worked extremely hard! Our hard work, our GRIND together, allowed Knobovitch Realty to take off and allow me to grind for myself and not others. This is our story so far... who knows where our grind will bring us next. We allow ourselves to shine a little but Grind Now Shine Later isn't one cycle of life where you work hard and then live the dream, it's a continuous cycle. Achieve a goal, shine for a moment and back at that grind!