A man goes into a coma, wakes up totally paralyzed, gets fired from his job in the hospital… and somehow his investments are doing better than before.

In this episode, AJ Osborne walks us through the day his body shut down from Guillain-Barré syndrome, what it felt like to wake up trapped in his own head, and the moment he realized his real estate investments were quietly keeping his family afloat while he fought to stay alive. He talks about the guilt, the pain, the look on his kids’ faces the first time they saw him in the ICU—and the pride of knowing he’d built something that took care of them when he couldn’t.

From there, we dig into how that experience reshaped his entire mission: why he doubled down on self-storage, how he built a business that works without him, and why most people are stuck on the “earn a paycheck, hope it works out” treadmill. AJ breaks down supply and demand in housing and storage in plain English, what investors get wrong about cycles, and why owning assets (not just having a job) is the real line between security and chaos.

We also get into working with family (without blowing it up), why the education system trains employees instead of owners, and how younger investors can still win in a world of high prices, high rates, and wild inequality—if they’re willing to change the playbook.

If this conversation punches you in the gut a little, don’t just nod and move on. Share this episode with someone who’s depending 100% on their job, then take one concrete step toward owning an asset this week—no matter how small. To learn more or connect with AJ, visit cedarcreekcapital.com or find him on Instagram and YouTube by searching “AJ Osborne Self Storage” or “Cedar Creek Capital.” And make sure you’re subscribed to REIA Radio and plugged into your local REIA so you’re not trying to figure this game out alone.

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