One year ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Yet in September of 2013, I got help from various millionaires and successful entrepreneurs, landed my dream job, and dropped out of college.

The job allows me the lifestyle I’ve always been after. It’s the one where I’ll never have to work in a cubicle. The one where I can work whenever and wherever I want doing what I love.

Let’s backtrack a bit.

It all started with a tweet by Sean Ogle.

When I first read the page, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and fantasize about landing such a great opportunity. Nearly all expenses paid while living overseas? On top of that, it’s an apprenticeship that would allow me to use my strengths and refine my weaknesses?

It would definitely be a life-changing experience because I was a full-time college student at the time. Getting this job would mean I’d be leaving school, something I’ve been wanting for the longest time. Plus, that lifestyle I talked about earlier was what I’ve been dreaming about for years.

The Internal Struggles and How I Used Them as Fuel

It sounded like a dream, but who am I fooling? I’m a 19-year old with less than a year of experience in the field. I was juggling college full-time, three internships, and a blog.

There had to have been at least dozens of applicants with a decade of experience. Why bother even wasting my time? Do I really want to get my hopes up and get crushed?

I bookmarked the page for later as my mind stewed with excuses.

I could have just passed this one up, but of course that’s not what happened.

The fear that I was competing against impossible odds ended up motivating me even further. It brought me to a whiteboard where I outlined tons of different ideas that would make me stand out. Eventually, I narrowed it down to one.

I emailed dozens of influencers to ask them to record a short video vouching for me by name, stating that I reached out and connected.

I got tons of rejections. Guy Kawasaki was too busy. Ramit Sethi had no time. Noah Kagan wasn’t interested.

It was very difficult, but at the same time I got a lot of people who were able to help. Michael Hyatt, John Saddington, John Lee Dumas, Neil Patel, and Rand Fishkin were some of the videos I opened with.

They didn’t know my name. I didn’t even tell them what I do, but instead I just told them that I was going after my dream job. They were more than happy to help a stranger.

Check out a screenshot of an email I sent Rand Fishkin, the CEO of Moz:

Rand responded four days later:

One week later:

Elijah and Rand worked together to help me out on this. I know for a fact it was an inconvenience for them too because they’re very busy over at Moz. They didn’t have to and it never would have happened if I didn’t ask.

I had this idea because I was desperate. It’s because I was afraid that there would be no way I would have gotten the job if I didn’t make them think “Holy crap! We’ve got to have this guy!”

Finally, the finished video:

Two interviews with the company and some emails back and forth later:

Slam dunk.

It’s been an enlightening experience and I finally dropped out of college. My family isn’t pleased because they don’t understand the situation, but that’s okay.

It’s okay because I’ve learned so many things in the past two months and I’m bound to be a completely different person by next year.

I’m not worried that my family thinks I’m wasting my life because I don’t have a college degree. I know for a fact that piece of paper would do almost nothing for me. I’m going the unconventional route and I’m setting down the foundation as soon as possible.

What You Need to Know About Making Magic Happen

You don’t need support.

It helps a lot, but it’s merely a supplement and shouldn’t be the only thing that drives you. You have to know how to motivate yourself to get what you want.

I didn’t tell very many people about what I was doing. I only told my family after I got the job and even then, many of my family members are still against the idea. With a traditional Asian family, it’s no surprise to me that they are against dropping out of school and going away for work.

They think I’m doing this for the money. I’d do this for free if I had to. What’s driving me is my desire to learn and experience new things, as well as my thirst for adventure and freedom.

You always have to outperform thousands of people.

Even if you’re competing against a few people, you have to treat it as if you’re facing a horde of thousands who are more qualified than you. Who would have thought a 19-year old kid would have been able to do something like this? I sure didn’t.

That’s exactly why I went 100 steps further than I thought I had to. I wanted it badly and there was no way I was going to fail.

You shouldn’t settle for what’s comfortable.

Don’t settle for a “safe” paycheck when you can start something on the side that can eventually grow into your dream lifestyle.

It would have been easy to have my family off my back by continuing college and waiting until graduation to run off and go do awesome things.

Screw that.

I started a blog on the side that’s been growing exponentially. Then I took it one step further by reaching out to people through the platform I’ve created.

You will make more excuses if you let your mind wander.

When I set the bookmarked page aside, I gave it maybe an hour before I went to the brainstorming session. I knew if I kept waiting then my mind would have made more excuses. The immediate excuses that popped up were my young age, the fact that I was still in school, and the fear of my family’s reaction.

I realized that the list would have kept growing if I let it sit. So I decided to go all-in as soon as possible.

You can become a legend that inspires others to do the same.

I’ve gotten so many emails this past month from people congratulating me, asking to pick my brain, and telling me that I’ve inspired them to chase after their own dreams. When you do something worth talking about, you have no idea how many lives you’ll touch. Hopefully because of what I did, many others will break out of their comfort zone and go for that amazing lifestyle they’ve been dying to have.

You have the power to change your life forever, now.

Stop waiting. Don’t be like everyone else that is holding back for the perfect time to press start. You’ve waited long enough. I’ve waited long enough too.

I could have waited until graduation. I could have waited until I was older. I could have waited until I had 3, 5, or 10 years under my belt.

Screw that! I dropped out of college and went after this with a little under one year of experience.

Quit waiting because your life could be so much better right here and now.

Vincent Nguyen is the author of Self Stairway, where he writes with brutal honesty to teach self-improvement. No sugarcoating the truth. Follow Vincent on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.