Timestamps:
0.29 | Melbourne Beginnings
5.57 | A Real Action Hero
10.39 | US Summer Camp Lessons
18.13 | Bootcamp
28.12 | Middle East Deployment

Resources and Links:

[15:09) Just removing myself from my comfort zone, and then physically going to a different place with different people. And there's nothing there that I know. I think that the whole process within itself is enough to change somebody's mind because you kind of have to adapt.

Tyrone Shum:
This is Property Investory where we talk to successful property investors to find out more about their stories, mindset and strategies.

I’m Tyrone Shum and in this episode we’re speaking to military man Timothy Brown, as he takes us through his personal journey growing up. Discover how he lived in the United States at the age of 22 for a year that changed his life forever and how his unforgettable experiences in the army, gave him the life skills to succeed as a prolific property investor. 

Timothy Brown is a remarkably disciplined individual who’s managed to succeed wherever he’s gone. 

[0:29] I currently work for the federal government and have been working for the federal government for most of my working career. And I have become obsessed with property in the journey.

[1:00] I work for the Department of Home Affairs, and one of the sub agencies that deals with immigration. And I deal with a lot of international people that come into the country and day to day just looks like working with the police and how they interact with people from across the borders. But that's only a recent role. I've spent most of my federal government time within the military, the army more specifically.

Spending most of his life in Victoria between a recent stay in Adelaide, Brown shares with us how he never had a major interest in school but still enjoyed growing up in Melbourne. 

[2:43] I grew up in a suburb in Melbourne called Alphington, which is to the east northeast of the city, fairly close to the city. And I've been Victorian, obviously, for a while, but I spent most of my last nine years over in Adelaide, actually. So I've kind of moved around the states a bit, particularly for work in the military.

[3:29] I had no intention of leaving Victoria. I grew up as a, you know, typical Victorian kid and went to a school within the area, high school as well. And pretty much I suppose I spent most of my time doing what everyone else did, you know, hanging around the pool at our house and just hanging out with mates. And I didn't have any intention to leave, as I said, until I decided to join the army after school a few years after school actually, and they pretty much tell you where you're going. So that's just how I ended up in Adelaide.

[4:22] I was physically at school not mentally, it just wasn't me I just I'm a very disciplined, structured and regimental person however just school wasn't wasn't for me and I spend most of my time hanging out with mates whether it's you know, in the pool physically outdoors doing things but also would spend a fair amount of time inside playing you know, PlayStation with the boys and things like that. Very, very typical of the genre of my ideas with all my school friends, but yes, school. Yeah, it wasn't for me. I got along with everyone there and my teachers and stuff but my attentive love was very much not there. And I just, I just rocked up enough to get through it all, to be honest. It's very typical of people who join the military.

Brown reflects on what led him toward his chosen career path in the army and how exactly he followed that path. 

[5:57] I spent most of my childhood playing armies, you know, pretend armies as a kid, and you know, had all the toy guns. And if I didn't have a toy gun, I had my index finger pointed out my thumb up, you know, that was good enough. And I think it just kind of, I was always interested in the military, and, you know, armored vehicles and soldiers and whatnot. And then once they got to an age where they kind of clicked and I just went, I can actually do this myself, now I can actually go and be a soldier and fulfill that kind of childhood dream of what I've been doing in the backyard. So that's kind of the pivotal point where I'm going to do this. It did take a few years for me to actually get in because I was very, very staunch in a specific role I wanted. So I was patient enough to wait for that role to open up, it was quite a competitive time to get in around that, that time of finishing school. 

[6:58} So I wanted to join the cavalry. So that's these days, not horses anymore. But it is armored vehicles, armoured fighting vehicles. And I wanted to fight on top of an AZ lab for an APC. And that's exactly what I ended up doing, which is really good. And I was really glad I was patiently waiting for that specific role, because there were others, they were happy to take me for other positions. But I just, I just didn't want to do that. I just knew what I wanted. And I was headstrong, and I was just going for it. So it was a few years of just sitting on the sidelines waiting until it could really get in there. So it just made it all the sweeter when I finally was able to be recruited.

[8:29] It was straight out of high school, I had a few limitations on, in my mind, whether I wanted to do full time to be honest, I was a bit nervous to go full time. So I was thinking about maybe doing reserves, but you know, my dad and my mom who were very supportive of that really kind of nurtured and coached me to just do it, put in the full time but I did get knocked back the first time they said, you know, go away grow up for a bit, which is quite common for you know, someone 18 years old, straight out of school. Okay, so that's, that was my first kind of experience, which I was gutted when I got that letter. Oh, absolutely. God, it was a major setback for me.

However, he managed to turn this setback into a valuable experience, taking an opportunity to work in the United States at a summer camp. 

[10:39] I just turned 22 When I actually first got in. So it was, it was a couple years that I didn't have that military career, but what I was doing was just doing other other jobs. I worked with my uncle for a while. And that was just in some installing industrial fitouts. So pallet racking and stuff, so nothing too special, crazy, but um, it was money in the pocket while I waited for this job. And I did a few other things. You know, I was working quite a bit, working at Kohl's and picking up other little rolls every now and again, just testing a few things out. But you know, none of it really fulfilled me. But also, I knew that I knew that I was waiting for something else. So it didn't really bother me as well. It was good to earn some money and enjoy myself. And I took myself on a few trips overseas, one to a couple for just holidays and short stints and I ended up actually going over to the United States and working in a summer camp over there. And that was an amazing experience. And it's probably one of the best things I did prior to joining the army because it kind of really opened up my eyes, in terms of the greater world and really got some good life experience just going by myself to another country and just learning.

[12:08] I had a really good time, it was an amazing experience for me to get out of high school, obviously do a bit of travel, but then do a big trip, which is four to five months, I was away for by myself get overseas, and work in one of these summer camps. It was just really good to meet new people, be out on my own and explore that part of the world, as well as earn a bit of money and do it and travel and whatnot. And it's one of the best things I did prior to joining the army because it really set me up for success in terms of having a better mindset, really honing in and confirming what I wanted to do. When I got back to Australia. It was a big, big game changer for me just being a bit more worldly. And of course, you know, when the army sent me away to grow up a bit more, that's exactly what those sorts of things did.

[13:12] I think the way it worked out was when I first had the application denied for the army, I had to go through a bit of an appeals process. And that was a bit arduous, really, in terms of back and forth with appeal paperwork and documents. And that kind of really put a damper on me as a whole, in my mind, so I can't remember how it came up. To be honest, I think I've just heard somebody say something about it. And I just went to mum and dad and said, ‘What do you think? While I'm waiting for the army, they've told me it's about a year's wait from now and I should be good to go. But what should I do?’ And they just said you're stupid not to basically so they assisted me in kind of arranging that and I just got over there and and just went for it. And it was a really amazing experience. I was employed as a lifeguard. So my role was just driving little Tucker's little kids around on a boat for them to wakeboard around so I got the good lifeguard gig. So it was unreal, the holiday and getting paid to do it. It was the best thing I highly recommend but it's very American. It's so American, but it was really really really fun.

This valuable experience really expanded his worldview and put him in good stead for his future in the military.

[15:09] Just removing myself from my comfort zone, and then physically going to a different place with different people. And there's nothing there that I know. I think that the whole process within itself is enough to change somebody's mind because you kind of have to adapt. Because it's uncomfortable, it's uncomfortable. Being in a new place, we don't know anything, don't know anyone. And I think that's really conducive for changing someone's mind, if you want to let it do that, and then then be forced to integrate with other people. I want to say cultures, but you know, it's America, it's very similar to here, but it's obviously a bit more American. 

[15:48] But this, there's still a bit of assimilation that needs to happen. And then just meeting different people, many people from all around the world because the summer camps are basically where parents send their kids for the summer, their summer, on holidays. And, you know, the kids get to go on these great experiences and adventures and they have all these international what they call counselors come over and look after him, basically. So everyone's in the same boat. Everyone's thinking, what am I doing, everyone's having a great time meeting new people. And it's a really cool environment, I think to start growing within yourself, being comfortable in your own skin, meeting new people from all different cultures and backgrounds, etc. It's really hard not to have a different outlook on life. Because you realize there's a bigger world out there with different problems, different people, different places. If you can really know that in hindsight, it's a real weapon in your mindset.

Coming up after the break, we’ll learn about Tim Brown’s boot camp experiences…

[18:50] This is the military. It's designed exactly to break you down really and rebuild you as a soldier exactly how they want you to be, very regimented

The discipline required to be a good soldier… 

[20:39] Just learning everything from ironing your your cams, and your clothes, probably from making your bed to the most precision measurements

The details of his speciality and service…

[22:47] It was really, really cool to be honest, because that's when we really got into the nitty gritty of the job, climbing on armored vehicles and learning the bigger weapons, learning all the different skills to be covering

And that’s next. I’m Tyrone Shum and you’re listening to Property Investory.

Joining the army is a daunting task for anyone, and for Brown, it was not any easier. 

[18:13] 2014 is when I got the enlistment date and I was pretty much put on a bus one day in April and sent to what people know is boot camp but it's just recruit training up in Wagga Wagga.

[18:43] I was very very nervous. You know, obviously, kind of just experienced being away and that but this is a different game. This is the military. It's designed exactly to break you down really and rebuild you as a soldier exactly how they want you to be, very regimented and stuff. So sitting on that bus, I've met a few people obviously and I was like we're all in the same boat pretty nervous. But yeah, it was a nerve wracking ride. It felt like a really really long bus ride up to Wagga and pulling into that gate. I just remember my heart through my chest thinking ‘What have I done?’ So yeah, it was it was pretty sketchy for a bit there but once we got going is okay but yeah, I think the whole time at what we call Kapooka was I was holding on I was really holding on it was such a shock to the system it's it's funny and easy now when I think about it, but it was scary.

[20:11] It's a firehose of information and a new way of life. So, at the time there, it's tough and it's hard, it's arduous, and it's scary. It's unknown. But sitting here now looking back at it, it was a breeze. And it was easy, particularly once you experience you know, the real army world outside, outside military training. But at that time, when you know nothing, nothing else, it is hectic, that's a way to experience the way to describe it is this hectic. So you know, just just learning everything from ironing your your cams, and your clothes, probably from making your bed to the most precision measurements or marching on the jewel square shooting weapons pack marching for for hours, and hours and hours with heavyweight, what, whatever it is learning navigation, the whole range of military skills and tactics is quite big. 

[21:02] And it's really, really hard to get your head around quickly, when you have to do that you have to adapt and get your skills and knowledge up to scratch. Yet to be able to, you know, march out on that day as a soldier. Wow. So I say only felt like three years at the time will count in the days of him, me and one of my best mates. In the same room as me we have a little secret makeshift calendar crossing off days. And we were just gone from meal to meal. Trying to just take it, you know, bite chunks. But yeah, it was full on.

Brown explains his transition into the cavalry and what he learned while he was there. 

[22:10] As I said before, I wanted to join the cavalry. So everyone splits off from Kapooka and then goes to their new units. So for me, it was my cavalry training position. So I had a handful of guys who were doing that with me, we all got on the bus and went to pack a Pineal Victoria. And we did our cover armored core training there. And that was about six months. In Parker pineal, for me, it's the experience of seeing the freezing cold to the hot, you know, temperature changes of Parker, as we call it. And that was really cool that yeah, it was really, really cool to be honest, because that's when we really got into the nitty gritty of the job, climbing on armored vehicles and learning the bigger weapons, learning all the different skills to be covering and learning history, and really becoming attached to that role, particularly with knowing the history of, you know, Light Horse and, and being the guys with the, you know, the the feather, as I say inhabits the plumes that you see in a, you know, a hat of a trained soldier. So that was really, really cool to be able to be part of and to learn all those different skill sets to be a cavalryman.

The Army usually has a minimum four year requirement after enlisting. 

[24:45] You stay in until you want to either discharge or move on to a different role or whatnot. But typically within those four years, depending on what you do in your experience, you might be promoted or you deploy or or other things like that, so there can be some moving around. found, if you posted to a different unit in a different location, and we, it seems to be the trend, especially these days that a lot of guys just do their four years, and then they'll discharge. But obviously you have people that range from doing it 4 years to, you know, 30-40 years. So it's really up to the individual to decide how they want to see out their career and where they continue for that long. So and as I said, I did about six, six and a half years with that before I pulled the pin.

[25:53] When I was going to my cavalry training when they were up, they stood up a unit in Adelaide. So they split what was the first regiment from Darwin, and then put a sub unit down in Adelaide. And they were asking pretty much for volunteers to go there. So I ended up raising my hand and said, ‘Yeah, I'll go, I'll do it.’ I didn't have a giant drive to go anywhere else. I thought I'll just give it a crack. So I went over to Adelaide and it ended up being the best choice ever, for a whole number of reasons. But after six months, they flew us to Adelaide and we just joined the unit and then started again, starting from the bottom ranks again. So it was really cool to get to Adelaide and be part of the new sub unit as well. And I was lucky enough myself to get a deployment to the Middle East, as well as a couple of trips into the Pacific region as well, which was a really, really awesome experience and made my career even though it was semi short. really fulfilling for myself.

Brown’s time in the middle east involved a lot of interaction with vehicles in a security and maintenance role.

[28:12] Our day to day role, basically, was to maintain our vehicles and equipment for the role that we had. And also to grow out with our training teams and meet the Iraqi partners or, you know, Iraqi police, whoever will train that week or day, in order to equip them with the skills that they could get within the two weeks that we had them for before they went up and, you know, engaged with ISIS in Mosul, which was that all the time that I was when I was in Iraq. So the day to day consisted of that. 

[28:48] So we do have little gaps in between those tasks where we can look after our own fitness, or, you know, try and get a call at home, or take care of anything personally that we need to do. But I spent a bit of time with the QRF, which is a quick reaction force as well. So that was where we'd kind of be ready to read, maintain a presence on base and be ready for anything that we needed to be called out for. If there was any, any threats or something was not quite right, we'd roll out quickly, we'd always have to be on a short notice to move, meaning that at any moment, we had to be able to jump in our vehicles and react. So that was good as well. I enjoyed that part of it. It felt like we were doing something even though there wasn't much going on, if that makes sense. But overall, it was still a really good experience. You know, it wasn't as hot as one of those deployments that some of the boys had back in the, you know, proper height of the Afghan Iraqi war, but you know, it's still good to be able to get overseas and feel like I was putting in, you know, a bit of work and effort that you're training so long for as a soldier

Reflecting on leaving the army, Brown has some advice for any potential employers out there.

[31:54] I didn't want to just jump out with nothing ready for myself. And as most people were, these days, it is a massive problem for soldiers to jump out and they don't really have anything else to go for that they're full of knowledge full of excellent skill sets really, really just good people with amazing experience who could just kill it in any, you know, invite work environment, and it's hard for them to get a look in because these days, you know, everything's really based on what papers do you have what paperwork Do you have what you need degree when when really in my mind, it doesn't really determine what type of person you are what kind of ethics or or worker you're going to be. I think it's a huge huge miss for any employer who doesn't look in to ex soldiers. Male or female or whatever.

Timothy Brown’s story is so unique, and we will dive deeper in a future episode of Property Investory as we learn why he went into property…

[00:47 transcript 2] I wasn't built for school, I wasn't built for that typical structure of society, the nine to five, that's just not me. And I just needed to break out of that. So I just was brainstorming pretty much every spare second of my life thinking, 'What can I do? How can I do something?’

The discipline it takes to be successful in investing…

[3:14 transcript 2] I set an exact time for that deposit to be ready. And then that eventuated and then I deployed that into the marketplace to get a property.

As well as the mindset required to succeed in property investment… 

[12:42] I'd much rather pay triple for good managers than pay cheap for poor managers because it pays dividends when things go wrong.

And that’s next time in a future episode of Property Investory.