Meet Ian Sullivan | Loan Originator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Sullivan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ian, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I am VERY big on habits. I fully believe our habits have more to do with our success and failure than anything else. With that being said, these are the best habits I created for myself:

1) No major phone use after 7pm (this gives me about 2-3 hours of time with my wife and dog to decompress and wind down from the day).
2) The first and last thing I do everyday is clear my emails and move the needle on menial tasks so that my prime operating hours are optimized and not bottlenecking the business flow.
3) Don’t drink during the week (this is a big one for me because I love whiskey, lol).
4) Create a to-do list every weekday and check things off one by one (super boring but it creates a boundary for me to follow and execute).
5) My mission statement everyday: protect your energy and move the needle.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am mortgage loan originator. I started in the business about 6 years ago and my first job was a grunt job where I ordered docs from employers, insurance companies, etc. It was a low paying taking care of menial tasks and I became bored very quickly. I knew that if I could dedicate 12-16 months in that position that it would propel me to be a better originator in the long run. My friends/co-workers in the industry were surpassing me quickly and everyone gave me crap for sticking to my job and trying to learn as much as I could. I kept that mindset and stuck with my job for about 18 months before moving into an originator role. That extra time spent in that low paying position eventually elevated my knowledge to a place where I became widely successful pretty quickly. I look back at the time I spent doing those menial tasks and I wouldn’t change it for the world because I learned so much about the inner workings of the industry. With all that being said, I read somewhere once that you can only build as high as you build deep. The world tallest skyscrapers have the world’s strongest foundations. “Do do not despise simple beginnings.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My wife and I are massive foodies so this might take a while…

If you are visiting Phoenix and don’t go to Rokerij or Richardson’s you are missing out. House Brasserie in Old Town is arguably the best dining experience I have ever had. Also, I love a good manhattan so Bitter and Twisted downtown as well as Little Rituals are two of my favorite spots. If you like wine, whiskey and jazz, Kazimierz in Old Town Scottsdale is the place for you. And, lastly, if you like a good speakeasy The Ostrich in downtown Chandler is an absolute must.

If you like exploring, our hiking in quite remarkable and the Desert Botanical Garden is a beautiful experience day or night.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am an avid reader so my shoutout goes to my three favorite authors/podcasters.

Ray Dalio
James Clear
Naval Ravikant

Ray Dalio ran a massive hedge fund in NYC for years and wrote a couple books about the principles that guided his throughout his career. James Clear wrote an incredible book called Atomic Habits, that book changed my life and it is incredibly simple and pragmatic. Naval Ravikant is a bit of an anomaly as he is an angel investor in Silicon Valley who turned into a philosopher over the last couple of years. Highly recommend reading the Almanack of Naval Ravikant and/or subscribing to his podcast. They was he discussed happiness and wealth was incredibly eye opening to me.

Instagram: ianthesullivan

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianthesullivan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011462461172

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ian-sullivan-scottsdale-4?osq=ian+sullivan

Image Credits
@okoshea