How One Engineer Built a Life of Freedom (and Why You Can Too)🌴
Dec 20, 2025
You know that dream a lot of us have?
- Waking up without an alarm clock. ✨
- Working on projects that light you up. ✨
- Living somewhere you actually want to be. ✨
That’s what Richard Naha built — and spoiler alert — he started just like the rest of us: figuring out what he didn’t want to do.
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Rich followed the traditional path. He landed a management consulting job at PwC. Great paycheck. Prestigious title. But it didn’t take long before he realized something was missing.
“Corporate America was such a grind. I realized quickly I didn’t want to spend my life waiting for someone else to reward my hard work.”
Sound familiar?
🎙️ Join podcast host Nolan Hollis for an inspiring conversation with Rich Naha on the getCAREER curious podcast: "From Engineering Major to Multimillion Dollar Investor: How Rich Naha Built a Life of Freedom."
TL;DR — The Big Picture 🧠✨
Richard Naha didn’t chase freedom overnight — he engineered it.
After starting his career in corporate consulting at PwC, Rich realized that traditional success didn’t equal fulfillment. By repurposing his engineering mindset, making smart early real estate investments, and building businesses around what he genuinely loved, he created a life with more control, flexibility, and purpose — including launching Surf Synergy in Costa Rica.
The core takeaway: Career freedom isn’t a leap. It’s a staircase built with curiosity, measured risk, and consistent decision-making.
If you want more autonomy and alignment in your career, start where you are and take the next smart step.
💡 The Engineer Who Solved for Freedom
What I love about Rich’s story is that he didn’t throw away his engineering degree — he repurposed it.
His background in engineering gave him the ultimate entrepreneurial toolkit: curiosity, creativity, and the courage to stick with problems until he found a solution.
“Engineering taught me how to approach problems from multiple angles and stick with them until I find a solution.”
That mindset became his secret weapon. Because when you stop seeing problems as roadblocks and start treating them as puzzles? That’s where entrepreneurship begins.
🏡 The $57,000 Condo That Changed Everything
While consulting in Chicago, PwC gave Rich a $2,000 monthly housing stipend. Most people spent it on a short-term rental.
Rich? He bought a $57,000 condo instead.
He used that same stipend to pay the mortgage, and when the project ended, he rented the place out to other consultants. Boom.💥 Passive income before passive income was even a buzzword.
That first deal taught him what it really means to own your future, literally and figuratively.
📈 Lesson for anyone just starting out:
You don’t need a trust fund to start investing. You need curiosity, a spreadsheet, and the guts to take a small first step.
🌊 From Real Estate to Surf Resorts 🏄
Fast forward a few years. During a COVID family trip to Costa Rica, Rich and his family fell in love with surfing — and the slower, sunnier rhythm of life there.
They turned that trip into a business: Surf Synergy, a luxury all-inclusive surf and wellness retreat on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast—where surf lessons, yoga decks, and open-air treatments combine to help you reconnect, recharge and ride your next wave of success. Rich and his team are absolutely killing it with this concept — Surf Synergy was recently named the #1 Destination Spa in the World by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
“We didn’t plan to start a business. We just found something we loved and built around it.”
💡Rich's story proves something I tell my students all the time:
Sometimes your best business idea isn’t hiding in a business plan. It’s hiding in what lights you up. ✨
⚖️ The Truth About Risk and Reward
Rich didn’t get to where he is today by avoiding risk — he learned how to successfully measure and manage it.
“If you’re not a little nervous, you’re probably not taking enough risk. The goal isn’t to avoid risk — it’s to measure it.”
He explains it like this:
Every opportunity has three parts:
- The cost — time, money, or effort.
- The risk — what could go wrong.
- The return — what could go right.
The trick is to find balance — not perfection.
💭 Rich’s rule of thumb:
- Low risk = low return (& that's ok for a portion of your portfolio).
- High risk = higher potential return (assuming you’ve done your homework).
That’s the real equation for freedom. Not luck. Not hustle. Just smart, consistent decision-making. Break out those spreadsheets for breakeven analysis! 📈
🌍 The Future Belongs to the Curious
What I love most about Rich’s advice is how grounded it is. He’s not selling hustle culture or overnight success. He’s teaching self-awareness, integrity, and adaptability — the true currency of this generation.
“Be fair, be curious, and build relationships. You never know which connection will open the next door.”
As AI reshapes industries and remote work opens new doors, curiosity is your edge. Keep asking, What’s next? What else could this look like?
Because the future doesn’t belong to the busiest — it belongs to the most curious and the person with an open mind.
💛 Takeaways from Rich’s Story
- Your degree is a foundation — not a finish line.
- Start where you are, with what you have.
- Learn to read risk instead of running from it.
- Build relationships before you need them.
- Align your work with your why — not just your wallet.
✨ My Take: Career Freedom Starts Small
Every semester, I meet students who want to skip straight to success. They want the dream job, the six-figure salary, the flexible schedule — all at once.
But stories like Rich’s remind me that freedom isn’t built overnight. It’s built one brave, informed decision at a time.
He didn’t quit everything cold turkey. He made smart, strategic moves. A condo here. A business there. Each step gave him a little more control, a little more experience, a little more freedom.
That’s the real secret to building a life you love: you create options before you need them.
“Start small, start scared — but start. The path to freedom isn’t a leap. It’s a staircase.”
🚀 Try This: Your First Step Toward Freedom
You don’t need to move to Costa Rica (though it sounds pretty amazing). But you can take one small step this week that builds momentum toward your version of freedom.
Try this:
- Pick one skill you can monetize this month.
- Talk to one mentor, alum, or friend about your idea.
- Save your first $500 — and invest it in something that grows you.
The goal isn’t perfection — it’s progress. Every risk you take teaches you something valuable: what you want more of, and what you don’t.
❤️ A Final Thought
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to take ownership of your next move.
Because freedom doesn’t show up fully formed. It shows up in the tiny, consistent choices that move you toward what matters.
And like Rich says, "If you can measure the risk and keep your eyes on the reward, you’re already halfway there."
You don’t have to move to Costa Rica to live a life of freedom. But you do have to decide that your dreams are worth a little calculated risk.
So go ahead — take the leap, even if it’s a small one. That’s where every great story begins.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is this podcast episode about?
This episode of the Get Career Curious podcast explores how Richard Naha went from an engineering major and corporate consultant to a multimillion-dollar investor and entrepreneur by making intentional, measured career decisions.
How did Richard Naha transition from engineering to entrepreneurship?
Rich applied engineering skills like problem-solving, systems thinking, and risk analysis to real estate investing and business creation. He didn’t abandon his degree — he leveraged it.
Do you need a lot of money to start investing?
No. Rich’s first investment was a modest condo funded strategically using a housing stipend. His story shows that research, curiosity, and small steps matter more than starting capital.
What is Surf Synergy?
Surf Synergy is a luxury all-inclusive surf and wellness retreat on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, co-founded by Richard Naha. It was inspired by a family trip and has since been named the #1 Destination Spa in the World by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
Is this story relevant if I’m not interested in real estate or entrepreneurship?
Yes. The bigger lesson is about designing a career aligned with your values, learning to assess risk, and creating options over time — regardless of industry.
What advice does this episode offer students and early-career professionals?
The episode emphasizes that careers don’t have to be linear, risk can be measured, curiosity is a competitive advantage, and freedom is built through consistent, informed decisions.
💬 Let’s Get Curious Together
If you’ve ever thought about starting a side hustle, investing in real estate, or just designing a career on your terms — take a note from Rich’s playbook.
Comment below 👇 and share: What’s one risk you’re willing to take this year to move closer to building your dream career?
And if this story sparked something in you, hit that 🔔 Subscribe to the Get Career Curious newsletter.
We’ll keep featuring professionals with lived experience and lessons worth sharing — mentors who believe in paying it forward and helping you turn curiosity into an intentional career path.
