This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Copland, a 42-year-old real estate investor and the cofounder of MTR Authority , who lives outside Portland, Oregon. It has been edited for length and clarity. I've always been an entrepreneur at heart. As a kid, I found creative ways to make money — mowing lawns, shoveling snow, stump grinding — anything that gave me the freedom to earn on my own terms. Now, I run MTR Authority, a program that helps other investors build and scale mid-