From Navy to Financial Freedom: How Gary McDermid Engineered Passive Wealth with Real Estate & Tax Strategy

Today’s episode features the inspiring journey of Gary McDermid, a former Navy officer turned entrepreneur, real estate investor, and “cash flow engineer.” Host Dave Wolcott welcomes Gary to share how he transitioned from enlisting out of high school to building a life of financial freedom—leveraging real estate, passive income, and smart business acquisitions along the way. Gary’s story is anything but typical. What began with a life-changing piece of advice in Navy “A” school—buy real estate at every duty station—set him on the path to replace his active income with cash-flowing assets. Gary opens up about the mindset shifts and self-limiting beliefs he overcame, his engineering approach to wealth building, and the actionable steps he took to ultimately create scalable, lasting wealth. Today, he strategically acquires tax and accounting firms, pairing his technical background with finance to maximize cash flow and leverage overlooked tax strategies. Gary also discusses his new book, “Set Your Own Goals Or Someone Else Will,” which reveals the five steps and mindset changes that helped him take back control of his future. Gary’s journey is a testament to the power of thinking bigger, taking control, and “engineering” your path to prosperity. This episode is packed with practical advice for anyone ready to escape the rat race and design their own financial future. In this episode, we discuss: How military advice jumpstarted Gary’s real estate and wealth-building journey Transitioning from a technical career to business ownership and passive income The power of tax planning and acquiring businesses for scalable cash flow Mindset shifts for breaking free of self-limiting beliefs and setting your own goals Click here to learn more: https://pantheoninvest.com/episode170