I’ll be celebrating my 32nd birthday next month. Normally, I would have never cared but this one is different than all the others. This is the first birthday I will have celebrated in a long time as a happy and free person.

I am celebrating because I made the choice to retire from a 10 year long career that nearly destroyed who I was as a person.

Some of you may be thinking that I really got fired or just quit because I’m still considered young. However, this just wasn’t the case.

A few years ago, I realized that I didn’t want to waste my entire life working to make someone else wealthy while only getting a small amount of the money that I made for the company. Spending 10 hour days as a wage slave in hopes of retiring in my 70’s. But the problem with that is…

I wouldn’t actually be able to enjoy life at that age when 90% of my life had already passed me by. And the retirement savings is a joke because we all know that today’s money won’t be worth shit in 40 years.

I couldn’t comprehend wasting my whole life for a bogus savings plan, some vacation days, and a safe but small weekly paycheck. Then never get to live free because my family would still be constantly worried about having enough money just to pay the bills.

The worst part is that the 10 years I spent at that job made me absolutely HATE human beings.

You see, I started working at a Vending company back in 2008 when the economy was in shambles. But I was thrilled to have gotten that job. Just mowing lawns had become a competitive job market because so many people had been let go. So I felt extremely lucky to be employed at all.

I started out working midnights as a route driver restocking vending machines. And about a year later, I became a route supervisor and a die-hard company man.

My impressionable, young mind sucked up every bit of their bullshit just like a sponge too. Their cultures and attitude in general were not good and they cleverly masked it with fake motos like ‘we’re a family company’ and ‘our people always come first’.

Any company constantly saying this crap is just trying to deceive the world into believing they are something different than what they truly are.

I was eventually asked to consider taking a promotion as a branch manager at another operation. And I took the job offer. But this became the beginning of the end for me.

I was constantly under the gun, the workforce was completely different, and I had been handed over a failing operation that I was now expected to take responsibility for. And the employees and customers were absolutely horrible.

I literally witnessed the worst in people over those last 4 years.

Humans adapt and become products of their environment. I got the worst and in return I became the worst version of myself.

I began to have anxiety issues because I was expected to answer for every one of these idiots and I got to the point where I just resented being alive in general.

My home life started to suffer too because my family just wanted to spend time with me when I got home from work. But after a 12 hour long day of complete chaos, I just wanted everyone to leave me the fuck alone.

I was on call 24/7, had no friends anymore because I was so detached from people, and I had become an all around hateful son of a bitch.

That  lifestyle wasn’t sustainable and the demands involved just weren’t worth an $800 weekly salary. I knew that I had to find a different path because both my family’s well being and my own mental health hung in the balance. But I didn’t just want a different place to work.

What I actually wanted to be fulfilled and enjoy my life again.

I was 28 when I started looking for answers out of being a wage slave. And I knew that achieving freedom was obtainable but I had no clue how to do it.

Everyone needs a why for doing what it is that they do. Mine boiled down to 3 simple things:

1. I was sick of to worrying about having enough money to support my family. And I knew that I would never build true wealth by working to make someone else rich.
2. I wanted to live life and enjoy it. Not just exist to repeat the same shit everyday (get up, go to work, go to bed, repeat). And I just didn’t feel like I Was fulfilling my purpose in life.
3. I didn’t want to miss out on my children growing up. Your kids only have childhood and I wanted to be around as much as possible and create lasting memories for them. It was extremely difficult to be the father my kids needed when I  was on call 24/7.

When I turned 30, I made a commitment to myself that I would retire before 32. 

I decided that whatever path I chose to take to get there, I simply wouldn’t allow it to fail or give up. Failure was not an option.

Did you give up your dreams to live within the means?

If you have the option, if money wasn’t an issue, what would you do with your life?

Seriously, what would you do?

The overwhelming majority of people are not doing what they hoped for in life. Instead, they work soul crushing jobs that leave them with little energy to enjoy time at home with family…. and even less time to pursue the things that make them happy.

Are you one of those people? Did you settle for less in life just to make ends meet?

Maybe you had big hopes as to what you wanted to become. But now look back decades later to find yourself staring in the mirror at a person you don’t even know anymore.

Maybe you work at a job surrounded by hundreds of other people in cubicles. Wage slaves caged up like animals to be given a reward by the master in the form of money.

Look around you and ask yourself if this was really what you were meant to do. Were you really meant to be a slave to money your entire life?

I went through a deep period of soul searching years ago that made me ask myself these very questions. The idea that my life would be nothing more then working my ass off until I was an old man just to survive was one of the most desolating feelings.

When I was younger,  I really thought my life would be vastly different from what it had become. My intentions were to travel as a studio musician and live a life of freedom.

But eventually, I got sucked into the rat race and pushed aside those aspirations in order to make life work out. I maintained a career and attempted to play music as a side hobby. But that eventually had to stop because it was a struggle just to spend time with my family, let alone pursue hobbies.

I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning just to work out every day. It just wouldn’t happen at any other point because so many things would happen as the day went on that would call for my attention

How I found a way out of the rat race.

The things that I’m about to tell you can be accomplished by anybody. So I ask that you read this with an open mind and understand that there is absolutely nothing that can stop you from doing what I did and living a life of freedom.

Well, I take that back. The only thing that could hold you back is yourself and how far you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone.

It’s been my experience that unwillingness to step outside of one’s comfort zone is the greatest self limiting factor for anything in life.

I’ve read many books written by successful people and there is one common recurring theme. At some point, they had to decide to do one of two things:

1. Settle for mediocrity
2. Step outside of their comfort zone and take a chance

What I would like for you to do right now is take a moment to stop reading these words and think about about something. I want you to think about all the people you have ever known that are 40 or older. Now, how many of those people do you know that took a major chance on something in their life and how many settled for what they were simply comfortable with?

No one ever achieved greatness without stepping outside of their comfort zone and taking a chance. And I guarantee that if you were to give all those people you thought about an injection of truth serum, you’d find that they grew to live lives of deep regret. Their aging years filled with should haves and could haves.

Are you ok with being one of those people? If not, then your going to have to come to some very ugly realizations.

I am not going to try and sell you on some bullshit program or online coaching crap. I just want to tell you what worked for me.

The road to entrepreneurship has been quite lonely at times because the overwhelming majority of people are completely happy with punching a time card for a weekly paycheck until they die. The thought of having to do this absolutely crushed my soul and I will never go back to that life.

Never.

There’s a lot of motivational self help gurus trying to sell you the one thing. Seriously, there are a shitload of them! Have you ever wondered why so many high energy self help gurus exist?

Its because selling people on ‘the one thing’ for success is in high demand and makes scam artist rich.

There are millions of suckers waiting for someone to take their money and tell them how to make their dreams come true.

But most motivational speakers  just talk really well and sell people on a bunch of empty bullshit. I have read several of their books, watched the videos, and they are all the same.

They just talk in circles and tell you how great you can be. But there never once is a plan of action or a process. Hmm, I guess you’ll just have to wait till their next $29.99 book comes out.

Having some Ric Flair wanna be sell you on unlocking your potential so you can live the life that you always desired by doing this one little thing just isn’t it folks.

The experts never paint the picture for how it really is because its not as sexy looking. They are selling you on a product that they want to have maximum appeal. And it just doesn’t sound very sexy to tell people about struggle, self doubt, and grinding it out until you find what works.

I’m no self help guru. I’m just a driven guy who learned everything he could to get out of the 9 to 5 rat race. Then busted ass everyday to make it happen.

Let me tell you that it isn’t just 1 thing. Its 100 things. There are no shortcuts. Meditation won’t get you there and a miracle supplement won’t be the answer.

It’s a constant battle of staying focused and not falling into bad habits that stop the momentum. Its fighting temptation and against laziness and not saying “I’m gonna take the day off”.  It’s brutally hard work and endless dedication.  And it’s waking up early 2 hours before anyone else to crush your goals.

So if you want to self improve, stop looking for a shortcut and go find your alarm clock,

Well, I’m gonna tell you how it really is.  You will not find all your success instantly…..Sorry.

The gurus won’t tell you about all the hardships that you’ll face along the way. But I will because it’s a very real part of finding your success and you need to hear it.

This is a marathon and not a race. There will be many let downs and a few little victories every once in a while.  You have to have the patience of a saint in order to find financial freedom but you WILL find it as long as you do three things.

1. Don’t ever fucking give up.
2. Learn from your mistakes
3. Learn that everything is an opportunity waiting to be realized
4. Taking action is what really matters.

Understand that you can study successful people all fucking day.  But reading and listening to podcasts isn’t going to get you any further towards success if you don’t actually take some sort of action based off what you learned.

You have to actually get off your ass and take the steps to get what you want.

I dont give a shit about what anyone else says people are not going to come to you, you have to be the one to get things rolling. Figure out what you want and ask yourself what it’s gonna take to get there….then take the steps to make it happen. It sound pretty simple but most people don’t have the fire inside of them to follow through.

Forget about winning the lottery because it just isn’t going to happen.

No one is ever going to just give you money for free. You have to get off your ass and make your life what you want it to be if you want to leave behind the 9 to 5 wage-slave hell that most people blindly endour.

The Four Legged table model

I’m going to compare the system I used to a table.

Most people’s table (economy) only has one stream of income which is like having a table with one leg. If someone where to chop that tables one leg down, then the table falls because it has no other support. This is like having one stream of income from an employer. Your going to be in real bad shape if you lose that job because you have no other source of income.

1 Legged Table Business Model

Now, let’s think about this as if our income stream were like a four legged table. Say we had 4 sources of income that helped us get paid. For example, a website with some affiliate marketing, an online T-shirt business, some rental properties, and a lawn care business where you have other people mowing yards in the summer. So thats 4 solid forms of money coming in with consistent cash flow.

4 Legged Table Business Model

Let’s say that your lawn care business gets taken out by a competing service with better prices and you have to shut the business down. This would be one of the table legs getting cut off!

Even though you lost a table leg, the table still stands because you are not relying on on avenue of making money.

Instead, we need to create our own economy that is like a four legged table with multiple streams of income that all work to build financial freedom. If one leg gets cut, you still have three others.

Again, building multiple streams of income is the absolute key here. If you stay consistent, the more compounding effects take place. And your reliance on being a slave to an employer’s paycheck will go away.

Rules to follow if you want to be free

Don’t ever get a credit card.

Credit cards give you an illusion of possessing money that you really do not have. This results in overspending and will turn you into a debt slave. There is a difference between good debt and bad debt. Good debt it when you borrow money in order to make even more money. So, just don’t go into (Bad) debt

Maintain a budget and stick with it.

What more really needs to be said here? Run your personal finances just like a business P&L. List all your bills, give yourself a grocery allowance, and even maintain a set amount of fun money per week. Many people get extremely discouraged when they find out they spend more money than they make. This may be the point in life where you come to the realization that some sacrifices have to be made. You may have to trade in you brand new car that you make $600 payments per month on in exchange for a 10 year old Toyota that on cost $4,000. At the end of the day, who really gives a shit if you have a brand new care or not. Your just keeping up with the Joneses and when you die, the material possessions really won’t matter. It’s just stuff!

Pay yourself first.  

Do yourself a huge favor and set up a savings account and have 10%of every paycheck automatically put into that account where you can’t see it and dont have readily available access to withdraw it. 10% is not that much and you probably won’t even notice its gone. But over the course of 6 months, or a year, you will be surprised as to how much saving you’ve accumulated. Then, take that money and invest the hell out of it into something that will make you even more money.

Saving plans like 401Ks are a complete scam.

Retirement plans and 401Ks are such bullshit scams that  its not even funny. Yeah it sounds great when they sell you on it. But keep in mind there are management fees that you get charged and that’s how these pricks make money off of you. But they craft their scam in such a clever way that they win no matter what. So even when the economy craps out, and the stock market dries up, the 401K business still gets rich while all your savings wither away. I watched my family members lose damn near everything during the Lehman Brothers housing crash of 2008 and it was heartbreaking.

But that what happens when you put someone else in charge of your money who you don’t even know.  Many people still forget about this shitty thing called inflation. So the money that you saved 30 years ago won’t be worth nearly as much in the future as it is now. This is why you can’t save your way to financial freedom. Instead, you take the money and invest it in assets that will grow in value like other businesses and real estate.

Build your owns sources of income .

You will never be free or build true wealth as long as you’re stuck making someone else rich for 8 hours every day. The only way to make it happen is to create your own sources of money. I advocate that beginners build their businesses up for a year or two while still at their job. This way, you’ll still have some security to fall back on while busting your ass to get your business off the ground.

Stop being a consumer and become a producer.

People become wealthy because they solve problems and people give them their money for it. You will never become your own master if your are blowing money on bullshit. Stop buying worthless toys and meaningless video-games. Instead, build you money reserve to invest in your own business that will then make money for you.

Don’t be suckered by by con artist.

There are thousands of people trying to sell you on success programs or ‘the one thing’. 95% of people who claim to have all the answers are scam artist.  READ THIS if you want to see exactly what I’m talking about.

A message to all the young entrepreneurs or those wanting to escape the flawed system of being controlled by money

There have been dozens of times when I thought this is too hard. I do stay motivated because I’ve put so much time, money, and stress into this that I don’t want to walk away anymore. It keeps me motivated to push ahead. I have new things to learn. I have to keep reminding myself of what I’ve gained in the process.

Assets, knowledge, and self confidence. Some successful people don’t share the hardships and make it look so easy. But reality is important to acknowledge. Success isn’t just wealth, and It just doesn’t happen overnight.

Your going to make mistakes so welcome them with open arms when they happen. Because if your smart, you’ll understand that mistakes are to be treated as expensive learning lessons in entrepreneurship. The good thing is when you learn from your mistakes, you get closer to your goal.

Persistence and consistency are key..

Doing things the easy way rarely produces greatness. This is why the age old saying ‘if it were easy, then everyone would do it’ will be around until the end of time.

Most people will never choose to take the challenging route because they either fear failure or have a sheep’s mindset. The naysayers will doubt you and try to discourage your efforts because they never had the gumption to take destiny into their own hands.

There are only to choices in the end. You can either remain a slave to money or learn how to make money your slave.

Remain in the fields with the sheep or join the people who own the farm. Just remember that it is always the sheep who eventually get lead to the slaughter.