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Huge fan of matrix, always loved myself a good 'red pill'. Libertarian, crypto-currency, anti-crony capitalism, etc.
However, I never got my balance right in the producer/consumer equation. Studied accounting & work a good job at a large tech company, max out 401K then don't max it out because it feels wrong, don't know why. Had some equity from my home (which was still an over consumption, more on that in a bit) which I thought I should put into a good conservative rental investment. By some stroke of luck/genius/research/grit, I decided to acquire a fairly passive, stable, and financially healthy business instead. The cash on cash ROI wasn't millions but staggeringly better than a rental, provided the financials didn't worsen over time. It's a business that isn't "doing what I love" but I do like good financials and it had those and has continued to have those, and even improve some with some minor improvements/tweaks to the business.
My first real taste of the real red pill happened earlier this year when I realized my net income from the business was eclipsing that of my tech salary. WTF am I doing. I saw my son only 1 hour yesterday because my JOB but made more than that on my business which I'm not even pushing to the limit. By the grace of the resurrected Jesus Christ I stumbled across TMF 's recommendation on Marketwatch (seriously, how else can you explain them having it there) and the red pill popping really crunk up. Mind you, this was after I suffered though some good-intentions author droning on about dollar cost averaging for half his book. He sounded and was old, and it was a waste of time.
Anyways, I've never been able to put my finger on why it all doesn't make sense, the dave ramseys, the 401K, the compound interest, I'm a math guy and it always just sucked when I got to the one part of the equation....time. TMF was an incredible read, it put into words so many things I've felt/thought for the past few years. I recommended it to only one other friend, someone else who I know is also employed by a different large tech company and works crazy hours and has young kiddo like me. We both have FTEs almost daily, not seeing our infant/toddler sons except for an hour or less a day while we give the primetime of our life to market cap giants. Or the FTE when our employer's generous 'parental leave' expired for my wife and I and she was crying all the way to work and I'm dropping him off at daycare. Or the FTE when my neighbor came up to my car when I got home at 7pm on a weeknight after leaving at 6:30am that morning asking where I've been because he never sees me and I about have a mental breakdown. Or the FTE when I had the business income realization above. I feel like they've been there all along I just haven't known what to do with them.
Moving onto Unscripted was the natural next move and now the next move is probably throwing in the JOB towel. We are fortunate to have equity in our home but it still has a huge mortgage which impedes our flexibility to live off the business income so we're likely going to relocate somewhere cheaper so we're either mortgage free or really close (which is our only debt). Focus on PRODUCING (increasing scale of our business, improving customer experience, improving employee experience, perhaps expanding locations) as well as learning to code (have gotten through some HTML/CSS and just starting on javascript) and targeting other small acquisitions if they fit my financial criteria well.
Needless to say I have a TON of distance to cover if I want to make this lifestyle shift but in a way I feel like some of the heaviest lifting is over. The feeling of being able to quit your job (in theory, not yet, but likely in the coming months) is an incredible fuel for me to keep pushing and the motivation to permanently fix my producer/consumer imbalance couldn't be stronger. For my health, my faith, my family, and my freedom. Shit yea, thanks a ton for writing the books @MJ DeMarco .
There's just one thing, Dude. Do you have to use so many cuss words?
Much love!
However, I never got my balance right in the producer/consumer equation. Studied accounting & work a good job at a large tech company, max out 401K then don't max it out because it feels wrong, don't know why. Had some equity from my home (which was still an over consumption, more on that in a bit) which I thought I should put into a good conservative rental investment. By some stroke of luck/genius/research/grit, I decided to acquire a fairly passive, stable, and financially healthy business instead. The cash on cash ROI wasn't millions but staggeringly better than a rental, provided the financials didn't worsen over time. It's a business that isn't "doing what I love" but I do like good financials and it had those and has continued to have those, and even improve some with some minor improvements/tweaks to the business.
My first real taste of the real red pill happened earlier this year when I realized my net income from the business was eclipsing that of my tech salary. WTF am I doing. I saw my son only 1 hour yesterday because my JOB but made more than that on my business which I'm not even pushing to the limit. By the grace of the resurrected Jesus Christ I stumbled across TMF 's recommendation on Marketwatch (seriously, how else can you explain them having it there) and the red pill popping really crunk up. Mind you, this was after I suffered though some good-intentions author droning on about dollar cost averaging for half his book. He sounded and was old, and it was a waste of time.
Anyways, I've never been able to put my finger on why it all doesn't make sense, the dave ramseys, the 401K, the compound interest, I'm a math guy and it always just sucked when I got to the one part of the equation....time. TMF was an incredible read, it put into words so many things I've felt/thought for the past few years. I recommended it to only one other friend, someone else who I know is also employed by a different large tech company and works crazy hours and has young kiddo like me. We both have FTEs almost daily, not seeing our infant/toddler sons except for an hour or less a day while we give the primetime of our life to market cap giants. Or the FTE when our employer's generous 'parental leave' expired for my wife and I and she was crying all the way to work and I'm dropping him off at daycare. Or the FTE when my neighbor came up to my car when I got home at 7pm on a weeknight after leaving at 6:30am that morning asking where I've been because he never sees me and I about have a mental breakdown. Or the FTE when I had the business income realization above. I feel like they've been there all along I just haven't known what to do with them.
Moving onto Unscripted was the natural next move and now the next move is probably throwing in the JOB towel. We are fortunate to have equity in our home but it still has a huge mortgage which impedes our flexibility to live off the business income so we're likely going to relocate somewhere cheaper so we're either mortgage free or really close (which is our only debt). Focus on PRODUCING (increasing scale of our business, improving customer experience, improving employee experience, perhaps expanding locations) as well as learning to code (have gotten through some HTML/CSS and just starting on javascript) and targeting other small acquisitions if they fit my financial criteria well.
Needless to say I have a TON of distance to cover if I want to make this lifestyle shift but in a way I feel like some of the heaviest lifting is over. The feeling of being able to quit your job (in theory, not yet, but likely in the coming months) is an incredible fuel for me to keep pushing and the motivation to permanently fix my producer/consumer imbalance couldn't be stronger. For my health, my faith, my family, and my freedom. Shit yea, thanks a ton for writing the books @MJ DeMarco .
There's just one thing, Dude. Do you have to use so many cuss words?
Much love!
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