Better late than never.

So, I meant to start a blog months ago. But it slipped my mind. Stuff got in the way. But thanks for taking this journey with me! Let me get you caught up. I finally quit my job back in December of last year. I did it because I was tired of the rat race.. I had a promising upside in my career, but I was getting drained, daily. I tried to look ahead into the future. I realized that even though I'd probably be making more money in 5 years, I still would not enjoy what I was doing. I would still have to get up at 7:00 a.m. and not get home until about 6:00 p.m. Everyday. I would still be on someone else's time, doing someone else's work, getting paid by someone else. Everyday. I realized it wasn't as much about what I was doing. It was about being out of control. Therefore, it wasn't something that quitting and getting a job somewhere else would fix.

Control... What does that look like? I had dreams that someday my beautiful wife and I would soon be out of our ridiculously high student loan debt. We'd be doing what we want to do, not what someone else tells us we have to do. But it's not all about money for me. My ultimate dream is to have the worry-free time to enjoy life, and enjoy the company of family and friends. Time. It's a commodity that's more valuable than money. Would you rather make $2 million a year and have no time for your family and friends, and feel like you're always on the go, on someone else's deadlines and like you can never stop to enjoy your life? Or would you rather make half of that, but have all the time in the world to spend real quality time with the people you love and to do the things you love to do? Most people would probably say B, because most people know that life is not all about money. Unfortunately, in this society, one generally needs a good amount of money to have time.

That's what I want - control. I don't want someone else to be in charge of my time AND my money. I finally realized that I wasn't doing anything proactive to get me where I wanted to be. Some would say that quitting a stable job and trying to build your dreams on your own is risky. But I was sitting back waiting for life to happen to me, and THAT is what I consider risky. There's no telling how long it would take me to get the next promotion. I worked at a bank, and I was moving up pretty quick - 4 promotions in less than 2 years. But I realized that even if I would've worked my way all the way up to an executive corporate position like CEO or VP of retail banking, which would have taken years and years and would still a shot in the dark at that point, I still wouldn't enjoy my work and I still would technically have a "9-5" job. Yeah I'd be making 6-7 figures a year, but again, its not about money. Would I have time for my family? Or would I still be giving my wife the "sloppy seconds" of my time? You know, the 2 hours after just getting home from work where you need to sit and relax a bit. You don't feel like talking because you're mentally drained, and then you go to bed and do it all over again the next day. And then, I thought again, there's no guarantee I'll ever actually get there. I could get laid off! Who knows? There's only so much I could control.

I realized I wasn't getting any younger. I can't sit and wait around anymore, and daydream about what I want the future to look like. So, I tried to get one more promotion for a commission-based job with a more flexible time commitment, because I thought it would give me more time to work on starting my own business. I got offered the job, and then they retracted the offer. So, that was the last straw for me. I talked to my wife and she encouraged me to quit (she's so supportive). I just quit altogether after that - something I should've done a long time ago, but better late than never. I did some research and learned that if I really wanted the kind of life I talked about in this post, my best chance is to start my own business. So I did just that. Now, over 6 months later, my business idea is well underway. It has made exactly $0, but it doesn't matter. My wife has also decided she wants to quit her job. So, she quit, and now we're both wingin' it, together. I've already learned so much about business, and about life. I've realized it's not only about trying to reach your dreams, its about the journey. It's SO not easy. It's actually scary. It's unstable, and there's a lot of questions around finances. And, no matter how much research you do, there's no guarantee your business will work. It's all a massive risk! But it's so much more fun than working a stressful, draining job, and I'd definitely rather screw up in my own efforts than work for someone else. I've learned that starting a business is a win/win, because it either works, or, you get a valuable education. You learn a lot, and with that education you can go back in and try again, now being much smarter! More on that later! Stay tuned on my wild and wacky journey!