Hey guys/gals. Time for a proper intro thread.
Years ago, I was strolling the slowlane. Didn't know it, but I was just kicking tires down the sidewalk and gawking at everyone passing by, wondering why it wasn't me.
I did everything right, though!
Went to a good, suburban high school, graduated with slightly better than average GPA, excellent SATs, and excellent ACTs. I was a state champion athlete, had scholarship offers from several schools, and a supportive family behind me.
But.. something was off. Oh well, I thought, I'll press on.
That summer, however, I just couldn't kick the feeling something wasn't right. I had signed to go to a local University as a student athlete, have my way "paid" if you will, and follow the path that was laid before me. My parents were proud, several of my friends were going to the same University, and well... I wasn't happy about it.
It was a disturbing summer because I wasn't forced to get a job (my parents agreed that they'd help me through college with day-to-day expenses since my school was going to be free). How is a summer disturbing for a high school graduate when there's nothing but free time?
I had no idea what I wanted to do every day.
Some days I'd work on an old car I was restoring, other days I'd train and read, and some days I'd just sit down at the computer and play games all through the night. I just didn't have a plan, I didn't have a goal, and I wasn't happy.
So, I did what anyone else would do...
I told my parents I wanted to go to a school 800 miles away... just... because. I made up all kinds of excuses as to why I wanted to, but really, I was just escaping what I had known for so long. In any case, my parents ultimately supported my decision and said I could do what I wanted--they'd always been supportive, and as crazy as this was to them, they continued.
Off I went. I signed up for a smaller college on the East coast, competed as a walk-on athlete (received scholarships year 2), and slowly separated myself, physically and mentally, from everything I knew at home. The world was suddenly bigger, there were all new people, and I had shook things up enough to the point where I realized there was more to life.
I made new friends, tried new sports, learned to play poker, and generally excelled in all areas. In fact, I even started to enjoy learning. I made better grades in college than I ever did in High School. I was, overall, much more happy.
I graduated with excellent grades, worked a full-time job (super slowlane), and finally got my own place. I found the love of my life (we later married, so I'm sure of it), got a nice big boy job at corporate, and was making $70k within a couple years. Kids came along, we purchased a house, and things couldn't be sweeter.
...right? Right?!
Wrong. The creep started to set back in. We were comfortable, but the momentum of change had slowed, and I realized I was becoming a zombie. Rise early, go to office, come home a bit late, a little family time, bed time.
Since graduating, a LOT was going on and so my time was occupied with new, exciting things. There wasn't much time to be bored. But it was getting comfortable. My happiness waned.
I spent a lot of nights wondering why I wasn't happy, however. I loved my wife, my kids are the best thing ever, and I have everything I could need or want, really.
Oh wait... this job sucks.
Once I reflected and realized how crappy it was to be working for "The Man," it was like an impenetrable hatred towards work could never be stopped. I began to hate it more and more, despite the income, and loathed waking up to go to work.
My wife could tell, too.
At this point, I knew it was time for a change.
With much research, I had this excited feeling begin to come forth. I now had a new focus, a new life breathed into me. I knew I wanted control. I knew I wanted to create something. And then I found it.
Entrepreneurship.
Fast forward to today and I've had a business up and running (although not always profitable, that's for sure) for close to three years. It was a huge pay cut (infinitely, at first, because I didn't pay myself anything for 18 months), but I built something for me.
Things are as great as they've ever been, income is increasing very steadily (and will surpass my previous income in the next couple months), and I've built a lot of invaluable relationships in that time. Industry leaders. I've even begun to separate my time from my income, and can step away for several weeks at a time now, with no lag in progress.
But... (roller coaster of life, right?!)
I'm getting comfortable again.
I've read Millionaire Fastlane (more than once) and several other entrepreneurship type books, lots of business related and self improvement books, and I continually fuel myself with blogs, forums and podcasts that help me grow. So, this time, it's different.
I see the comfort coming. But along with it, I see new opportunity. I see the capability and the possibility to start another business. Multiple streams of income never hurt anybody, right?
I've been back to this forum several times in the past few years, but usually just as a lurker. There's enough exceptional content on this forum for several more iterations of entrepreneur type books, and you all know that.
But I think it's time I jumped in, for several reasons. I've reached some mild success, but I want (need?) more! I'm here to:
Years ago, I was strolling the slowlane. Didn't know it, but I was just kicking tires down the sidewalk and gawking at everyone passing by, wondering why it wasn't me.
I did everything right, though!
Went to a good, suburban high school, graduated with slightly better than average GPA, excellent SATs, and excellent ACTs. I was a state champion athlete, had scholarship offers from several schools, and a supportive family behind me.
But.. something was off. Oh well, I thought, I'll press on.
That summer, however, I just couldn't kick the feeling something wasn't right. I had signed to go to a local University as a student athlete, have my way "paid" if you will, and follow the path that was laid before me. My parents were proud, several of my friends were going to the same University, and well... I wasn't happy about it.
It was a disturbing summer because I wasn't forced to get a job (my parents agreed that they'd help me through college with day-to-day expenses since my school was going to be free). How is a summer disturbing for a high school graduate when there's nothing but free time?
I had no idea what I wanted to do every day.
Some days I'd work on an old car I was restoring, other days I'd train and read, and some days I'd just sit down at the computer and play games all through the night. I just didn't have a plan, I didn't have a goal, and I wasn't happy.
So, I did what anyone else would do...
I told my parents I wanted to go to a school 800 miles away... just... because. I made up all kinds of excuses as to why I wanted to, but really, I was just escaping what I had known for so long. In any case, my parents ultimately supported my decision and said I could do what I wanted--they'd always been supportive, and as crazy as this was to them, they continued.
Off I went. I signed up for a smaller college on the East coast, competed as a walk-on athlete (received scholarships year 2), and slowly separated myself, physically and mentally, from everything I knew at home. The world was suddenly bigger, there were all new people, and I had shook things up enough to the point where I realized there was more to life.
I made new friends, tried new sports, learned to play poker, and generally excelled in all areas. In fact, I even started to enjoy learning. I made better grades in college than I ever did in High School. I was, overall, much more happy.
I graduated with excellent grades, worked a full-time job (super slowlane), and finally got my own place. I found the love of my life (we later married, so I'm sure of it), got a nice big boy job at corporate, and was making $70k within a couple years. Kids came along, we purchased a house, and things couldn't be sweeter.
...right? Right?!
Wrong. The creep started to set back in. We were comfortable, but the momentum of change had slowed, and I realized I was becoming a zombie. Rise early, go to office, come home a bit late, a little family time, bed time.
Since graduating, a LOT was going on and so my time was occupied with new, exciting things. There wasn't much time to be bored. But it was getting comfortable. My happiness waned.
I spent a lot of nights wondering why I wasn't happy, however. I loved my wife, my kids are the best thing ever, and I have everything I could need or want, really.
Oh wait... this job sucks.
Once I reflected and realized how crappy it was to be working for "The Man," it was like an impenetrable hatred towards work could never be stopped. I began to hate it more and more, despite the income, and loathed waking up to go to work.
My wife could tell, too.
At this point, I knew it was time for a change.
With much research, I had this excited feeling begin to come forth. I now had a new focus, a new life breathed into me. I knew I wanted control. I knew I wanted to create something. And then I found it.
Entrepreneurship.
Fast forward to today and I've had a business up and running (although not always profitable, that's for sure) for close to three years. It was a huge pay cut (infinitely, at first, because I didn't pay myself anything for 18 months), but I built something for me.
Things are as great as they've ever been, income is increasing very steadily (and will surpass my previous income in the next couple months), and I've built a lot of invaluable relationships in that time. Industry leaders. I've even begun to separate my time from my income, and can step away for several weeks at a time now, with no lag in progress.
But... (roller coaster of life, right?!)
I'm getting comfortable again.
I've read Millionaire Fastlane (more than once) and several other entrepreneurship type books, lots of business related and self improvement books, and I continually fuel myself with blogs, forums and podcasts that help me grow. So, this time, it's different.
I see the comfort coming. But along with it, I see new opportunity. I see the capability and the possibility to start another business. Multiple streams of income never hurt anybody, right?
I've been back to this forum several times in the past few years, but usually just as a lurker. There's enough exceptional content on this forum for several more iterations of entrepreneur type books, and you all know that.
But I think it's time I jumped in, for several reasons. I've reached some mild success, but I want (need?) more! I'm here to:
- Offer what I know.
- Build new relationships.
- Learn about business and entrepreneurship.
- Grow as a person, a family man, and a business man.
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