Hi All,
My name is Gerhard and I am a 36-year-old from Cape Town, South Africa. I've been married for 5 years to a beautiful woman and we have 3 cats, 2 dogs, and zero kids (by choice)...
I work as Head of Technology in a subsidiary of one of SA's largest Retail chain companies. The next step (in 2 or 3 years) would probably be CTO or a similar role within the company or the larger group. I make a decent salary and we are financially reasonably comfortable, compared to others my age, particularly in a country like SA. I save 20% of my salary, and we have everything we need, but not much more, and we live month-to-month post savings. Okay YAWN... you see where this is going. I'm the king of the slow lane. I know and believe what MJ says of the inherent risk in living this life... I get it, but the truth is that I am fairly safe in my career, and (like my parents) we will probably do "pretty well" and retire relatively comfortably and will get to go on the occasional nice holiday.
IT DEPRESSES THE HELL OUT OF ME!!! It's not enough. I want to live my life now. I want to not be so focused on my budget; I want to be able to afford things for myself and my wife and my parents and I want to help others, and I do not want to keep trading ALL of my time just to get by, and for 2 off days a week. I know I should feel lucky... in South Africa, it's very hard to forget what poverty looks like. I am privileged as hell and I know it, but I want more.
I am just not sure how to take the offramp to the fast lane. Even before reading TMF , I've spent countless nights trying to come up with the idea that will change everything. I know my approach is wrong. I know I need to ACT and stop dreaming. But I am scared, and I have so many reasons (good and bad) to NOT go for it:
I know these are BS and I am working towards overcoming these fears. I have to because I am not fulfilled at the moment, and I want to be the best version of myself I can be; it's what my wife deserves and it's what I deserve.
I just read TMF and while most of the concepts weren't earth-shatteringly new, it's as if @MJ DeMarco took all my subconscious thoughts and beliefs and formulated them into proper arguments to help me overcome these fears.
I don't know how yet, but I am leaving the slow lane soon. Let's just hope I don't end on the literal sidewalk!
If anyone reads this, thanks, and I hope to learn a lot on these forums. I hope that by the time I turn 40, I can be a major contributor, a success story, and a mentor to others like me.
Cheers,
Gerhard
My name is Gerhard and I am a 36-year-old from Cape Town, South Africa. I've been married for 5 years to a beautiful woman and we have 3 cats, 2 dogs, and zero kids (by choice)...
I work as Head of Technology in a subsidiary of one of SA's largest Retail chain companies. The next step (in 2 or 3 years) would probably be CTO or a similar role within the company or the larger group. I make a decent salary and we are financially reasonably comfortable, compared to others my age, particularly in a country like SA. I save 20% of my salary, and we have everything we need, but not much more, and we live month-to-month post savings. Okay YAWN... you see where this is going. I'm the king of the slow lane. I know and believe what MJ says of the inherent risk in living this life... I get it, but the truth is that I am fairly safe in my career, and (like my parents) we will probably do "pretty well" and retire relatively comfortably and will get to go on the occasional nice holiday.
IT DEPRESSES THE HELL OUT OF ME!!! It's not enough. I want to live my life now. I want to not be so focused on my budget; I want to be able to afford things for myself and my wife and my parents and I want to help others, and I do not want to keep trading ALL of my time just to get by, and for 2 off days a week. I know I should feel lucky... in South Africa, it's very hard to forget what poverty looks like. I am privileged as hell and I know it, but I want more.
I am just not sure how to take the offramp to the fast lane. Even before reading TMF , I've spent countless nights trying to come up with the idea that will change everything. I know my approach is wrong. I know I need to ACT and stop dreaming. But I am scared, and I have so many reasons (good and bad) to NOT go for it:
- I work 10 hours a day already - where will I find the time?
- I don't have enough savings to quit my job and start something full-time. How would I cover my expenses?
- Even if I did, what if it didn't work out and I spent all my retirement savings?
- What will my parents think?!
I know these are BS and I am working towards overcoming these fears. I have to because I am not fulfilled at the moment, and I want to be the best version of myself I can be; it's what my wife deserves and it's what I deserve.
I just read TMF and while most of the concepts weren't earth-shatteringly new, it's as if @MJ DeMarco took all my subconscious thoughts and beliefs and formulated them into proper arguments to help me overcome these fears.
I don't know how yet, but I am leaving the slow lane soon. Let's just hope I don't end on the literal sidewalk!
If anyone reads this, thanks, and I hope to learn a lot on these forums. I hope that by the time I turn 40, I can be a major contributor, a success story, and a mentor to others like me.
Cheers,
Gerhard
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