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I made it to the top of the slowlane but I still want more

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WinYourself

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DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB.

2 years of saving is nothing, especially if you want to build a product. That eats money faster than you can imagine.

Wait till you have established an cashflow that is at least replacing 50-60% of your current income. If you have the talent, willpower and energy to make it as entrepreneur, you will be able to get to this minimum level in your free time (especially with your current workload).

Everbody is hyping entrepreneurship right now, but nobody talks about how incredible hard it is to pull 200k profit out of an newly started company. It can take years to get to this point.

99% of the people here on the forum are not able to take 200k/year out of their "business".
 
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Ing

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ravenspear

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DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB.

2 years of saving is nothing, especially if you want to build a product. That eats money faster than you can imagine.

Wait till you have established an cashflow that is at least replacing 50-60% of your current income. If you have the talent, willpower and energy to make it as entrepreneur, you will be able to get to this minimum level in your free time (especially with your current workload).

Everbody is hyping entrepreneurship right now, but nobody talks about how incredible hard it is to pull 200k profit out of an newly started company. It can take years to get to this point.

99% of the people here on the forum are not able to take 200k/year out of their "business".

These kinds of replies are still not understanding my situation but it's ok. I'll try to explain a bit more. I'm under no delusion that I will be making anything close to 200k starting out as an entrepreneur. That is ok.

I'm starting my own thing because who I want to become as a person requires that. I literally have no motivation any more to work at this job. I don't care about the projects that only serve to improve efficiency for a large corporation. I want to create things myself that have value to a broader set of people in the marketplace. That excites me.

I didn't start this thread asking for advice and nothing anyone says will change my mind. I started it to relay my own experience of why I had come to the decision that it was time to walk away from an easy high paying job in corporate America to something much more uncertain and open ended, but much more exciting.

I heard a quote recently that really stuck with me I don't remember who said it but it's something like, the quality of your life is directly proportional to the level of uncertainty you are willing to accept on a daily basis. The last few years I've been stuck in a pattern of limited personal growth and I've realized that is primarily related to valuing certainty too much. It's time for that to end and for a new chapter to begin.
 

GrayCode

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I'm also taking this step now because I have enough money saved that I could have no income for at least 2 years and still feel comfortable.

I actually have 3-4 years of savings so I’m feeling pretty good about it right now.

This sounds like exactly what I'm aiming to do myself. I'm in a VERY similar position with work right now. Software engineer, remote, pay level, everything. Out of curiosity how much money is that? You obviously don't need to give a number down to the cent, but a general range would help. Mostly interested in the amount of money that gave you the mindset that you feel ready to dive all in and the triggers and self-talk where you were like "Dude, you got this, let's go!"

Really inspiring story! I'm in a similar boat and have been debating whether to quit for some time now.

I've thought a lot about doing what you're doing, but time after time, I've held myself from making hasty decision. I'm debt free, have a saving cushion to last me a couple of years, maybe more if I live abroad, and I've never been more excited to take risks in my life. So why don't I just do it already?

Why don't you just do it already? See my comment above, can I get your thoughts on this as well? All 3 of us seem to be in similar places.

Working so few hours, remotely, why is that causing you so much mental pain? Why couldn't you imagine being an entrepreneur with say 5-6 different ventures, and this is ONE of them, that requires 1-2 hours of work and brings in 200k. That's one revenue source, and it's a significant one that currently comes to you with little effort. I understand that abandoning it will give you the mindset shift you need, but could you attain that mindset while saving the income source?

Also a valid point and actually the approach I've decided to take. That's the exact thing I'm telling myself. I have X products, this is one of the streams.
 
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ravenspear

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This sounds like exactly what I'm aiming to do myself. I'm in a VERY similar position with work right now. Software engineer, remote, pay level, everything. Out of curiosity how much money is that? You obviously don't need to give a number down to the cent, but a general range would help. Mostly interested in the amount of money that gave you the mindset that you feel ready to dive all in and the triggers and self-talk where you were like "Dude, you got this, let's go!"
I don't see the number as the most important thing, more the time that you have. If you just look at your minimum fixed expenses and project out, how long could you go with zero additional income and still feel comfortable? If that time horizon is also long enough that you feel it is enough time to get some additional income streams going, then I think you would be in a place to feel confident enough about it. But I did give some numbers in this thread where I talked about my savings the last few years.

Also a valid point and actually the approach I've decided to take. That's the exact thing I'm telling myself. I have X products, this is one of the streams.
And for the people suggesting this, I'm not disputing that if I could make it work operationally it would make more financial sense to do that. I cannot though because of the mindset issues I've already talked about, so that is the overriding consideration for me.
 

GrayCode

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I don't see the number as the most important thing, more the time that you have. If you just look at your minimum fixed expenses and project out, how long could you go with zero additional income and still feel comfortable? If that time horizon is also long enough that you feel it is enough time to get some additional income streams going, then I think you would be in a place to feel confident enough about it. But I did give some numbers in this thread where I talked about my savings the last few years.


And for the people suggesting this, I'm not disputing that if I could make it work operationally it would make more financial sense to do that. I cannot though because of the mindset issues I've already talked about, so that is the overriding consideration for me.

Thanks for linking the other thread, I'll give it a read. I got it, makes perfect sense, sometimes it's better to burn the boats.
 

srodrigo

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If you only really worked 2 hours a day, what was keeping you from working on your fastlane project while keeping the job? Not many people would walk away from a gig like that. But again, not many people have your skillset. So you will probably do alright.

Good luck!
This ^^^

Such a job is, let's say, rare. Working 10 hours/week for such an amount of money and having the rest to work on your fastlane is a dream for most people. Most software devs don't make even half of that and they work 40+h/w. 200k for 10h/w? most entrepreneurs here don't even make that working 50+h/w.

@ravenspear Look at it from another perspective: you have (or had) a money tank to fuel a fastlane business while having 30h/w remaining for you to work on it. Is it that bad? I get that you don't care about the work you do for your company. But you know what? Most of us don't either.

Jobs suck. I get it, and think of it and about quitting every single day of my life. Just think about the opportunity cost, which is a business skill you'll need to develop. If you end up working 40+h/w and making nothing or very little money, you'll see what I mean. I went through this exact same thing, and realised a couple of things:
  • Most people don't need to work full-time on their *new* business. Working on it 10-20h/w in the evenings and weekends is more than enough, because you are not efficient at the beginning of a project.
  • Leaving 6 figures on the table, even having savings for 3+ years, was hard to digest.
  • Combine the two points above + not making money from my projects, and the opportunity cost was huge.
Now I'm a contractor working on things I don't give a sh*t for, but making money that I could use for another business, plus saving lots of cash that I can invest or just save for when I get out of the job market (hordes of new software devs kids show up every year, we'll have a hard time soon and this 6 figures salaries bubble will explode). In the meantime, I try to get some side business up and running to a point that justifies not doing contract work and move full-time into it.

I hope you the best, I'll keep an eye on this thread.
 
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doitman

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This ^^^

Such a job is, let's say, rare. Working 10 hours/week for such an amount of money and having the rest to work on your fastlane is a dream for most people. Most software devs don't make even half of that and they work 40+h/w. 200k for 10h/w? most entrepreneurs here don't even make that working 50+h/w.

@ravenspear Look at it from another perspective: you have (or had) a money tank to fuel a fastlane business while having 30h/w remaining for you to work on it. Is it that bad? I get that you don't care about the work you do for your company. But you know what? Most of us don't either.

Jobs suck. I get it, and think of it and about quitting every single day of my life. Just think about the opportunity cost, which is a business skill you'll need to develop. If you end up working 40+h/w and making nothing or very little money, you'll see what I mean. I went through this exact same thing, and realised a couple of things:
  • Most people don't need to work full-time on their *new* business. Working on it 10-20h/w in the evenings and weekends is more than enough, because you are not efficient at the beginning of a project.
  • Leaving 6 figures on the table, even having savings for 3+ years, was hard to digest.
  • Combine the two points above + not making money from my projects, and the opportunity cost was huge.
Now I'm a contractor working on things I don't give a sh*t for, but making money that I could use for another business, plus saving lots of cash that I can invest or just save for when I get out of the job market (hordes of new software devs kids show up every year, we'll have a hard time soon and this 6 figures salaries bubble will explode). In the meantime, I try to get some side business up and running to a point that justifies not doing contract work and move full-time into it.

I hope you the best, I'll keep an eye on this thread.

I mentioned this earlier in the thread. The OP is committed to his choice, which I do not fault him one bit. He will always have the opportunity to go back to corporate life if he runs out of money. He also doesn't have a family to support. For others who read this thread, it important for them to understand the opportunity costs of leaving corporate life to start a business.

My opinion is that you can do both, work full time AND develop your business. I am somewhat in the same place as the OP. My consulting is mind numbing. The thing I hate most is being on call and attending stupid meetings on a regular basis. I don't want anyone dictating to me what my schedule is like. I bet the OP probably feels the same.
 

AceVentures

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This sounds like exactly what I'm aiming to do myself. I'm in a VERY similar position with work right now. Software engineer, remote, pay level, everything. Out of curiosity how much money is that? You obviously don't need to give a number down to the cent, but a general range would help. Mostly interested in the amount of money that gave you the mindset that you feel ready to dive all in and the triggers and self-talk where you were like "Dude, you got this, let's go!"



Why don't you just do it already? See my comment above, can I get your thoughts on this as well? All 3 of us seem to be in similar places.



Also a valid point and actually the approach I've decided to take. That's the exact thing I'm telling myself. I have X products, this is one of the streams.

The reason I'm delaying it is because I realize every month's income I'm saving will give me 3-6mo of freedom afterwards. Sure I have a "bank" of freedom, in the form of months of funds to cover my burn rate, but for every 1 month of delaying gratification, I'm buying myself a 3-6months of freedom in another part of the world.

So far, the price I'm paying to increase my freedom bank is totally worth it. My job demands little of me, and because of the strong relationships I've built with me colleagues, I'm always plugged in and thought highly of. I get plenty of time during the day at the office to stay on top of my errands, my personal life, my spiritual goals, my journaling, my action-faking practices (lol), and manage to do solid fun work with a relatively small company that has an innate entrepreneurial spirit. After work I lift, I work, I go on dates, I read books, I go out and network with people, make new friends.

Every month of this, buys me a quarter-half a year of freedom in Thailand, is what I keep telling myself. That's not a bad price. For ME. Everyone's got their own price, and how much value they attach to their freedom and the associated opportunity cost to gain it.

At what point do you say enough is enough? Idk... let's try to break down the savings:

Capital to fund future business(es) - 200k USD​
Funds to cover 1 full year of world travel. Not tourist shit. Just the freedom to wander the earth, meet as many souls, and lend a helping hand to as many people as possible. This, I believe, could fuel my passion and help me identify which areas of life I'd like to have an impact on, ultimately steering the direction in which I spend my 200k investment fund. (I have no idea what this would cost... I believe if done properly, say by bartering, exchanging services for goods/food/shelter, hitchhiking, you can manage with less than $1000/mo) - assume 12-15k for the year​
5 years of safe haven in Thailand/Columbia or similar low cost of living environment. $1000/mo *12mo *5yr = 60k USD​
This is in case all else fails, and I become a complete degenerate, burn through my 200k, and in the process fry my brain. I'd like to know I can escape it all for 5 years and rebound.​
~275k rough estimate, but that's my dream "F*ck you bitch I'm never going back to work for someone else" quitting package. The 5yrs haven and the 1yr travel are non negotiable, but technically the 200k is variable. I have my 5yrs have and 1yr travel saved. I've got other savings and funds in the market that are now chipping away at the 200k.

Sure I can leave tomorrow, but why not get my dream quitting package at a low pain-cost? Maybe cause once I get it, the goal post will shift... (maybe why OP is lightyears ahead of this type of thinking and has already quit...)

I obviously haven't fully thought it out, I'm just brainstorming here. Feel free to share your thoughts.
 

ravenspear

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This ^^^

Such a job is, let's say, rare. Working 10 hours/week for such an amount of money and having the rest to work on your fastlane is a dream for most people. Most software devs don't make even half of that and they work 40+h/w. 200k for 10h/w? most entrepreneurs here don't even make that working 50+h/w.

@ravenspear Look at it from another perspective: you have (or had) a money tank to fuel a fastlane business while having 30h/w remaining for you to work on it. Is it that bad? I get that you don't care about the work you do for your company. But you know what? Most of us don't either.

Jobs suck. I get it, and think of it and about quitting every single day of my life. Just think about the opportunity cost, which is a business skill you'll need to develop. If you end up working 40+h/w and making nothing or very little money, you'll see what I mean. I went through this exact same thing, and realised a couple of things:
  • Most people don't need to work full-time on their *new* business. Working on it 10-20h/w in the evenings and weekends is more than enough, because you are not efficient at the beginning of a project.
  • Leaving 6 figures on the table, even having savings for 3+ years, was hard to digest.
  • Combine the two points above + not making money from my projects, and the opportunity cost was huge.
Now I'm a contractor working on things I don't give a sh*t for, but making money that I could use for another business, plus saving lots of cash that I can invest or just save for when I get out of the job market (hordes of new software devs kids show up every year, we'll have a hard time soon and this 6 figures salaries bubble will explode). In the meantime, I try to get some side business up and running to a point that justifies not doing contract work and move full-time into it.

I hope you the best, I'll keep an eye on this thread.

I realize I’ll probably continue to get replies like this since my choice is such a violation of expectations as to what most people would do. However, I’d like to remind everyone that this was the mindset I shared several years ago. In the post I linked in the OP, you can see me lay out a similar argument here several years ago for why i thought it made sense to keep this job and work on other things on the side. I even managed to reduce the time requirements.

My current choice is founded in part on the understanding that this path simply did not work for me even when it was attempted.
 
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ravenspear

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My consulting is mind numbing. The thing I hate most is being on call and attending stupid meetings on a regular basis. I don't want anyone dictating to me what my schedule is like. I bet the OP probably feels the same.
Definitely and I think it’s because it sets up two competing mindsets. When you are running the whole ship you have to constantly think big picture. When you are working for someone else you are just a cog in their machine. Working for yourself you never know when the best solutions or ideas will come to you. When you have to interrupt (or delay) a complex design session to take an inane meeting about some pointless corporate bullshit, it is such a sinkhole for creative energy and it sabotages your flow to such a degree (at least it does for me) that it makes it very hard to stay on track with the kind of rapid progress you need to be making on a daily basis to successfully launch a business.
 

AceVentures

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Working for yourself you never know when the best solutions or ideas will come to you. When you have to interrupt (or delay) a complex design session to take an inane meeting about some pointless corporate bullshit, it is such a sinkhole for creative energy and it sabotages your flow

I totally see that working. Magical what happens with momentum. What happens after meeting the right person, getting caught in a 20 minute discussion with a stranger at the park, or any infinite other way you could be spending your life if you weren't busy solving a problem you don't care about...
 

GrayCode

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At what point do you say enough is enough? Idk... let's try to break down the savings:

Capital to fund future business(es) - 200k USDFunds to cover 1 full year of world travel. Not tourist shit. Just the freedom to wander the earth, meet as many souls, and lend a helping hand to as many people as possible. This, I believe, could fuel my passion and help me identify which areas of life I'd like to have an impact on, ultimately steering the direction in which I spend my 200k investment fund. (I have no idea what this would cost... I believe if done properly, say by bartering, exchanging services for goods/food/shelter, hitchhiking, you can manage with less than $1000/mo) - assume 12-15k for the year5 years of safe haven in Thailand/Columbia or similar low cost of living environment. $1000/mo *12mo *5yr = 60k USDThis is in case all else fails, and I become a complete degenerate, burn through my 200k, and in the process fry my brain. I'd like to know I can escape it all for 5 years and rebound.~275k rough estimate, but that's my dream "F*ck you bitch I'm never going back to work for someone else" quitting package. The 5yrs haven and the 1yr travel are non negotiable, but technically the 200k is variable. I have my 5yrs have and 1yr travel saved. I've got other savings and funds in the market that are now chipping away at the 200k.

I like this. I like the way you break it down and separate living expenses from this is my business venture money.

For me I think it would look like this:
2 years of living expenses: $72k (@ 3k/mo)
Business investment pot: $100k

+ Some kind of revenue progress on an idea I've already begun while working the job. Like OP I'm a software engineer. So I'm building software, which costs me nothing but my time and effort.

Can always pull $ from the business investment pot and move another 1 year into the living expenses pot, effectively giving me 3 years of runway.

It's interesting, as I type this I realize... I'd hit these numbers in 3-5 months and could technically make the jump. But the other part of me is saying - "Dude, you can get your shit done in 2 - 5 hours per week, collect that paycheck and keep rolling forward."
 
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PizzaOnTheRoof

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You can shift your mindset and at least get something lined up before you quit. That is easier than it seems.
Then why didn't you do this? :hilarious:

I've got two potential businesses sitting in purgatory because I haven't taken action on them. I feel like I've got a mindset issue like you and as soon as I read your post it resonated with me.

Wake up, go to work, come home, recover from the shitty day, repeat...same shit different day.

Oh, except something funny happened at work today!

Man, that paycheck feels goood! What was I mad about again?

I'm young, have no kids, and no debt...

Just some college dropout working a shitty dead-end job with a year's worth of jet fuel in the bank.

Why am I not taking any risks?

Tick tock tick tock, the clock is ticking no matter what I do.

Every year past is another year of regret and disappointment.

Might as well burn the boats...
 
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PizzaOnTheRoof

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Then why didn't you do this? :hilarious:

I've got two potential businesses sitting in purgatory because I haven't taken action on them. I feel like I've got a mindset issue like you and as soon as I read your post it resonated with me.

Wake up, go to work, come home, recover from the shitty day, repeat...same shit different day.

Oh, except something funny happened at work today!

Man, that paycheck feels goood! What was I mad about again?

I'm young, have no kids, and no debt...

Just some college dropout working a shitty dead-end job with a year's worth of jet fuel in the bank.

Why am I not taking any risks?

Tick tock tick tock, the clock is ticking no matter what I do.

Every year past is another year of regret and disappointment.

Might as well burn the boats...
Well, I did it.

Put in my two weeks yesterday.

Time to nut up or shut up. Sink or swim.
 

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PizzaOnTheRoof

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That’s awesome. Plan on sharing any details on the projects you’re working on?
Yep. I'll share once I get the ball rolling.

I've got a graveyard of dead progress threads that have served as nothing more than action fakes, so I'm hesitant to start yet another one, or update.

I might even take some time off from the forum to focus solely on the biz.

For anyone reading this and are on the edge, there's nothing anyone can do to convince you to/not to quit. There's absolutely no logical argument for leaving the comfort of your familiar paycheck, it's purely an emotional decision.

But sometimes you just know...

I guess we'll find out if it's a mistake in a few months.

For now, I'll stop hijacking this thread. :hilarious:
 
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ravenspear

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Just wanted to update here to say that I'm now through with the job and I couldn't be more at peace with the decision.

I'm also already working on my first product.
 
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ravenspear

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Well it's been almost a year since I posted in this thread but a lot has happened. I've spent almost all my liquid cash so I'll be selling my house soon to free up some capital, but it's been well worth it.

For anyone on an entrepreneurial journey, read Mastery by Robert Greene. After reading that book it seemed like all the events of the last year came together for me. The book essentially invites you to reexamine your life experience and choose a Life's Task, I guess you could call it a primary goal in your life. It says that this will often be something that is a fusion of something very innate and emotional together with more specialized knowledge you may have learned from formal education or life experience, and I found this was the case for me.

After committing to attaining the discipline I needed to see this through, the insight of what mine was became clear to be, and I almost immediately thereafter identified 10 income streams (6 services and 4 products) that I could develop around that one core area. I also took my first $100 order for one of the services.

I also realized I needed a change of scenery so I've decided to move to Colorado. I want to invest some capital in a physical business there that will be one of my income streams. But in closing, the first $100 I've made as an entrepreneur has me way more excited than the $200k I was making as an employee.

My life is already so much richer than it was beyond monetary measurements also. Whether you are rich or poor, a lot of the things that lead to a great life are the same and I've started to realize that now that I've had a long time to put only my needs first. There is a kind of enforced mediocrity in corporate life where it seems like everyone has to subconsciously put the needs of the company first and temper their own abilities or ambitions to fit in.

My morning routine now is the same as it would be if I had $2 billion in the bank and that means at least half my day is always a win.
 
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Then I started thinking on another line. If my current skillset is valued at 200k+ for a minimal amount of work by corporate America, imagine how much I have been selling myself short.

This is an incredibly profound realization. So powerful, so opposite to what 99.9999999% of people would think. The way you said it, man, it's epic.
Really impressive to read.



Then a year later, followed up with this:
My life is already so much richer than it was beyond monetary measurements also.


You... yeah. You get it.

I'm sure the next decade will be full of crazy ups and downs, wins and losses in the business world.
Yet in many ways, simply making this bold change --- you've already won.

Epic thread.
 

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This:
I'm sure the next decade will be full of crazy ups and downs, wins and losses in the business world.
Yet in many ways, simply making this bold change --- you've already won.

Epic thread.

And:
thank you for the book tip!

And:
keep us posted!
 
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20
Yes, the time has finally come. I put in my notice a little over a month ago that I’ll be walking away from my job at the end of the year to get started on my own journey in entrepreneurship. I haven’t posted on here in a few years but given I never made an intro thread I thought I would post one now that I have reached this point. I accomplished everything I wanted to in corporate America. I have reached the pinnacle as I had defined it for myself. So let's review. I work as a software dev and I make over 200k per year (plus great benefits). I work on average maybe 2 hours a day, sometimes less. All of my work is remote at this point so I don't even need to go into an office. Some days I don't do any work at all. Some days I only send like one email. If we go with an average of 2 hours per day though, that means my work is currently valued at around $400/hr.

And I f*cking hate it.

If I were posting this on a lot of other sites people would think I was crazy. But that's how I feel and I'm ready to quit. Some people would think this is a great gig. A minimal amount of work is still perceived as adding sufficient value to my team and company to justify my rather large salary. When I told my manager I would be leaving he said I would be missed and could come back if I wanted to. My coworkers told me the same thing. But the negative aspects of this have finally reached a tipping point for me.

Now, a little background. I've been exposed to an entrepreneurial mindset since I was 20 and in college. I saw some other people take that path a long time ago, but for whatever reason I put it off and went the slowlane route as it seemed safer maybe, and I perhaps didn't feel I had what it took to work for myself. Now at 35, I'm finally ready to start. This post provides a bit more background into why I held onto this job the last few years. I was making good money and figured I could start something more fastlane on the side since my job required so little time. I have to credit @lowtek with something he said in that thread though, which is that if I stayed I would become infected with slowlane mindset, and that's exactly what started to happen. When I didn't have to do much work at all to still make 200k, I lost motivation to do anything more.

Another thing that really grated on me was the reality of needing to focus on someone else's work requirements at the start of my day. When I get up in the morning I want to do what I want to do, not check my email to see what meetings I have or what reviews I need to do for someone else's projects. Recently there have been some days where I just ignored work until 4pm or so while I did what I wanted to first. Those days were by far the best I've had in a while, and I still managed to do better work for everyone else once I put myself first. The sense of adventure and pride you have when you are directing your own ship is not something that's easy to trade away for money. Having that feeling every day is what I crave now.

Recently I started to think more deeply about my situation. I don't care at all about the work I'm doing for this company. Sure I guess maybe it's helping their customers, but I don't really care about their products. I'm still trading my time for money, so I'm only doing it because I'm required to. Then I started thinking on another line. If my current skillset is valued at 200k+ for a minimal amount of work by corporate America, imagine how much I have been selling myself short. How much more could I accomplish if I was putting in a lot of meaningful work on a project I actually cared about? What if I actually cared about the product I was building? What if my standard of success was exponentially higher than what I have settled for in exchange for an easy life and the comfort of stability and low effort? I think the answer is more than I could even comprehend right now, and that's why it's time to find out.

I'm also taking this step now because I have enough money saved that I could have no income for at least 2 years and still feel comfortable. That much time gives me a blank canvas that I can use to fill in anything I want, and that excites me. I also had to get over the common misconception that to work for myself I had to have some revolutionary new idea that would change an entire industry. As we know and as I learned, most businesses are not revolutionary new ideas, most are incremental value adds in established markets. I've already identified at least 4-5 potential income streams around a broad category that is what I want to focus on, and that really inspires me. I can't wait to see what the future holds now that I'm finally taking it into my own hands.

I'm reminded of something Tony Robbins often says which is that we always get our musts but rarely ever get our shoulds. I realized that building my own businesses was just not happening for me until I made it a must. Once you cut off the comfort of someone else providing your income and it's time to either sink or swim on your own, that's when real growth and personal transformation shows up, and you find the strength of will to accomplish something great. Once I had that understanding the decision to quit my job and start out on my own made so much sense and I'm ready to see it through.

First off, congratulations for doing well in the Slowlane. Not many people make $200K+ year at their job (if you're in the Bay Area, subtract 45% to normalize for cost of living differences and that's how much you would make in a medium COL city like Dallas, Raleigh, whatever), so you deserve praise.

Now here's the slapdown that you probably don't deserve, but need:

I'm reading your post and the #1 problem I see already is your motive. Hating the Slowlane is indeed perfectly reasonable, as I'm sure most posters here do, but that alone will not land you into the land of riches in the Fastlane. In fact, I'd predict if you continue down this path or line of thinking, you're most likely going to end up with some cash cow business that generates decent cash flow every year, but will leave you with the same "I'm bored to F*cking death" result as the type of growth you imagine will never sprout.

Business is not supposed to be fun. The purpose of business is to unlock value within the marketplace, serve customers, and increase the net worth of the owners (whether that happens to be you or some investors, or both).

Also this -

"As we know and as I learned, most businesses are not revolutionary new ideas, most are incremental value adds in established markets."

Yes, which is why most businesses consist of mediocre restaurants a few months away from closing down, useless/garbage retail stores selling cheap crap from manufacturers located in China, middling/unremarkable services, and legacy B2B dinosaurs. Your language, such as "potential income streams," tells me you are going to end up bored/unmotivated again...really soon.

If you just want the money, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing (other than the fact W-2's get raped in taxes compared to S/C corp owners) right now. If you are truly interested in Fastlane ideals, then gear up for a challenge of a lifetime.

Be honest and reassess everything. Good luck.
 
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ravenspear

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Jul 25, 2016
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First off, congratulations for doing well in the Slowlane. Not many people make $200K+ year at their job (if you're in the Bay Area, subtract 45% to normalize for cost of living differences and that's how much you would make in a medium COL city like Dallas, Raleigh, whatever), so you deserve praise.

Now here's the slapdown that you probably don't deserve, but need:

I'm reading your post and the #1 problem I see already is your motive. Hating the Slowlane is indeed perfectly reasonable, as I'm sure most posters here do, but that alone will not land you into the land of riches in the Fastlane. In fact, I'd predict if you continue down this path or line of thinking, you're most likely going to end up with some cash cow business that generates decent cash flow every year, but will leave you with the same "I'm bored to f*cking death" result as the type of growth you imagine will never sprout.

Business is not supposed to be fun. The purpose of business is to unlock value within the marketplace, serve customers, and increase the net worth of the owners (whether that happens to be you or some investors, or both).

Also this -

"As we know and as I learned, most businesses are not revolutionary new ideas, most are incremental value adds in established markets."

Yes, which is why most businesses consist of mediocre restaurants a few months away from closing down, useless/garbage retail stores selling cheap crap from manufacturers located in China, middling/unremarkable services, and legacy B2B dinosaurs. Your language, such as "potential income streams," tells me you are going to end up bored/unmotivated again...really soon.

If you just want the money, there is nothing wrong with what you are doing (other than the fact W-2's get raped in taxes compared to S/C corp owners) right now. If you are truly interested in Fastlane ideals, then gear up for a challenge of a lifetime.

Be honest and reassess everything. Good luck.

You're way off the mark. Quality of life is what is important to me now over money. Value over money.

People rarely amass great wealth (legitimately at least) that did not completely discard the financial question and put value first into whatever they were doing. That's what I'm focused on right now. Also your comment "business is not supposed to be fun" tells me that, even if you are a business owner, it still seems like you still suffer from the 5 for 2 mentality or some form of that, which is what had infected me as a slowlane employee.

I can promise you that being in business for yourself can and totally should be fun every day if you are doing something in alignment with your true self (Mastery again goes into more detail on this). Sure there are challenges and suffering but that's part of the growth opportunity.
 
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