I want to feel like me again

[Karee]

Greetings!

I am in the middle of reading Millionaire Fastlane and it has been unexpectedly emotional for me thinking about trading my freedom 5 days a week for my $1700 check and health benefits. Plus I'm 52 years old so, I've been doing it for a while now.

I am definitely in the slow lane in a lot of ways, and it's not natural for me to be here. Both of my parents were entrepreneurs, and I always thought I'd follow their footsteps. I didn't marry well in my 20's and it led to a divorce, and years of me struggling to keep the kids healthy and happy and a roof over our heads. I took the path of least resistance... a local job in government (at least I found one near the beach).

It has been ten years now in the same job, and although I have "stability" and some "freedom", I realize I am not myself in this job. I come home and feel dull. My creativity has been pushed down, I'm tired, I find no joy in scheduling meetings and updating meaningless spreadsheets, and I'm not even sure I believe in the politics of the department I work in any longer.

Where I am today: My kids are grown and on their own paths, and I am newly remarried. The power of two incomes is way greater than the power of one. We have been having fun with our new "wealth" of combined incomes, however I realize our wealth does not include the freedom that we want. Not to mention, we have both gained weight (fat and happy together ha), and the being fit part of wealth is really speaking to me. What is wealth without good health?

We have accomplished a lot in the last few years, we now own a couple of houses, we have reliable vehicles, we have a happy, loving family, we have a few dollars in the bank, we have pensions and a 401K, but we are not enjoying the majority of our lives, we are trading it away and are tired when it comes to doing what we want. We hope to retire by 56 at the latest (4 more years of this...).

My goal in the next year is to become more myself again, instead of trading myself for the person I have to be at my 8-5 job. I am a writer, and an artist and I have several projects I have started in the last few years that I have been struggling to work on. I was born with the entrepreneurial spirit, but I can't seem to be disciplined to consistently work on my goals. Not to mention, second guessing my ideas and just generally being distracted and dragging my feet.

I know I work best with deadlines, and having a deadline of a few years to make a difference will work in my favor. I haven't finished the Fastlane yet, thank you MJ @MJ DeMarco for the book and I have to say I am feeling more like myself again already.

Karee

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

After Fastlane, check out UNSCRIPTED , I wrote it exactly for someone like you looking to turn the tables.

Welcome aboard. Hope we can change some things around.

and I am newly remarried.

Curious, is the wife on board? Or is she OK with the status quo?

 

[Karee]

My husband is fully on board, and is the biggest support system I have ever had. He's not okay with the status quo, he's tired of it too. He's also a very hard working, smart guy that has tried businesses in the past, and I know together we can find more wealth (family, freedom, fitness) in our lives. Thank you for the note MJ, I appreciate it.

Yes I will read Unscripted . I didn't know about that book until today.

 

[Karee]

I was feeling disappointed with myself when I wrote my introduction, however, I realize I should list what I have been doing to speed up into the fast lane, because I have been working towards my goals.

• I have registered my business name in my county (sports and tourism related/my own brand)
• I have registered 3 domain names (3 different ideas).
• I have opened my business bank account with a starting investment of $5000.
• I bought a powerful new laptop.
• I just completed 2 Adobe Illustrator classes through the local college extension program.
• Have one completed artwork design.

Other personal goals I have been working on:

• I started working out again. 3x a week with my husband, and daily walks around my beautiful town. I feel better already, and it's only been 3 weeks.
• I have drastically cut my sugar intake.
• I have paid off our debt, cut our bills down, and refinanced our home. We are much more in control of our money now.
• We bought a second house in Nevada. I have a family member renting it now, plus we have a room there. This is a stepping stone to retiring/moving out of CA where our money will go a lot further.
• Reconnected with family members I haven't seen in years.

Current Goals:

• Finish my logo and artwork.
• Finish the website layout.
• Get up early.
• Lose 20 pounds.
• Keep drawing
• Write - I am going to focus on drawing and my website right now, but I also have 2 unfinished novels, I'd like to finish.

Why do these things?

• Show my kids I can do it.
• More freedom and wealth.
• Personal satisfaction, feeling like myself again.
• Because I want to quit my job, and live life in-tune with who I am, not who I am trading myself to be for 40 hours a week. I want to have fun and be challenged.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[kaqm]

Welcome, well done, and good on ya for not letting the amount of years you've been alive stop you! Ignore the naysayers!

 

[Christopher777]

My husband is fully on board,

Now that's a shift in perspective.

Welcome ma'am!

 

[Tim Allen Jr.]

Welcome Karee!

Thanks for inviting the group into your journey. Really excited to see your growth in your goals. Having a support system is super crucial, and awesome that your husband is supportive!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Iammelissamoore]

Hi @Karee - Welcome aboard. Nice to see you already have great things in a gear AND that your spouse is on board. Kudos, Congratulations and all the best in your endeavours.

 

[Karee]

I'm not sure the best way to use this forum, but I'd like to use my thread as a progress journal of some kind.

Last night me and my husband were sitting on the deck talking about our days, etc, and I started telling him about the current book I'm listening to - Millionaire Fastlane . I'm in the chapter where MJ is comparing trading the limited hours in your life to try to get rich slow, opposed to having a website where you reached 12,000 people a day and if you sold to 10% of those people what would happen. How you can have so many more opportunities to make money when you are selling a product online than when you are trading your valuable limited time for money. I had never really thought about it like that (thank you MJ!)

We had a nice talk about it, but I never brought up quitting my job. My seriously amazing husband somehow picked up on the idea though, because he looked at me and said that he could cover all the bills with his salary if I want to quit. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Yes, he could cover the bills, but it would be tight.

So, we came up with a plan. I told him I am not quite ready to quit yet, but proposed taking off 2-3 weeks to focus on finishing artwork, ordering the product and getting the website up. He said I'd have to produce, and I agreed, I actually work the best with firm deadlines. Something funny, I asked if I could have daily rewards for working so hard, and he rolled his eyes but said yes. So, I will have to figure out a reward system for myself. Is that ridiculous? Yes, probably...

We did some quick numbers on our product and decided that if I can make (net profit) $200 a day I can quit. I might even feel comfortable quitting at $100 a day, but the goal we talked about is $200. IF we could bring in $4-500 a day he could also quit. We talked about ways to market and get the product out in our community as well. We had a lot of fun talking about it, but it does make me nervous thinking about executing it all. I know I just need to make one step at a time.

Today I'm going to ask when I can take the time off. I'm going to start working harder up until that time so that I'm ready to be productive.

Thank you to the people that have given me a warm welcome here. I appreciate this space to write out my thoughts and have feedback. I have read countless books, but this book is really resonating with me.

 

[Karee]

I started my vacation with a trip to the lake with my husband and friends, and today I am on day 2 of taking two-weeks off to focus on myself and to decide if I'm ready to quit my job.

Yesterday I made calls to 2 manufacturers. I was disappointed with some of the information I received, so today I will look into a few more manufacturers to see what they say.

Also on my agenda today:

• Budget planning for the possibility of leaving my job in December.
• Talking to my 24-year old about how we can get him off of my insurance and the possibility of school loans.
• Pull out my novel that is 1/4 of the way done.
• Take care of myself, husband, and house - enjoy this beautiful day of freedom.

Probably the biggest thing holding me back is the thought of missing out on $700 more a month on my pension if I can hang in at my job until I'm 55. (I'm 52 now). My husband tells me I can't look at it like that, but it's hard not to. He keeps saying that I should go for it, and if it fails we will try something else.

I am thankful for these two-weeks off, and I will make them count. I am hopeful that by Aug 18th I will have my decision made.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Red]

We did some quick numbers on our product and decided that if I can make (net profit) $200 a day I can quit. I might even feel comfortable quitting at $100 a day, but the goal we talked about is $200. IF we could bring in $4-500 a day he could also quit.

I personally thought this was a brilliant idea. It might take a bit to work up to that, so why not have the extra cushion of the pension max waiting for you as well? My husband is the govt employee in our relationship & is building a nice pension. He has no plans of quitting his job unless I end up selling a company for 7 figures. Which also might take a while. I liked your original plan. Make the business work first, then consider dumping the day job. I consider that the win/win here.

 

[Karee]

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. I'm weighing everything out right now. Taking this time off to think things through, make calls, and run numbers has been a learning experience already.

 

[Karee]

Checking in, I only have 3 days of my 2 week vacation left. This time off has been the biggest gift I could ever give myself.

Things I have learned:

• After many phone calls, and much research last week, my biggest idea is not going to work for me right now. I am content knowing I have put in the research, and I know that it's not the idea for me right now. I have closed down my bank account, and I'm moving on.
• Idea # 2 which has been in the back of my mind for over 2 years. I love it!! I have spent at least 40-60 hours the last 2 weeks figuring out how I can make it work, designing a logo, getting pricing, getting my resale permit, opening my bank account, registering my name, etc. I can get started between $1-2K. When I registered my fictitious business name with the small local news magazine, the woman who owns the newspaper started talking to me about advertising with her. By the end of the conversation, she said that when I am ready that she will give me the front page story (full color interview) for free!
• I have been losing myself in my work, something that never happens at my job. It feels good and satisfying.
• Hammock time is not overrated.
• I have some unexpected guilt and anxiety. Guilt when my husband leaves for work in the morning, and anxiety about my capabilities. I know I can do it, yet I have no idea if this business will make any money. The feeling of taking a huge risk is exhilarating, and me and my husband have taken a few in the last 3 years, all have paid off (I'm not just talking financial).
• I am one step closer to retiring in December. I have worked with the homeless/drug addicted population for 11 years and it has taken its toll on me. I will make my decision next week after I get a couple more questions answered. I am proud of the work I have done, but it's time to move on. I know that I can get another job if I ever need to, but it would not be for the same agency.

2 more days of vacation, but it will be spent with friends, so not much time to work. Next week will be back to 8-5, so it will be harder still. Today I am going to finish my logo (hopefully), get pricing on boxes, and start looking into Shopify. I am so thankful for these 2 weeks off, I am much more centered and yes, I have felt like myself.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Karee]

To keep my story going:

I returned to my job on 8/21 after 2 weeks off, and gave my notice the next day. I felt so healthy and productive those 2 weeks off, but the day before I went back to work my body hurt and I felt miserable. I knew I was feeling depressed, and it helped me make up my mind. My last day working for the government will be December 22, 2017!

So what's next? I'll continue working on my idea as much as I can the next few months, and in January I'll make it happen. A friend has offered to promote my product by email blast to the large Silicon Valley Tech company she works for (80,000 people) when I'm off the ground, so I'm excited about that too.

I had lunch today with my ex-boss (she retired last year) and she told me that I'm doing the right thing, that she's proud of me, that I'm brave, and that she has never seen me look so happy or relaxed in the 11 years that she's known me. I feel happy!

I'm not sure I'm using this forum correctly, but it's nice to have a place to write down my thoughts while I sort this all out.

 

[Karee]

It's Monday morning, pouring rain in the mountains where I live, and I have no job to go to because I quit my job on 12/22.

I had an amazing goodbye party, went to Nevada to see my daughter for 10-days, returned home and had a nice visit with my son. (He surprised me!)

Yesterday, I sat with my husband and went over the bills. I had some moments of panic, and felt very selfish for quitting my job, but basically I'm married to a saint. He says he's not worried, and we planned for this, and he is prepared for trying it for one-year and then we will reevaluate. Ahhh.. okay then, I think I can relax.

So. After working for others at least part time since 1982.. I am home on a rainy day, planning my schedule for the week (it includes working on my ideas and website, working out, and walking with my daughter in law). I have no clue if I will make any money, but here's to trying and here's to my husband who is going along with my dreams.

 

[Xeon]

It's Monday morning, pouring rain in the mountains where I live, and I have no job to go to because I quit my job on 12/22.

I had an amazing goodbye party, went to Nevada to see my daughter for 10-days, returned home and had a nice visit with my son. (He surprised me!)

Yesterday, I sat with my husband and went over the bills. I had some moments of panic, and felt very selfish for quitting my job, but basically I'm married to a saint. He says he's not worried, and we planned for this, and he is prepared for trying it for one-year and then we will reevaluate. Ahhh.. okay then, I think I can relax.

So. After working for others at least part time since 1982.. I am home on a rainy day, planning my schedule for the week (it includes working on my ideas and website, working out, and walking with my daughter in law). I have no clue if I will make any money, but here's to trying and here's to my husband who is going along with my dreams.

Considering you've a supportive husband, that's already 25% of the battle won! Good luck!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.