The four words I thought I would never utter.
(if you're expecting a cliché "9 to 5, I quit my job story" this is NOT it. )
It was 2020.
I was in my 3rd year of teaching math & English to students in Vietnam, living the "expat life style".
My one goal in life was to NOT have a 9-5 job.
and I was KILLING it.
My daily routine from M-F:
Wake up at 9am 🌞
Work out
Binge watch Netflix/Social Media 😐
Get bored, take a nap 😴
3pm head into work
8pm finish teaching classes 👨🏫
Stay up late till 2am because I could
Sounds great right?
I only had to "work" 4 hours a day, take home a paycheck and still have enough left over for clubbing on the weekend.
Yet...
I was counting the seconds everyday until class would be over.
M-F felt like a slog.
I was working less hours than the 9-5 "corporate keyboard monkey"...
I “escaped” the traditional lifestyle I so desperately hated…
I was living comfortably…
but..
Everyday I remember thinking, “Am I gonna be doing this for the rest of my life? Will I ever be able to leave?"
And that’s when it hit me.
Nobody will pick up me in a pumpkin shaped carriage to become a creator.
A sage won’t appear one day and give me all the answers to realize my personal legend.
Gary Vee yelling at me through my phone wasn't gonna do sh*t.
If I wanted to live life on my terms…
I had to start NOW.
Fast forward to 5 months of consistent creating:
I went from TGIF to "Thank God I Get To Write". ✍
I went from working 3-8 to working 12-12. ⏰
I went from disconnected to passionate af. 🔥
Lesson of the story: It doesn’t matter how many hours you work. It only matters how many hours you felt like it was "work". 1
3 Useful Links
You have 11 lives in your lifetime. What are you going to do with them? 👈
A thought-provoking short story on all the amazing things you can do.
TL;DR: It’s a comic you don’t need a summary :).
Read this for fun.
The Part Time Creator Manifesto 👈
You don’t have to be a full time creator to be fulfilled. There are 100+ ways to start the journey.
TL;DR: Being a creator is more than just going full time. It can also give you ideas for your main job, give you more options, and creating luck for yourself.
Read this for perspective.
The 3 levels of “finding” your niche. 👈
Niche is a word that gets thrown around too easily. This guide breaks it down to first principles in a no BS way.
TL;DR:
1) Find a market that can support you.
2) Find a fit that also satisfies your inner creator needs.
3) Doing the ground-work to understand the depth and breadth of the market.
Read this to find your niche.
What’s a time you felt like work was a slog? What’d you do to get out of it?