Little empires
Published Mar 12, 2022
The clock must be going slow… 4:21… wasn’t it 4:45 like a minute ago? Is time going backwards?
Every minute before you clock out, the seething pain drips a little louder until it’s unbearable. You can’t wait to crawl back to the familiar smell of your 10-year old hot Nissan.
Work sucks… there’s no way out. Every dollar spent before it’s even earned kids backpacks, mortgage repayments, retirement savings, only to mention a few.
Is it ever going to change? Is there any way out?
Is there another way? Why are you working in the first place? Is it because you’re supposed to? There are little parts that you like… what if you could take the pieces that you like and leave the rest behind? What if you could take a vacation when you want and leave the slog and worry behind…
What would you do with your time? Your newfound freedom? Go to the park with your kids? Have a daytime lunch at American Eats on the corner… the one with the really good fries.
The professional slog… your job is access to a stream of income. You have 1 stream of income flowing. A reliable, boring, frustrating, draining, excitement killing cashflow.
But what if you had multiple streams of income? What if your bank account was being filled by 1000 sources instead of your 1?
Build your own little empire.
By reframing how you approach your career and focusing on the long-term goal, you’re founding your empire.
- You’re not accepting a job, you’re building your domain
- You’re not asking for a raise, you’re building your castle
- You’re not requesting time-off, you’re building your empire
By rewiring your brain, suddenly the scary negotiation process is a matter of how much you can contribute to your personal financial freedom. The time you put into taking a few minutes a day to flush out the characters of your novel are an investment instead of time away from your couch time (also important).
Starting out with a college degree and a painful, slug of a job, I had one way to make money. Instead of zooming out, I focused on the tasks at hand and did a darn good job at work.
When I left that job I had no income, no goal, no direction, no clear way to pick a direction. I had a few job opportunities, but how would I make the right one? What if I didn’t want to take a new job after leaving an old one?
Ten years later, I carved my cash-generation machine by investing in little bets that all roll-up into one. Over time, my ocean has grown by creating:
- 10 published books
- A consistent weekend workshop
- Tech-focused paid newsletter
- An exclusive crypto community
- A background photography business
- And more…
When I look at my career, I’m not weaving a single story, I’m molding my castle. One brick at a time. One little bet at a time.
Now I wake up when I want, I travel what looks exciting. I don’t own a car, but have enough travel points to get upgraded on every flight. I enjoy taking my dog for a walk to Central Park in the middle of the day and often end up hanging out with my friends.
I don’t have to ask for the time off, feel bad about leaving my desk, or answer to one higher power.
Your little empire is built brick-by-brick. Every opportunity is one to build the walls of your empire.