I'm in Paris currently having a hard time sleeping (due to time-zone change) and thinking about work. It's somewhat of an oxy-moron since I don't really need to worry about "working" anymore. I could take the next 10-20 years off before I would really need to find a job.
I feel there's three important lessons I've missed over the last 9 years of doing IM: (1) having balanced success is very important, (2) networking is equally important in establishing future work and (3) purpose trumps money.
I know most people would love to quit their jobs and make a bunch of money with little work, but at some point there would be a dead-end. Let's say the money has been made and now you can relax, but for how long? How long would it take you to feel uneasy about not working, even if you still had plenty of money left? How much would you spend on new toys or a new home knowing you aren't working essentially?
I'm not talking about winning the lottery kind of money here...that's "fuck you" type money. I'm referring to whatever subjective amount you feel would be comfortable to live well for a long time. So you have that amount now, but for how long could you go before wanting to work again? This is where I find myself...thinking of new ideas, angles, methods, etc... It's not fiscally necessary for me to do so, but its somewhat ingrained.
Quick little backstory about me, I grew up poor and started hustlin' in my early 20s. I don't consider myself materialistic at all but I've went down the road of buying some really expensive shit and didn't like the feeling after doing so. Instead of going that route, a lot of the money I made came to Vegas with me on weekend getaways. I could literally win or lose the cost of a home on these trips.
My work allowed me to make money very fast without worrying about finding a real job. One project could give me "freedom" for 5-10 years at a time. All I needed to do was find the right one and scale. My work also came with risks of getting sued, but from my previous experiences in suing companies for a living, I didn't give a shit about that.
I got into casino exploiting about 2 years ago just out of the fascination of beating the house at their own game. I've been a gambler all my life and couldn't resist the chance of taking them on. That work came with another kind of risk, so after awhile I went into consulting for them instead.
So that was the past, now the present. I've been out-of-work for 2 months now and my brain is trying to find a way to get back to being productive. When you reach a level of earning, some projects aren't worth your time. Aside from that, my mindset has always been to look for home-run projects rather than "need to earn a paycheck" projects.
My failure over the last 9 years is not striking a balance with having consistency and purpose for my work. I've only been in it to make money, not building real businesses offering value, not building relationships, just money. I have many things going on outside of work, so this post is only for work purposes.
Hitting homeruns is great and will change your life, but you need to be prepared and have a plan of action for when you start itching to get a project going again (even if you don't fiscally need to). It appears I can't go a couple months without wanting to get back at it. For many people on BHW, this post may not strike a cord with them due to either not believing they'll achieve great success with IM or don't believe they'll face the same issues.
Being hungry and staying sharp in this biz is key. Always scale when given the chance. Don't settle for small-time money if you can go for that homerun. When you reach a point where I'm at, make sure you have a back-up plan to ensuring you still have purpose and networking possibilities with whatever kind of work you do.
Being "unemployed" sucks, even if I can retire comfortably for the next decade or two. I gotta get my ass back in it. You won't find me posting much on here, so my rep isn't as strong as others. But when it comes down to pure numbers of this forum, I'm probably part of a very small group on BHW that can speak about the above-mentioned intelligently.
Peace.
I feel there's three important lessons I've missed over the last 9 years of doing IM: (1) having balanced success is very important, (2) networking is equally important in establishing future work and (3) purpose trumps money.
I know most people would love to quit their jobs and make a bunch of money with little work, but at some point there would be a dead-end. Let's say the money has been made and now you can relax, but for how long? How long would it take you to feel uneasy about not working, even if you still had plenty of money left? How much would you spend on new toys or a new home knowing you aren't working essentially?
I'm not talking about winning the lottery kind of money here...that's "fuck you" type money. I'm referring to whatever subjective amount you feel would be comfortable to live well for a long time. So you have that amount now, but for how long could you go before wanting to work again? This is where I find myself...thinking of new ideas, angles, methods, etc... It's not fiscally necessary for me to do so, but its somewhat ingrained.
Quick little backstory about me, I grew up poor and started hustlin' in my early 20s. I don't consider myself materialistic at all but I've went down the road of buying some really expensive shit and didn't like the feeling after doing so. Instead of going that route, a lot of the money I made came to Vegas with me on weekend getaways. I could literally win or lose the cost of a home on these trips.
My work allowed me to make money very fast without worrying about finding a real job. One project could give me "freedom" for 5-10 years at a time. All I needed to do was find the right one and scale. My work also came with risks of getting sued, but from my previous experiences in suing companies for a living, I didn't give a shit about that.
I got into casino exploiting about 2 years ago just out of the fascination of beating the house at their own game. I've been a gambler all my life and couldn't resist the chance of taking them on. That work came with another kind of risk, so after awhile I went into consulting for them instead.
So that was the past, now the present. I've been out-of-work for 2 months now and my brain is trying to find a way to get back to being productive. When you reach a level of earning, some projects aren't worth your time. Aside from that, my mindset has always been to look for home-run projects rather than "need to earn a paycheck" projects.
My failure over the last 9 years is not striking a balance with having consistency and purpose for my work. I've only been in it to make money, not building real businesses offering value, not building relationships, just money. I have many things going on outside of work, so this post is only for work purposes.
Hitting homeruns is great and will change your life, but you need to be prepared and have a plan of action for when you start itching to get a project going again (even if you don't fiscally need to). It appears I can't go a couple months without wanting to get back at it. For many people on BHW, this post may not strike a cord with them due to either not believing they'll achieve great success with IM or don't believe they'll face the same issues.
Being hungry and staying sharp in this biz is key. Always scale when given the chance. Don't settle for small-time money if you can go for that homerun. When you reach a point where I'm at, make sure you have a back-up plan to ensuring you still have purpose and networking possibilities with whatever kind of work you do.
Being "unemployed" sucks, even if I can retire comfortably for the next decade or two. I gotta get my ass back in it. You won't find me posting much on here, so my rep isn't as strong as others. But when it comes down to pure numbers of this forum, I'm probably part of a very small group on BHW that can speak about the above-mentioned intelligently.
Peace.
Actually I'm also from a poor family & still struggling in my 26th. Hope SOMEDAY will reach in your position 
