TIE #066: How to Escape the Rat Race Without Getting Rich in 2024
This is a story about how I did it and how I'd do it all over again.
Your first step to escaping the rat race is making your first $1,000 online.
The best way to accomplish this as a beginner is with a simple Amazon business where you sell other people’s products.
It worked for me 10 years ago and it’s what I would do if I had to start over from scratch today.
You can try to figure that out on your own or you can become a paid subscriber and receive free access to my private mentorship group on Discord:
Upon joining, you will get full access to all my premium guides and content.
Choice is yours.
My rat race escape happened for one simple reason:
I did not like how much of time I was giving away at my job
I worked at my hometown car wash and made good money for my age (19 at the time), but it didn’t matter.
Every day I would tell myself:
“Time to go give away 8 hours of my life I’ll never get back”
This lifelong trade-off didn’t seem fair to me.
You know, the one where you give up 8 hours/day, for 5 days/week, for 4 weeks/month, for 12 months/year, for 50 years/life.
What do you get in return for all of that? Basically nothing:
4-6 waking hours after you get off work
2 free days on the weekend
2 weeks of vacation/year
10-15 years of retirement freedom (when you’re too old to even enjoy it)
Give up 75% of my life so I can be free 25% of the time?
No thanks.
To escape this system you only have two real options:
Make about $2-4 million (so work becomes optional)
Start a business that doesn’t make you rich but pays you as much as a nice job while also providing an incredible amount of freedom
The main point I’m trying to make here is:
You don’t have to “get rich” to escape the hell that is traditional 9-5 employment
My rat race escape originally started by me simply looking for ways to make money outside of the traditional system.
I told myself: “All you need to do is make is an engineer’s salary with some money saved on the side”
This was my goal for a long time and at no point was it ever to “get rich”.
I tried a million things (back when the internet was less helpful) and finally made some money with an Amazon business.
So I quit that car wash job.
The business paid for college (my “backup plan”) so I didn’t even have to take out student loans.
This led to a number of opportunities that included another ecommerce business that I sold for multiple six figures in 2020.
I then parlayed these profits into 7 figures thanks to things like stocks and LEGO investing.
Had the sale of that business not happened, I’d still have escaped the rat race.
I’d still be able to to golf on weekday mornings.
I’d still be able to travel whenever I want.
I’d still be able to spend time with the people I love most while everyone else is stuck in traffic.
If I was starting over in 2024, I’d do it all over again the same way.
I’d start an Amazon business selling books, clothes, toys, and electronics.
I would then use the skills I learned to start my own brand like I am now with my new supplement business:
Not only that, but I’d document the entire process.
Once I had enough money in the bank and enough money coming in, I’d quit whatever job I had.
You can always get another one.
If I can do it, you can too.
I was just a poor kid who grew up buying his own school clothes.
You just have to want it bad enough.
When you are ready, there is one way I can help you.
Join 600+ people in becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter:
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My private mentorship group for Amazon business owners (this used to be $329)
My LEGO Investing Mastery Guide (this used to be $169)
My Textbook Flipping Mastery Guide (this used to be $169)
Buy/Sell alerts for LEGO (these will make you money)
These resources will show you how make your first $1,000 on the internet and help you escape the rat race.
Great stuff!