I Couldn’t Go Back. It Would Kill Me.

I used to work a 9-5. Well, sort of. I had a set schedule, and it was overnight twelve-hour shifts. I worked for the man. And I took what scraps “the man” threw me along the way. And I performed, too. I did what I did at a high level. But, what did that get me? An occasional attaboy at most. It didn’t help my bank account. It didn’t help my future. My children aren’t better off because of it. What was the point?
I punched a clock for almost all of my adult life. I graciously accepted poor working conditions and backstabbing “leaders” so that every two weeks like clockwork, money magically appeared in my bank account.

Then, in 2013, I started a Facebook page because I was bored one day. There were few people doing that back in those days, and I quickly built a loyal following. One day a few months later, one of those loyal followers commented, “You should put that on a shirt.”

That follower will never know how grateful I am. Hell, I don’t even remember his name. But, once I read it, a light bulb clicked, and in that instant, I became an entrepreneur. Over the next eighteen months, I sold t-shirts. A lot of them. I got bored and sold the company for what was at the time a significant amount of money to me. Then I started another business. And another. And another. Some worked, some failed, but my mind never stopped looking for the next angle. I would and still do wake up in the middle of the night unable to deviate from whatever new idea has consumed me. It is a blessing and a curse.

That first business will always hold a special place in my heart. I call it my Slide Hustle, a business I started while working for the man that set me free and let me slide out of the prison I was in and set myself on a path to freedom.

In June 2015, I left that “9-5” and have been totally dependent on my own ability to generate revenue for five years. For almost four of those, I have carried the livelihood of my entire family on my back, with my wife staying at home to take on the monumental task of raising our children. It has been incredibly stressful. There have been months where I thought I would go bankrupt, and there have been moments when I’ve made more money in a day than I’d previously made in a year. I’ve had to break myself down, crush my insecurities, admit my failures, and overcome my own self-doubt. It has been one hell of a ride.

Over the last few years, I’ve been offered a few jobs. Most of them at least six figures. They offer a comfortable life, a set schedule, a nice 401k, even a little vacation time now and then. But, I escaped the life of a prisoner of my wages. I couldn’t go back. It would kill me. I have tasted the freedom of operating independently of the input of anyone else, and that liberation has ruined me.
I’m an entrepreneur, hell-bent on making myself into something. I WILL change my family tree, leaving my children much better off than I was when I started. I WILL succeed. I WILL leave my mark. It is not something that remains to be seen, but rather a veritable certainty through sheer force of will.

I want to welcome you to my website. Here, I will discuss things like being a good husband, being a good father, and making sound decisions that affect your future. With the help of other contributors, I will teach you how to be successful. And, if you want, together we will take you from the JOB you have to the LIFE you want.