631. Building a Career Around the Lifestyle He Wanted

“I began practicing Tang Soo Do in my mid-teens, the martial art made popular by Chuck Norris. By the time I reached University I’d achieved my black belt and started teaching others, mostly because my instructor encouraged me. I thought of it more as a favor to my instructor, until he said I could keep the money generated from the students in those classes. That was my first entrepreneurial venture, although I didn’t think of it as such at the time.”

“I took the plunge to go work for myself in Cyprus. I got a bit too overconfident. When the pressure was all on me, with nothing to fall back on, fears came up and stopped me from doing as well as I could have done. My first few months were pretty bumpy because I made the mistake of feeling almost entitled to get clients. It was an important life lesson for me.”

“There are so many benefits of going out on my own. Along with financial security, building a business gives me the time and freedom to live how I want. The number one benefit is the level of self-awareness, the consciousness, from overcoming trials and challenges. I can be grateful for everything I do and have, even as I know there is so much more to learn. It’s all part of the journey, not an outcome that we have to get to in order to feel successful.”

1. Use your commute time to learn, listening to podcasts and audiobooks that interest you.

2. Look for ways to practice what you’re learning, to test it in the real world and build confidence.

3. Live the lifestyle you want now, build your career around it. Don’t postpone it until you retire.

4. You have expertise and experience in something. Now is the time to refine and monetize it.