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What’s up Gentrifanatics?

Our parents and grandparents were terrified of risk.

Why else would they drill the “get a good job and save money” mindset into our heads? That’s playing it safe, and I was going to say that there’s nothing wrong with that but the fact is…I think there is.

Before I get into that let me break down the title of this post a little bit.

Syndrome.

A syndrome is defined as a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms…so then what’s a symptom?

Symptom.

A symptom is a physical or MENTAL feature that is regarded as indicating a condition of disease…ok…so a disease is…?

Disease.

In the dictionary a disease is a disorder of structure or function in a human, or a particular quality, habit, or disposition regarded as adversely affecting a person or group of people…so finally I had to look up what a disorder was…

Disorder.

A disruption of normal physical or MENTAL functions.

Basically, the mindset that we need to get a 9-5 job and keep our head down until we retire so that we can be safe and secure is a disorder. Thinking that you’re destined to work a boring job the rest of your life just so you can survive on your own is simply a bad habit. Flawed logic.

Humans aren’t supposed to live that way.

You weren’t meant to live that way.

You’re too innovative, too gifted, and too brilliant to be complacent! Be free!

Ok so the disease or condition is thinking that we have to work for someone else until we die. What are they symptoms that make up this syndrome?

1. Depending on a job as the only source of income
2. Thinking a better job will lead to a better life
3. Not investing in education that interests you but is unrelated to your job
4. Investing passively or not at all while you’re young

Based on these four symptoms I’ve come across four ideas that can cure the “work, earn, die” condition.

1. You Gotta Have More Than One Hustle

I’m sure everyone has heard this one but putting it into practice can be pretty challenging.

For starters, and as a disclaimer, a side hustle doesn’t mean selling a bag of stems and seeds mixed with oregano to your buddies every Friday night! Unless you live in Maine, Massachusetts, Colorado, Alaska, Nevada, California, Oregon, or Washington…and have a good business plan…stay out of the dope game…m’kay Cheech?

In the last post, 5 Things I Didn’t Know About Wealth That TOTALLY CHANGED My Life!!! I gave a few examples of ways to establish passive income streams.

After reading that post my best friend said to me, “I was surprised you put the idea of writing a blog in there since that’s what you’re doing”. I had to think about that for a minute; like is one of the 6 people that read this post gonna steal my idea and cut me out of the game!

Honestly, the goal of this post is to share ideas on building wealth that I’ve discovered over the years that I wasn’t taught growing up. I really want everyone reading this to get something from it that they can put into action in their own life.

Another great resource for hustling tips is the Side Hustle Nation Podcast by Nick Loper. Now Nick’s not paying me to plug his podcast (yet) but I honestly think there’s so much value there for anyone reading this that I needed to share.

You gotta have more than one hustle so you don’t have to depend on your job for income. There’s no better feeling than walking into your job knowing that if you wanted to leave right then and never come back you could, and still be financially straight!

This is because, as you’ll read in idea #2, you’ll never live up to your full potential solely working for someone else…

2. An Employer Will Underpay You or Overpay You; They Will NEVER Pay You What You’re Worth

This idea has really stuck with me ever since I first heard it. Anyone that you’re working for is primarily interested in running their business.

Of course employers will have programs to boost employee morale and thank their employees but really that’s to retain quality employees that make them money and to save on having to hire new employees.

This is not to say that good employers don’t genuinely care about their employees; it’s just that in most cases the success of the business comes before any one employee.

In most scenarios your employer won’t pay you enough for the job you’re doing, especially if you’re a great worker.You can work way harder than other people making the same or even more than you and most of the time you’re only rewarded with more work!

Then, in less common scenarios your employer may pay someone more than the value that they bring to the company which leads to lazy and entitled people that slow down progress because they’re comfortable in the little bubble that they set up for themselves.

No employer can ever pay you what you’re worth because only you can monetize your contributions. Imagine telling your boss, I’m worth $500/hr…probably won’t go over well!

Now imagine creating your own consulting business and establishing the price of one hour of your time and consultation at $500. Only you can do that for yourself, no one else can put an accurate value on your time except you!

You come first, every time.

3. Invest in Yourself FIRST

Most people speak of making money and working for someone else in the same breath. It’s what’s safe and easy so we’re naturally drawn to it. Just be aware of how much time and effort (physical and mental) you’re allotting for your employer versus yourself.

I know for a long time, after a long day at work, all I wanted to do was come home, turn the TV on, but then look at my phone (you know you’ve done the same thing)!

What I’ve found is that we can really get sucked in to giving all of our brain power to our job and not enough to our own interests.

Employers have all kinds of training that they want us to take to be better employees for them. What kind of training are you doing to become a better person for you and the people you’re close to?

Exercise is an easy one (in theory), but simply going for a 20 minute walk after work will help clear your head and strengthen your heart.

Eating is another big one. I have family members tell me all the time, “I just don’t have time to plan healthy meals or eat right”. We all have the time, it’s just about making it a priority.

Prep your lunch and dinner for the week on Sunday’s. You can save a ton of time and money, also it’ll make you gravitate toward picking healthier options.

Education is important. Keep your mind sharp. Your time is a huge asset, but it can also be a huge liability. Make time to make money (or learn how). There are a ton of good books, audio books, podcasts, and blogs (a’hem) that you can get into for free that will benefit you big time!

When I can I like to take chances and learn something new. You never know how it may benefit you personally, financially, spiritually, or all three!

4. High Risk, High Reward

Take chances on yourself.

Doing the same thing that everyone else has done will always get you the same results that everyone else has gotten. It’s the people that break out of that mold that become truly successful. But to get there takes courage.

In this world where we’re so concerned about other people’s opinions it becomes terrifying to have an original thought. No one wants to stand out unless it’s in a good way, but you’ll never know what other people’s reaction will be until you try.

I’ll use myself as an example. Recently I took up swimming as an exercise. I’ve more or less known how to swim since a kid but I didn’t really know how to swim laps.

So I gather up my courage and go to my local pool…and it’s packed. Of course the universe will make me do this in front of a bunch of strangers that are all better swimmers than me. I couldn’t just have a mentoring one on one with Michael Phelps like I had planned in my head.

So I get in the deep end first (because I’m not a punk) and tread water for a little bit just to stunt on ’em. Then out of nowhere I just start trying to swim to the other side of the pool.

Let me just say this…the lifeguard didn’t have to rescue me…but she was definitely looking in my direction with concern on her face.

By the time I splashed my way to the other side i was so out of breath and just thankful that I didn’t sink to the bottom. To make it even worse this cocky 80 year old dude next to me just wouldn’t stop…back and forth, back and forth…I was thinking “ok man just stop for a minute you’re making me look bad”!

Anyway, the story doesn’t end there. After taking that initial risk of getting in the pool and looking crazy I stopped worrying about how I looked and started worrying about how to win. I still swim every single Sunday and I usually do about 30 laps straight!

(Disclaimer: If you absolutely do not know how to swim please don’t go die in a pool somewhere and have the cops look through your phone and see that the last thing you read was this blog. No bueno. Get some lessons.)

Start with where you want to be. A millionaire, a billionaire, a real estate mogul, an actor…whatever it is, look at the end goal and ask yourself “how can I” instead of saying “I can’t”.

We’re young.

Now is the time to take risks. Don’t play it safe until you’re 70, make calculated risks today so you can enjoy your youth! Long term investing strategies are great but your strength is being young, ambitious, resilient, and brilliant!

Put yourself out there. Take those risks. If you fail, good, that’s one way you found that didn’t work. Try another! Refine your craft!

If anything you read here leaves you wanting to learn more or comment please do so! Feedback is always good.

If you have any questions hmu! I’ll be around!