Last Friday, our Epic Shiz of the week was about a “punch in the face” article by Sam, The Financial Samurai at Untemplater titled Quit Your Job And Die Alone. In this very well written article, Sam outlines the entire BS about the people who tell you to quit your job to pursue your dreams. He outlines 4 examples:

Adam Baker

Erica

Myself!

Himself!

I like Sam’s writing skill and there are a lot of things that he wrote that were true and was fair about quitting your job to become self-employed or to create a business. However, I think he purposely picked an angle from which to see this problem and hit it hard with his hammer. I have a feeling that he *forgot* a few details in his article. I’ve already posted a lengthy replied in his thread and feel that I have a lot more to say about it. This is why I wanted to write about my perception of the BS and the truth around quitting your job to create your own business.

Truth: Money doesn’t come easy

Well… the funny thing about this statement is that it has nothing to do with being your own boss or not. Money doesn’t come easy: PERIOD! I rarely see employees make 6 figures while chilling like a villain on the beach… oh wait, I’ve seen entrepreneurs do this… But when you start your business, regardless of your field, money won’t come easy. It requires a lot of work and patience. I keep saying on my blog that I’ve made 125K with my online company but I also explain in the very same post that I went from 18K to end at 125K!

BS: Money doesn’t come easy

I just told you that I’ve seen entrepreneurs chillin’ on the beach right? I guess this is one of the biggest differences between an employee and an entrepreneur: if you work hard and succeed, the employee will always have to come to work on Monday morning. The entrepreneur doesn’t always have to come in. Some say that the entrepreneur has to work like a donkey to get there…. Well not necessarily! After all, I can manage my 6 figure online business in less than 10 hours a week! This is called productivity. So while money doesn’t come easy at first, I can tell you that if you have the right setup, money will come easy. I actually work less than I ever have and my business is still growing. Why? Because I run my business as an entrepreneur and not as an employee. On the other side, I’m very successful with my day job too. But my bonus meter hits the big fat ZERO each year. I still have to come in each Monday morning if I want to see the money rolling.

The truth about being self-employed vs being an entrepreneur

This is exactly where I want to go: some people will quit their job and work as self-employed folk. They will do freelance work and will have to work hard every single day of the year. This situation is pretty similar to being an employee. In fact, it’s the same thing besides the fact that you don’t have a boss and have some more flexibility. However, you work the same number of hours and if you don’t work, you don’t see any money. Being an entrepreneur is being able to setup a money making machine. I don’t care if I have to spend 35K in VAs as long as I don’t have to work hard . The funniest part is that I never ended-up paying the 35K in VA’s since my main VA went on maternity leave 7 months after we hired her. Therefore, we didn’t grow as fast as expected, but we “saved” a few thousand .

The BS about people who can’t make it and bash others for their incompetency

I was surprised to see this point in Sam’s post: basically, he says that people bash employees is because they couldn’t make a great career in a big corporation. I was surprised because so many times I’ve heard the opposite (that people who bash entrepreneurship are the ones who couldn’t make it). In the end, I don’t think it’s the case for either. And for the record, I don’t really bash employees; I’m one myself anyways so would be pretty stupid to do so! There are some great employees who could become great entrepreneurs but never will and some great entrepreneurs who could have become great employees too! It’s not a matter of competencies or failure/success, it’s a matter of choice in your life.

The truth about my own company

Since I publish my monthly income report, you can tell that I’m focusing on gross income way more than anything else. I rarely breakdown my expenses because they don’t really matter to me. Why?

-          Because I’m making more than I spend

-          Because I’m growing my business month after month

-          Because I don’t need this money right now

-          Because I value my lifestyle more than working and therefore need to pay people to work for me

-          Because I’m not spending, I’m investing

There is a huge difference between spending and investing and while I have the feeling I’ve written this before on this blog, I need to do it again. If I really need 60K or 70K to run my business as is, then, I’m in big trouble. But I spend this money to grow and not to maintain. This means that if I stop my aggressive growth plan, I can stop my extravagant spending too! This year, I want to go from 10K to 15K/month the very same way I went from 6K to 10K/month in 2011. But this, my friend, can’t be achieved without some serious investment. Growth doesn’t happen over time just as your next raise in salary won’t happen over time either.

What’s the most amazing thing about having a business?

Yes, you can pursue your dreams.

Yes, you can do what you do.

Yes, you can be your own boss.

Yes, you can work offshore.

But that’s all “marketing BS” compared to the real reason why a business is so awesome. The truth about running your own business is that you can scale it. I’m being very successful at my day job (here’s the chronology of my income) but there is one thing that frustrates me: I can’t scale my job. Whatever I do this year, no matter how amazing I am, my bonus will always reset to a big fat 0 at the start of the year. A big fat 0.  How much can you scale at work: NONE! On the other hand, I’ve scaled so much with my online company that I barely work and still manage to make the equivalent of $45/hour NET OF TAXES. There is one thing I know: this number is going to grow year after year while my base salary won’t be able to follow the same hype. You can’t expect 20% growth in your salary for the next 10 years but you can definitely expect it from your business!

So what’s hip and what’s not?

Honestly, I don’t care about trends. I’m actually the kind of guy who goes against the trend just to not be a follower (I know… I still have a few teenager anger inside of me I guess!).

I don’t have anything to sell you (well I do but it has never been the pillar of my income in my plan anyways!).

And I still tell you: if you can quit your job and create your own business: DO IT!

I guess Sam’s article would have been different if he would added 4 more examples:

JD Roth who sold GetRichSlowly for probably over 1M$

Pat from Smart Passive Income who definitely live a healthy and wealthy life

Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff who makes a killing since she quit her job (she beat me income wise within a few months!)

Trent from The Simple Dollar who sold his blog not so long ago for a healthy profit too

As I written at the beginning of my article; it’s only a matter of taking a different angle!

If you live in another world and make $250K+ per year, this is not your article, not your blog and not your world. I totally understand you won’t quit your day job, but hey! You are part of the minority! While I make a smaller income, I haven’t quit yet for the very same reason: the money is too easy and too good to quit.

But if I lose my job, ask me if I’ll look for another one… 

image credit

Wow!

2012 will definitely be a great year!

I’ll be a father for the 3^rd time!

I’m about to pass the ultimate test with my company!

I’ve been awarded the Best Financial Planner in Montreal within my company for 2011!

And I’ll be working 5 minutes away from my house!

Yup, I got the job of my dreams!

I know, it’s a funny line coming from a guy who advises to quit the rat race ASAP. But when you do something that you love, don’t have to work ridiculous hours and that brings you a very high level of security, it’s hard to spit on it!

Once I go back to work after my paternity leave (which is at the beginning of March), I’ll be starting at my new job.  I had the opportunity to leave for 7 months with 75% of my base income under the paternity and maternity leave program. This was my other plan as I really wanted to see how far I can push my companies. With this promotion, I couldn’t take off for that long but I was able to negotiate 6 weeks of paternity leave prior to starting my new job.

The reason why I’m staying in the rat race

There are 2 big reasons why I’m voluntarily staying in the rat race (with a smile on top of that!):

1-      I’m scared to leave the comfort of a bi-weekly pay check

2-      The job offered is the most exciting and motivating job I could think of

Considering the latter, I’d say that it was a no brainer choice for me. While I’m still in the corporate world where I have to report to a manager, the job itself is made of pure magic! My mandate will be to develop my own book of clients as I’ll be starting from scratch. My main targets are millionaires, which is very interesting as it opens the door to infinite possibilities in terms of financial planning (holding companies, business transfers, estate planning, trust structures, etc.).

The job obviously comes with a healthy salary and a generous bonus grid. What I like the most is that my boss will be in different office 50km away from mine. This means that I’m definitely considered as a true professional and that nobody will follow me to see what I am doing on a daily basis. To be honest, I don’t really work well in an army structure with a “general” . I’m better off left alone so I can unleash my talent and start hunting.

Better lifestyle, lower expenses and a career for life

I’ve made this move for the other 3 reasons mentioned above. The fact that I’ll be working at 5 minutes from my house grants me with a huge improvement in qualify of life. I’ll be able to keep blogging, going to the gym everyday and SLEEP full nights as well! How cool is that?

In 2011, my biggest expense was transportation costs. Believe it or not, but it had cost me $10,000 just for me (I’m not including transportation costs related to my Tribute which is driven by my wife). That $10,000 was mainly gasoline, parking, metro tickets and car maintenance. By switching jobs, I’ll be able to cut this expense to almost $0 which will help me achieve my 2012 financial goal of paying down my debts.

The third reason I picked this job is because it can be a career for life. If I like what I do, I’ll be able to do this for the next 25 years and retire at 55 J. I know very well in my industry that once your book of clients is built and you do a good job (this takes about 4-5 years), the money comes in while you sleep. It’s almost like another source of passive income .

I’m very excited to start this job!

2003 – $30,000 – $37,000

 
I finished my bachelor degree in finance & marketing in 2003. At that time, I was able to get a cool job as a clerk in the back office of a trading firm. My job sounded cool at first as I was dealing with traders to “clear” their trades at the end of the day. It was in the stock options and futures department (also called derivatives). But the sad truth is that it was boring me to death! I could have been asked to paint stop signs red and it would have been more fun! All I did all day was balance numbers in an excel spreadsheet and was desperately waiting for the clock to hit 5pm!
 
After 6 months only, I quit my job and watched TV for 2 weeks until I found a better job for a better salary (from 30K to 37K) in a bank.
 

2004 – $47,000

 
The start of 2004 was a great adventure as I started it by being in charge of a $25M RRSP loan campaign. I was in charge of making sure that everything ran smoothly and that all the loans were approved and disbursed on time. As I didn’t have many employees under me, I did the whole job and was working 14 hour days with no breaks (literally, people were dropping food and coffee on my desk so I didn’t die). I was looking like those Chinese zombies who play World of Warcraft non-stop.
 
2 months of work that gave me my first raise (from $37,000 to $42,000) along with a $5,000 bonus at the end of the year. Man, I was almost at $50K after only 2 years on the market.
 

2005: $55,000

 
I really liked where I was working back then so I continued to hustle hard. My biggest strength was that I was able to do my job and then find ways to improve our processes within my work week (which was 37.5hrs/week at that time). Therefore, I earned my first promotion (with another raise to a base salary of $48,000). My boss liked me a lot because all those improvements in his department were making him look good big time. He was a nice guy so he was sharing the wealth and gave me a lot of tricks to go higher.
 
One of them was to get all my tuition fees paid my employer. This is how I got my stock trading license along with my financial planner courses paid.
 

2006: $61,000

 
Another year, another promotion. This time, I was promoted as the senior of my team. This came with a hefty salary raise (up to $52,000) along with a bigger bonus at the end of year ($9,000). I really like this year at work because I was adding a lot of responsibilities and I was invited to all kinds of important meetings with the big bosses. I was about to join the “big guys” one day. This is when I realized that my sacrifices and hard work started to pay off. I was now known by VPs and my name was getting around.
 

2007: $63,000

 
A year later, I was starting to get bored. I realized that being the senior of my team wasn’t only about its advantages. On the other hand, some people were getting jealous and I didn’t have many friends there anymore. While work became another synonym for routine, I had the great opportunity to go on my first week long business trip.
 
To date, this was one of the best professional experiences I have ever lived. I had the opportunity to go visit much of British Columbia speaking with many very interesting individuals. But when I came back from this trip, I got the bad news that our bank held a lot of commercial paper (also known as ABCP) and that our bonus was going to be cut big time. So even if I had a salary increase that year, my overall income almost stagnated for the first time. I was due for a change!
 

2008: $64,000

 
I didn’t tell most people in my entourage but the real reason why I quit my job at the bank to become a financial planner in 2008 was because I didn’t win a contest at the end of 2007! I know, I can be a big baby sometimes, but I really deserved to win that darned contest. This is why I decided to change jobs in the middle of my MBA.
 
It was a really hard year for me; I had to adapt to new colleagues, new systems and a new job while finishing my MBA. On top of that, it had to be the worst year on the stock market for the past 50 years! Anyways, this job change didn’t bring me much in terms of income and I didn’t perform well enough (I had only 6 months to add assets to my book). This is why I finished the 2008 year with the smallest bonus I have ever had: $2,300!
 

2009: $103,000

 
While 2008 was really rough, 2009 was life changing for me. I was performing like there was no tomorrow and I finished the year at almost 200% of my objectives. In the meantime, I finished my MBA and asked for a sizeable raise due to my performance and my new degree. I was becoming a pillar employee in my branch and the manager wanted to keep me on his side.
 
This is the first year where I started to combine my online income to my day job in order to break the 6 figure income for the first time in my life (at the age of 28!). While my online income wasn’t that much at the time, it was just enough for me to bump up my total income in the major leagues.
 
The biggest change in 2009 was not about my income; it was about how many hours I had to work to make it. In 2009, I started working 4 days a week, so 30 hours a week at my day job. It gave me more time to spend with my family and to work on my online company.
 

2010: $135,000

 
2010 was literally a continuation of the past 2 years as I completed a second year in a row with 200% of my objectives. The bonus was similar (roughly 33K) but I was able to negotiate another income raise based on my past performance. In addition to that, the benefits earned from my online company started to increase at that time.
 
My partner and I decided to pay me for my full day of blogging at the same rate I was earning at my day job (bonus excluded obviously!). This was one of the best decisions we ever took as the business has grown way faster since then. With less than 10 hours/week, we were able to make it grow significantly.
 

2011: $176,000

 
There is not much difference between 2010 and 2011 while the income is larger. In fact, 2011 is definitely the sum of all the good decisions I have made over the past 8 years:
 
- Getting my CFP title
- Completing my MBA with honours
- Moving towards a job where the bonus is linked to my performance
- Working 4 days a week to become more productive at work
- Giving awesome service to my clients
- Concentrating on my online business to generate a steady flow of income
- Focusing on value added actions instead of doing what I had to do
 
2011 is my ultimate proof that when you have a solid plan and work on it for several years, the sum of your actions generates exponential results.
 

What’s next???

 
In 2012, I’m not expecting to make as much as 2011. I think this will be my record year for a few years to come. As I mentioned in my 2012 financial goals, my objective will be to pay off debts and take care of myself. I’ve reached very high level of income quite fast without having to work numerous hours (remember, I worked 30hrs/week at my day job in 2011).
 
I think that the most important part is to do things that you love. This is how you can make money and crush it like I did. My ultimate goal is to stick to the 6 figures without having to work much. I am not aiming for a 250K or 300K salary even though I now know that I could eventually get there. I would rather have a low 6 figure income and enjoy life now instead of waiting desperately until retirement to enjoy it!

For the past 5 years on this blog, you have been able to follow my adventure in becoming a successful financial planner. In the upcoming days, I’ll be trying to get another promotion (read why here). I’m writing these lines while I don’t even know if I’ll get an interview or not (so I might be preparing for nothing, lol!), but I thought it would make this post more authentic .

Over the years, I’ve shared with you my interview tricks along with my answers to tough interview questions. So today, I’ll tell you how I prepare for an interview. Most people think that the interview itself is the hardest part of the hiring process and they are darn wrong. In fact, the preparation for it is way more important than anything. The interview is like a show; you need to practice and still be ready to improvise when the lights go on!

Interview preparation 201

In my interview tricks, I mentioned 2 very important things: knowing the job and knowing the interviewer. But there is even more to it. In fact, if you can get a “pre-interview” with your interviewer, you can make things even easier.

How do I get a “pre-interview”???

It seems quite hard but in fact, it is easier than having the interview! The trick is to know where you want to work eventually. This could be as close as 3 months away or as far as 1 or 2 years down the road. Once you know where you want to work, find out who the manager of this department is (that’s the easy part ). Once you have found the contact info, pick up the phone and call him… Nah! don’t do this.

This person holds the key to your next job. But you just can’t show up and grab it to open the door. You have to be smarter than that . If you have a good network (thx to my MBA), it shouldn’t be that difficult to find someone who knows that person. Then, you can ask your connection to meet the key person that will become your future manager. A lunch, a conference or a round of golf, anything is suitable to make your first impression.

Because this is what you are looking for: making a first impression before you get your interview. This is what I did this time; I had lunch this summer with the guy who is now hiring. I had the chance to talk to him in a semi-formal situation instead of meeting him for the first time during the interview. This gives you enough time to know what this person is like and better yet if you would like to work for him (I truly believe in the employee-employer match). If you see yourself working for this individual, then you can go further and try to know a little bit more about him. By interesting yourself in someone, you become interesting. Plus, you discover a lot of interesting things! I went through several awesome encounters with this technique.

Know the job part 2

I told you before that if you know the job you are applying for, you are a step ahead of everybody. Well the best way to know about a job that you have never done before is to ask someone who’s doing the job to spend some time with you. This way you get a real inside look at the job and its pros and cons. You become aware of what is acceptable and what’s not.

It gives you the great opportunity to know if you really want to do this job + you are making a connection with someone who’s already doing it. This will greatly help your integration into the team if you are ever selected for the position. When you are accepted by your peers, you will be accepted by your manager. There is one very important thing any manager does before hiring a new face; he thinks about if this new guy will fit into the team. There is nothing more productive than a group of people that get along. While on the opposite side, there is nothing more destructive than when you have discord in a group.

Fingers crossed

Now I am only left with hope of getting a phone call within the next few days. It’s kind of funny as it is the 3^rd time in my life already that I have an interview around Christmas. I guess that the snow makes me want to change stuff in my life once in a while .

As you may already know, I’m a financial advisor by day. While I never discuss my business on this blog, from time to time I give updates about my career evolution. This is why I get several emails from young men and women looking to start their career in this field. In a very few years, I was able to rank among the top performers at work. In my opinion, I don’t do anything extraordinary; I just try to do my job properly. However, there are a few things that I do that most advisors don’t. This is why I decided to share some of my tricks if you want to start your career in the financial industry.

Get titles

I’ll tell you one thing; both employers and clients LOVE titles. They are synonyms of knowledge and professionalism. Two competencies appreciated by your future employers and your future clients. In a world where everybody claims to be THE expert, titles will make a difference in order to prove yourself. Having a CFP title on top of an MBA boosted my credibility. While the latter has nothing to do with my job, the CFP title is a must in my opinion. It gives me the tools needed to make a complete analysis.

Don’t sell

I hate to be sold and you probably hate it too. So would it be so different for a potential client? The difference is that everybody loves to buy. And this is what you need to do. How can you have people buy YOU? (‘cause they are not buying your products or your banner, they first buy into the individual). It’s quite easy to make people buy something; you just have to not sell . What I’m saying is that it is inappropriate to shove the document down the client’s throat to make him sign. Don’t be insistent and tell your clients that they can think about it. Trust me, I used to push a little bit harder on my clients and since learned my lesson. They were signing upfront (I even closed deals on first appointment and within 35 minutes!). But then, I had to meet the clients 2-3 times over the next couple of months because they had more questions. I did this for the first 6 months of my career and have completely stopped. I now let clients think about it and schedule a second and third meeting. They usually sign on the second meeting but they are convinced and happy at that time and they don’t call me back for further “insecurity” questions 2 weeks later . People simply appreciate a pressure free environment.

Be transparent

Are you about to offer a high MER solution to your clients? Or you know that there is a disadvantage in your strategy (nothing is perfect by the way, so there are flaws attached to each investing or financing solution)? Then tell your clients upfront!

I always tell my clients the advantages as well as the disadvantages of each strategy. I also tell them if I make more money with one or the other. Clients appreciate this transparency a lot and they understand that you work for them and not for your pocket.

Talk about needs and not stats

I’ll tell you upfront: most clients don’t care about the beta, about the GDP or about the tactical deviation. The numbers as well as long and sophisticated financial terms bore them. However, they are interested in retiring at 60, or having a “bulletproof” portfolio or saving taxes. And most of them don’t really like knowing the technical side (I always provide them with the technical but never focus on it). I give them 2 documents: One thick and detailed document explaining the technical (and I mention that this is for a rainy Sunday) and another with 5 pages that outline the main benefits of the strategy.

People care about their needs and seek benefits. They don’t care about numbers and definitions.

Follow-up

I’d say that the name of my success is “follow-up”. When a client signs with you, you just don’t close a sale; you enter into a relationship. And this relationship needs to be taken care of by both sides. Don’t wait for your client to call you and ask questions when the market is bad. Call them; send them a newsletter, book follow-up appointments.

A good presentation will get you the deal signed. A good follow-up method will get references which will lead to even more deals signed. And there is nothing easier to close than a warm reference from a satisfied client!

Sir, do you have 45 minutes for a great financial advice?

Dear young advisors or financial advisors to-be, I want to leave you with one last trick. This has been one of my most successful tricks to get an appointment: calling a client and asking him if he has 45 minutes to meet with me in exchange for great financial advice. It’s free and it doesn’t cost anything else but 45 minutes of his life to improve his personal finances forever. Sometimes you can give a major advice that will literally change someone’s financial life while others will get good advice that worth’s thinking about. But I have yet to face someone that I couldn’t improve their finance one way or another.

If you have any questions about getting a job in the financial industry or how to answer interview questions, please comment on this post!

Today I want to discuss a very touchy topic: having a side business (or a blog) on top of your job. Either on this blog or at work, I always get this question:

“How do you manage to have a business on the side and perform at work at the same time?”

And an even an even touchier question follows:

“Does your boss know?”

The first question is easy to answer, in my opinion, as it all comes down to time management (here are some of my best time management tips and also here). Managing a side business and keeping your day job doesn’t require you to work more hours but it requires you to work smarter and more efficiently. But being efficient is one thing, managing both your side projects and a day job while letting your boss know about it is another. Here are a few tips I’ve used in the past couple of years:

Be Honest

In my personal case, this wasn’t an option: I have to declare any side income / project or participation in any company.  If I don’t, I may lose my job. This is why my boss and HR know about my side business. However, even if I had the choice to declare it or not, I would tell them without hesitation. Why? Because it gives me leverage when negotiating. My boss is very aware that I have another immediate source of income. Therefore, I can easily decide to work elsewhere as I can count on my side business income to support my lifestyle in the meantime.

I’ve also noticed that I have gained more respect from colleagues and other managers. They see great potential in me and are impressed by the fact that I can manage 2 “careers” at the same time. So if you are serious about your side project and have started to make a few bucks already, don’t be shy to tell your boss. And if you are afraid of getting fired, just think that it costs a lot for a firm to replace an employee (the cost of not having someone working while they search, the cost of looking and interviewing candidates and the cost of training a new employee).

Productivity

There is one thing that you must be very careful with if you disclose that you have another source of income; make sure you do your day job well.  As cool as it is to impress people by my sense of entrepreneurship, it could also play against me if I can’t deliver at my day job. My sideline would easily become the target of any suspicions such as, when do I find the time to work on it. If I work on my online company while at work and don’t do my day job correctly, I will be asked to stop immediately. This would definitely make sense but still, it is important to be aware of what is waiting for you if you tell the world that you make money on the side.

Mind you, you may have the very same problem if your performance drops after a newborn or getting married. Remember, the corporate world is full of dream crashers .

The fine line

There are a lot of shades of gray between what you should/could/would do when you think of running your own venture on the side while keeping your day job. For example, at no time would  I use/mention/represent my job or my employer on any of my blogs. I made it clear that this is my personal life and that I am not writing as a financial planner or an employee of X Corporation. My employer definitely appreciates this and I certainly want to keep him happy .

The other point to be careful about is to make sure that the compliance department is okay with your activities. You may want to hide it from them but if they find that you did, chances are that you will be packing up your boxes a few minutes later. I would rather sit down with them and ask them what I can and can’t do instead of trying to play hide-and-seek with them.

Finally, you may mention that you are making money on the side to your entourage but don’t start bragging about it. For example, nobody at work knows how much I make and how I make my money online (unless they read this blog, lol!). While I want to be honest, I don’t want to draw too much attention on me either. Finding the balance between independence and showing off is very important. Plus, a little bit of mystery is always more exciting ;-D

Today, I’ll reach the summit of controversy.

I’m going to climb to the top of the highest mountain and yell to the world:

“I’M STAYING IN THE RAT RACE!!!”

Oh boy. By writing this line I almost feel ashamed. It’s like saying: “I’m stupid, I’m well aware of it and even darn proud to be a rat!”. That’s it! After so much effort to tell you that it sucks to be stuck in the Rat Race, I’m taking a big jump into the race…dumb!

Did I change my mind? Not really.

Did I lose my mind? Don’t think so.

I still want to quit my job eventually and become a dot com mogul. However, this won’t happen next year… as my previous plan was designed for… Let me tell you a story:

Back in April of this year, I saw an opening at work to get one of the highest jobs for a financial planner: working in wealth management. This department is like playing for the NHL: you only deal with multimillionaire clients. I got the interview and everything went pretty well. In fact, I know I’m made for this job and it looks that the guy interviewing me was thinking the same… until he asked me the fatal question: What would you do if a similar position opens up in a year closer to home? Mind you, I live 85km (that’s 52.8 miles) from work. That causes some serious lack of sleep.

I thought I was able to deal with it but it’s all BS… it’s been almost 2 years and I’m dead tired now (and maybe that’s because I’m running my online company at the same time ). I was able to do it for a while but waking up at 4:30 every morning has become too much for my brain to support. So this is why I had answered that I would jump on the job and quit this one. Ugh… yeah I knew that I had just shot myself in the foot but I believe in honesty (so naïve! But that’s me!).

So instead of getting the job, the guy arranged for a meeting with the manager in my area. It looked like they were planning on opening a similar position… 5 minutes away from where I live. Can this be? Really? It was like a dream coming true. But the budget hasn’t been approved yet. In fact, the business case was supposed to be presented back in August.

So a few weeks passed and fast forward to October. I just got back from the FINCON11 and I’m more motivated than ever to crush it and make a killing with my online company. At the same time, I speak with the guy who tells me that he didn’t get the okay yet to add the position.

I’m not the kind of dude who waits in line.

I don’t wait until someone calls my ticket number.

I just go directly to the counter and ask to be served.

This is exactly what I did: I told everybody that if nothing happens before my wife is due (we are expecting our 3^rd child in February 2012), I would take a 7 month paternity leave (I told you that sometimes paying taxes is a good thing). I will work on my online business during that time. It wasn’t a threat by all means. It was just the blunt truth. I decided to create 2 “A” plans instead of having a plan B!

Plan A: I score a dream job 5 minutes away from where I live while I continue to grow my company on the side.

Plan A (2^nd version): I get paid 75% of my base income for 7 months while I work my ass off on my blog to make a killing.

After a few weeks, I was starting to make some serious plans about my decision. I started to think about some projects I would start if I could work full time for my online company. I was tired of waiting and was looking at a golden opportunity to jump out of the rat race while being paid to do it. A risk free ticket to financial freedom. How cool is that???

And then, last week, I got a call from “the guy”. He now has his budget to make my 1^st plan A happen. I’ll be meeting with him in a few days for my official interview. I don’t know if I’ll get the job but I know one thing: if I get an offer, I’ll jump on it. I’ll be jumping in with both feet.  Directly into the rat race hole as if I didn’t know that there was a trap beside the piece of cheese!

So did I change my mind? Wasn’t the rat race the worst thing anyone could get stuck in? I still believe it. But let’s face it; I’m a small, little coward and I can’t live with the idea that I am putting my family on the line with my online business.

I would rather make more sacrifices and stay on the path inside the rat race for a few more years… so my kids can go to private school, so my wife can continue to stay at home and take care of them, so I can pay off my debts… so I can live my cowardly life quietly…

The real problem is that I currently make too much to stop (see all the details about my income here). Another problem is that I’m used to this lifestyle inflation. I just can’t quit in a heartbeat. I need to devise a more evil plan to make it happen. At least, I have a plan. But I won’t tell you yet… I’ll wait until I know that I have the job or not .

It hurts, but this sounds like the right choice at the moment. I don’t have blind faith in everything (far from it!) but I believe in destiny. I actually believe that you are the sole designer of your life and the only person responsible for what is happening to you (death is just an overrated myth in my opinion). However, I also believe that we are all given choices or opportunities at different points in time. And sometimes you can push on Destiny’s back to make some opportunities happen. And this is what I did by making up 2 A plans. If you push in all directions, set the rules and then you just have to wait for Destiny’s sign to make your final move. I believe you better listen to it when it happens! So this is why I’m taking a shot at this golden job. My resume has been sent, I’m just waiting…

What do you think? I’m just a coward or am I taking the right path?

Yesterday, I told you that you are able to crush it while watching f*&%ing Lost. But that is obviously easier said than done (anybody remember this fantastic piece Martin wrote last week about a blogging reality check?).

You want more money?

But don’t want to work more hours or get a second job?

I’m totally up with you.

So, how can you make more money by working less? Man… this has been my main obsession for the past 8 years. And I only found the solution 3 years ago! Darn! The trick is quite easy in theory: simply work less . If you have read The 4 Hour Workweek, you know what I am talking about. However, working 4 hours per week is not accessible for most people. It’s more like selling the dream than finding a way that you can actually take some real action to achieve this.

Let’s Start Smaller: How About Working 4 Days a Week?

I seriously think that you and I can get out of the Rat Race and live the life without working much. But let’s be realistic for a moment; this won’t happen this year, next year either… and probably not before the next 5 to 10 years (and this is only if you hustle like an animal!). However, you can improve your position today. How about working 4 days a week and keep your pay check? But be careful, you need to do this slowly, step by step if you want to achieve this.

Step #1 Find an excuse

If you want to start working fewer days in the corporate world, you better have a solid reason to do so. If not, the dream crashers will tell you that it is not possible or that you may want to pursue “other career opportunities” as you don’t fit in here. So you need to find an acceptable excuse to work 4 days a week. With a softer boss, you can try the family/work argument. However, I would only use it if you are 100% certain that you are working in a company where they facilitate and encourage family/work flexibility. Most don’t… yet (sad!).

There are a few other options that are more easily accepted. You can find yourself another sideline project from your current tasks that will improve your department’s productivity or profitability. If you present a clever idea to your boss that will make him look good, there are not many reasons why he would not give you a day/week to work on the project. You can work on cost reduction, productivity, profitability or marketing (making presentations). These are buzz words managers love to hear.

If you are out of ideas, you can also go back to school (that was my excuse). I picked a program where I had to go to class on Fridays so they had to let me go 1 day a week to do something else.

If you don’t want to go back to school and there are no ways you can improve where you work (that’s impossible, by the way), there is another way that will hurt: simply use 1 day of your own vacation to take off each week for 6 weeks or so. This will be enough to build your case study, which is step #2.

Step #2 Build a case study

There are 2 things you must do once your excuse is accepted:

#1 Do all your regular work in a 4 day schedule

#2 Build your case study with facts that show you can work 4 days a week and do the very same job

During a 6 to 8 week period, you will have the amazing opportunity to show that you can work 4 days a week and get all your things done during that time. It is very important that these 6 to 8 weeks are among the best weeks of work you have ever done. You want to show them that your motivation and productivity have increased. In fact, if you are not more motivated and more productive, you won’t make it anyways .

The key here is to force you to think differently. The point is not to work more hours during these 4 days. The point is to optimize your day so you can do your job and still finish at 5pm to head back home.

While you are finding ways to become more productive, keep track of your results and your success. It is important to build a solid business case. If not, your employer won’t listen to you.

Step #3 Don’t be shy to ask

2 months after you made the decision you want to work 4 days a week, you are now ready to make the big jump. Don’t be afraid to ask for a meeting with your boss, to ask for 1 hour of his time. This is when you will show him what you have accomplished over the past 6 to 8 weeks and that you now want to keep that 4 day/week work schedule.

You may think that he will ask you to work on special projects on the 5^th day since you became more productive. This would be the trickiest part. If it happens, you can simply tell him that in order to be fair to your productivity and commitment towards the company, you would ask for a 20% income raise as your colleagues do 80% of what you do. He will obviously refuse, so you tell him that the fair thing to do is to leave you at 4 days a week under the one condition that you will always do the work required in 4 days without complaining, making mistakes or being late.

Step #4 what do you do with that extra day now?

How great is that, you just found a way to reduce your number of hours while keeping the same pay check! What’s next? I’ll tell you in my next article .

In the meantime, I want to know what prevent you from doing this? What is the biggest challenge you are facing to change to a 4 day work week? Are there any? If yes, tell me. If not, take action!

Man…. I remember this like it was just yesterday. Back in my apartment in Montreal, I was just starting my career. At that time, not long after I quit my first job without notice and found my way to another department at the same bank after a few weeks. A year later, I was sitting on my couch on a lazy evening, not doing much. My wife was out for a work meeting and I had nothing to do besides watch the boring premiere of a cheap version of Gilligan’s Island but with a plane instead of a boat… Oh yeah… I’m talking about Lost . At first, I was definitely not sure about this series… and then I got hooked!

Dude! What’s the point of talking about Lost on this blog? Keep reading… you’ll find out

6 awesome seasons later, one per year, Lost ended-up with the best series finale ever in my opinion. That was back in May 2010. During the same 6 years (from September 2004 to May 2010), I did a lot of things:

- I got 4 promotions and went from a 30K annually to a 135K salary in 2010.

- I got married with the most amazing woman in the world.

- I started a 6 figure online business with my best friend.

- I had 2 marvelous kids.

- I got my securities license, Certified Financial Planner degree and my MBA.

- I’ve been able to gather all my friends from different paths (high school, in-laws, university, neighborhood) together each Xmas and now rent vacation properties all together.

- I’ve managed my way to obtain a 4 day/week schedule at my day job and work on my blog one full day a week.

- I’ve made more friends during the MBA program and we still see each other from time to time.

- I’ve gone from a negative net worth to almost $200,000 net worth.

- I’ve learned how to play golf, started a steady workout schedule at the gym and played softball in a garage league.

- I’ve done all this and never missed 1 episode of Lost. In fact, I also got hooked on many other series such as Prison Break, House, Dexter,  etc.

So What’s the Point?

The point is that I did a lot of things that contributed to my financial situation during these past 6 years and still have a life. I am able to be there for my family and friends, all the time.

The point is that I am not better than you, not smarter than you. I just did a few things differently.

And I think you can do the same.

And I’m about to tell you how…. This week

How to Crush it and still have a life

When I was a kid, my financial goal was simple: make $100K per year. I have upped that, added a small modification to that goal:

Make 100K per year while working less than 30 hours a week

I’ve discovered that making 6 figures was not that complicated in the financial world. However, reducing your work hours below 35 hours is almost mission impossible. Why? Because of the Dream Crashers! In the upcoming weeks, I’ll share with you my tricks on how to:

- Reduce your work hours without affecting your salary

- Find time to build a sideline business without ditching your friends and family

- Create activities that will generate money

So tell me what you have a problem with

I already have a pretty good idea of how I will build this series and what will be included in it. But I need to know what your issues are to make sure that I hit the right nails and close the coffin on fears that prevent you from living a better life.

So tell me, what is holding you back? Is it time? Resources? Money? Ideas?

They are everywhere.

They are watching you.

They are closer than you think.

And they are waiting…

To destroy your precious…

They are the Dream Crashers

Nope, it’s not some late Halloween post I wanted to write or a lame parody of Lord of The Rings (hum… my precious….). I’m talking about a sad phenomenon; I’m talking about the guys stuck in the matrix (man… what’s going on with me and all these movie references today !?!).

But seriously folks, I’m talking about people that don’t do things like you do but differently. They will do everything they can so you stop your behavior and get you back in line. You might not get what I’m talking about right now so let me share with you a little story of mine. It’s called…

What the F&*/ do you care about what I’m doing with my life?

I don’t mean to use the F word on this blog but this is exactly how I felt last week after my lunch. I was invited to some “special” lunch with some “special guests” at a “special conference”. All of this because my company wants me to feel “special”… ugh! In the corporate world, it is seen as a gift of a great importance when you are invited to sit with the great rulers of the tribe. I was actually more interested in listening to the conference (as the speakers are usually very sharp) than sharing the peace pipe with the great rulers .

Anyways, we are sitting at the table and eating some green piece of… “something-fancy-I-guess” with 3 slices of tomatoes and 5 pieces of roquette (that’s French salad ) and the conversation begins… Everybody is obviously there to shine and show how great they are (I’m sure you have lived this at work too ).

In these conversations, I always step back and listen to people. I prefer to listen to them and watch how they act then produce my own show. But I’m always get into some discussions because I am fascinating… Nope, I’m not talking about my charisma… I’m talking about the fact that I’m one of those rare beasts who succeed in the corporate world while working 4 days a week…. Worse than that, I  don’t crush 40 hours into 4 days… I literally work 30 hours per week (and to be totally honest, I leave at 3pm on Friday ).

So each time someone brings that topic up and asks me in front of everybody:

“So Mike, how do you like working 4 days a week?”

That’s the signal.

I feel them.

They were closely watching their prey and now they will jump on it and shred it to pieces…

“You work 4 days a week? Really?”

This question is either posed with disgust (as I must be a dumb, lazy ass who doesn’t want to work) or with pity (as I’m not good enough to work 40 hours a week like a “normal, devoted” employee).

Then, they start with more remarks such as:

“Don’t say it out loud, you know that HR doesn’t like this”

“You’re very lucky, I would never let my employees do so”

“I don’t believe in family-work reconciliation”

And my 2 favorites that I heard last week:

“Now that we are opening on evenings and weekends, such arrangements will disappear”

“Imagine how much you could have brought in if you were working that 5^th day”

Both were coming from the same guy who I call the Grand Dream Crasher. In his opinion, there is nothing more important than working and succeeding. Where I see quality time with my family and flexibility, he sees laziness and a lack of motivation.

The dream crashers are pretty good to plant the seed of doubt in your mind. Since you are not doing what the crowd is doing, they will put the spotlight on you and make you doubt your decisions. They will question your actions and beliefs. Most people will stay polite and not say a word. Especially if you have recently started to implement changes in your life (such as eating healthier, working less, starting a side line or a business). It’s because you are doing something they don’t get.

I spend a whole section of my book, Escaping the Rat Race explaining things people don’t get and how to avoid to arguing with them. It’s very important to avoid arguing and explaining as you waste a lot of time and energy doing it and the dream crashers will never quit. Their beliefs in the corporate world are stronger than religious fanatics or Packers fans on Monday night football . Worse than that, they will argue so much with you that you will start thinking that you are doing something wrong instead of simply doing something they don’t get.

The dream crashers will work numerous hours for their employer and they expect the same thing from others. It’s normal as if you want to succeed in the corporate world, you need to work ridiculous hours, be a performer and know the right people. I’ve concentrated in the latter 2 but I’ll never work a lot of hours . Because it’s not worth it, not compared with time with my family and friends. Will you ever regret not staying late at work? I can tell you that you will regret missing your son scoring an important goal at soccer or playing hide & seek with your daughter or simply an intimate evening with your lover. This is what you will miss in the end.

And because you take measures to spend more time with people you like than people that pay you, you are brought down by these dream crashers. They can be co-workers but they can also be members of your family or friends. People usually like the denial stage and they certainly don’t want you to wake them up with your success. This is why bursting your bubble seems like the best option to keep their denial intact.

So what the F&*/ do you care about what I’m doing with my life?

Here’s the key: they should not care that you do things differently but they do. Don’t let people question your choices, especially when you know where you are going. Don’t let the dream crashers put you to sleep again and back in the matrix. You are better than that.

So it’s now your turn to not care and tell them to get lost!

 image credit