This Lifestyle Isn't For Everybody

The entrepreneur lifestyle is not for everyone. This is a common theme or process in having your own businesses. Finances are a roller coaster for entrepreneurs. One day you can be up, the next you can be down. This is all apart of the game in the beginning. 4 years ago, when I was 26 years old, I stopped playing sports because I didn't have health insurance anymore. I feared getting hurt and being hit with an enormous medical bill that I couldn't afford. After you turn 26 years old you age out of your parent's health insurance policies. At this time I could not afford health insurance as I was still getting on my feet financially, building my businesses, as well as taking care of my mom and all of our personal problems. During this time, my uncle recently committed suicide, my mom's memory and mental health were declining, my grandma's Alzheimers was getting worse and the weight of the world seemed to be on my shoulders to figure things out.

2 years later I finally got health insurance again and slowly got back into playing sports. I would gradually play games of basketball or football insuring that I didn't overdo anything to limit potential injuries. Another fear of me getting injured was not only the time I would have to spend healing the injury but the time that would be taken away from me working. If I don't work, I don't make money. I am not at the position in my life where I am making comfortable residual income off of my creations yet. Every year for the last 8 years my old work continues to sell but it is not at the point where it's high enough to comfort me during injuries.

Injuries not only cost money in the doctor's office, they also cost money when you can't make the money while being injured. I am a very active person and most of my money comes directly from me being physically active. When I injured my ankle and was told that I had to be non weight bearing for 6 weeks, I knew my finances would plummet. Injuries don't stop the bills from happening. Injuries do not end the phone calls from bill collectors. There are only so many days you can extend a payment. I wasn't too worried because behind the scenes I applied for substantial cushion to help me bounce back and recover. However I knew that the struggle was on its way. I mentally prepared to embrace what was coming.

​This year has been very difficult for me. Before my car caught on fire earlier in the year, I would be fixing a failing part every other week. Every other week I had to spend money fixing a car that I paid off early. I didn't have monthly payments on the car but every time I spent money to fix a part, another one would break the following week, literally. When I was stuck waiting for my Sonata to be fixed in Orlando I had to wait 12 days. This was 12 days of not being able to fully make the money that I was used to making. When I bought my Tacoma, I had to wait 18 days for it to arrive. During that time I was still using my Sonata to try to catch up to the money that I missed out on during the fire repairs. I was hesitant driving the Sonata because fire damage is always risky even after repairs. When I finally got the Tacoma, I was grinding to catch up and get ahead on bills that were behind.

On top of this, I put my mom in an Assisted Living Facility which meant that any little cushion that my mom's SSI money would leave over after bills was no longer there for emergencies. The ALF takes 62% of her monthly money while the mortgage takes the remaining 38%. All of my emergency safety nets were wiped. Every time I would build a cushion, something would happen where I needed to tap into those funds. Survival supersedes a savings account. The saving's account is built for survival moments and to survive, all of my accounts have been maxed. The only account I don't touch is my IRA. That is the longevity account for my future retirement and kids. My biggest lesson from witnessing my parent's experiences is to not just save most of my money but to invest a portion of it aggressively. I invest aggressively into myself and businesses because I have control over my actions and effort. My longterm goal is to be able to survive off of less than 20% of my earnings while saving and investing the other 80%. The 20% that I do survive off of will include the cost to take care of my future family.

Both of my parent's had a traditional savings account and 401k account and they both ended up at zero and negative despite all the typical talk about saving money or the discipline behind saving money. Both of my parents played life way too safe and both ended up with the short end of the stick. You do not gain wealth or financial freedom with a cookie cutter playing it safe mentality. Money that is saved and just sitting in a savings account will disappear quickly. You have to own multiple assets and put your money in accounts that have a chance to grow. Cash alone is not the way especially when your income isn't substantial enough. The stock market is currently down due to crazy inflation but long term, being patient and having money in the market is a good way to grow your dormant funds. With that said, I would never put my last money in the stock market, I will always bet my last and all on me.

​As an entrepreneur, I've been down this road before. My account has been in the negative before, I've seen 0 multiple times in my past. I know these numbers will bounce back stronger than before. One of the perks of being self made and having products that I own is that I can make money off it for the rest of my life. As long as I am alive, I will be able to have leverage and survive off my creations. For the past 30+ days I have been continuing to map out my future. I have been getting all of my mental work done so that when I can walk again, I will be able to attack at levels I've never been able to reach.

When your accounts go negative, use it as a time to really dig deep and focus. These are moments that will help fuel you to catapult to the next frequency in life. This is similar to a sling shot or pulling a rubber band back. After fighting the resistance backwards, you will explode forward the moment you let go.

As I channel my mom's resilience and continue to honor my ancestors, I know my time is coming to turn everything around. I open up in my darkest moments as an example that when you never stop pushing forward, anything is possible. I don't ask for handouts or help because I know the best is yet to come. Even when I am not physically working or bringing in money, I am working relentlessly behind the scenes to make sure things always bounce back. This is all apart of the process. The next step is prosperity.

The time is coming...

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