How I finally escaped the rat race (for good)

It was 7 years ago.

Back in 2018.

This wasn’t just the start of a new job.

I had finally been given my ticket out of the rat race.

For years, I thought the only way to escape mediocrity and get digital freedom was through a business.

But this new job looked like it was going to give me everything I truly wanted:

• A six-figure salary

• Ability to work from home

• Freedom to travel the world

• And even equity in the company

This wasn’t a job. It was a business opportunity.

For years I had floundered…

Struggling to take an online business off the ground:

Dropshipping, ecom, sales, web development, bookkeeping, ebooks, and more.

You name it, I tried it.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to start my own thing.

Maybe I could get the freedom I was after by working alongside a founder.

Well, a few months into the job, it turned out I was given another carrot to string me along.

I was promised all the things I wanted in my own business…

To work when I wanted, travel when I wanted, make more money than ever, and do it all from my laptop.

But none of that ever happened.

I was told I would just have to come into the office for just 2-3 months.

And work a labor role temporarily.

THEN I would be able to shift to “laptop work.”

THEN I would be able to work from home.

THEN I would be able to set my own hours.

THEN I would be able to travel the world.

THEN I would be able to become a business partner.

3 months goes by.

The conversation wasn’t a “no.”

It was a “not yet.”

6 months goes by.

“Not yet”

9 months goes by.

“Not yet”

It was at this point I realized…

I’ve been fooled.

But, it wasn’t the first time I was promised freedom as an employee.

This was the same pattern over and over again.

Turns out I was the fool.

Thinking I would somehow be able to set my own hours, vacation when I wanted, and work whenever I wanted… all while working a 9 to 5.

I was wrong.

So at the 10 month mark, I did it.

I finally decided enough was enough.

And I wasn’t going to sit back and wait for someone else to “grant me” the freedom I was after.

I decided it was finally time to put my big boy pants on and make my dream life happen whether my boss was in or out.

Because at the end of the day, I realized no one is going to work as hard as you will at giving you the life you and your family desire.

And staying an employee would never bring the freedom I was after.

I needed to build my own business. It was the only way out.

It didn’t matter if I got that 3% raise every year. I knew I would still be “time poor” working a soul-crushing job.

So, in January 2019, I decided to take one more shot at this online business thing.

I went back to the drawing board.

Dozens of business ideas.

Most of them crossed out as failed plans already.

But there was one I kept skipping over:

Freelance writing.

I heard you could make six figures per year in just a few hours a day with this.

But I despised writing (because high school academic writing ruined it for me).

But…

I had no other feasible option.

So I went all in.

Bought all the books.

Bought the courses.

Started waking up early before my 12 hour day job to write.

Listened to podcasts and audiobooks on my drive to work.

6 weeks later, I landed client #1.

Then client #2.

Then client #3.

3 months into my copywriting journey, I did it.

I decided to officially pull the plug on my 9 to 5.

7 months in, I hit $5,000/month.

12 months in, I hit $9,000/month.

Since then, $10,000-$15,000 months.

In just one year, I went from living off broken promises as a hopeless dreamer…

To living my dream life where I achieved every promise I made to myself:

• More than doubled my salary

• Set my own hours

• Wake up when I want

• Work when I want

• Travel the world

• Retired my wife

• Provide for my family

• Do something I love

And most of all, finally start tapping into my potential.

Looking back in those moments at my last 9 to 5…

Those early, dull mornings when I would drive my 1.5 hour commute to work.

In rainy, gloomy Vancouver, Canada.

I would often stare at the people driving beside me.

Their depressed faces. Trapped in this metal prison slowly drifting down the highway.

The expression in their faces… of these 40, 50, 60, and 70 year olds…

On their way to their self-induced trap.

I saw my future.

What it would become if I didn’t make a change.

I knew that if I didn’t do something, that would be me one day.

Old, sad, and with years of regret.

And, so I did something about it.

I took a chance on myself.

A chance on my dreams.

A chance to give my wife her dream life.

And my children the future they deserve.

And now, here I am…

On a one-month Italy trip to celebrate mine and my wife’s 10 year anniversary.

Typing this from a co-working space in Florence.

The 86 degree sunshine is beaming across the room.

Violins are playing sweetly in the background over the speakers.

My wife and two young daughters are about to wake up from their afternoon nap (otherwise known as “riposo” in Italian).

And I get to write words that have the power to transform peoples lives.

…And get paid thousands of dollars to do it.

Just remember, it’s possible.

You can escape your 9 to 5.

You can escape your commute to work.

You can escape the rat race.

You can escape an office job that’s eating away at you.

You can escape lost potential.

You can escape the 2 week/year vacation cap.

You can escape someone else telling you when you need to work, what you need to wear, how to live your life.

And you can trade that all for your dream life.

If you’re tired of waiting for someone else to grant you freedom, I can show you how to take it for yourself:

Click here to get started.

Brandon “Q4 starts in 10 days” Storey