Most people are. I read sad story after sad story of people desperately wanting a better life and who want so badly to escape the 9 to 5 grind, but can’t seem to find any real ways of doing so.
How about you?
Do you want to escape the daily grind? Have you found any way to do it that you are actually making any real progress with?
Rat Race Defined
To help you escape the rat race lets start by defining what the rat race and the 9 – 5 grind really is.
Some common dictionary definitions of the rat race include;
Strenuous, competitive wearisome activity or rush – an exhaustive continuous routine of competitive activity – difficult, tiring, repetitive daily routine or activity – a way of life where people compete with each other for money and power
To put it in more applicable terms;
The rat race is a way of life where there is little if any true work-life alignment or balance and where people have little if any freedom and independence while struggling financially just to get by week to week, month to month and year to year without ever really getting ahead in life. They feel trapped in this cycle doing unsatisfying work by compulsion instead of by choice and see no real way to get out yet they desperately want out, they want more freedom, more independence and a chance to get ahead instead of just getting by.
The meaning of 9 to 5 varies somewhat, as does the meaning of rat race, depending upon who you are talking to or where you are getting your definitions from.
In general 9 to 5 refers to working set hours at a job out of necessity rather than choice. A job that is often considered by the employee to be a dead-end job and one they would rather not be doing if they had another way to make a living. This dead-end job produces just enough money to get by but seldom if ever enough to truly get ahead in life. People working the 9 to 5 work for the weekends and get little if any real satisfaction from their workdays which they want over with as quickly as possible, watching the clock every day until they can finally leave. Then they commute home, pass out from exhaustion – get up the following day and repeat the process day in and day out always hoping for a better life.
The actual hours are not always 9 to 5 either. It just means working a repetitious job on a daily basis usually 5 or even 6 days per week. A job that is done out of perceived necessity and not by free choice.
How You Can Escape
Start by changing your mindset.
The truth is that you DO HAVE A CHOICE!
Get that through your head loud and clear right now. I know you have been conditioned all your life to believe otherwise, but the truth is that you are NOT trapped and you can exit the societally conditioned 9 to 5 daily grind, rat race way of life anytime you choose to do so.
But it is a CHOICE that you must make and nobody else can make it for you.
Start with that base understanding and then we can build upon it. Next, I want you to realize that debt and living a life with expenses that are beyond what is necessary and beyond your means is a major mechanism of applying pressure to you to keep following the program.
Therefore another thing you need to do is look closely at your personal finances and start intentionally managing your money better. Start shedding crap that you do not need and that you can not afford. The less debt and the fewer expenses you have the more freedom and independence you have. You may want to check out my eBook “Extreme Debt Elimination” and check out Dave Ramsey for more in-depth ways of changing your personal financial situation in major ways.
Choose the Right Work for You Right Now
You still need to work to earn money to live on. That is reality. So forget they shiny object nonsense promising you a laptop location independent lifestyle instantly with little to no work, no skills, and no knowledge required bull. It’s not real either.
But go ahead and try it anyway if you must…
I know what it feels like to have that burning desire to make it big and make it fast. So go ahead and try it. What’s the worst that can happen? You burn up a little more time and spend some more money you can’t afford to lose. So what. So long as you don’t do something really stupid like “investing” thousands of dollars of borrowed money into some ripoff scheme or scam – then the most you will lose is a few more weeks or months of time and a few hundred dollars or so. Then you will know for yourself one way or the other.
Who knows, maybe – just maybe – you will be one of the rarest of rare success stories who mages to pull a rabbit out of a hat and who makes it big overnight from some “Internet Secret” or another – but I doubt it. If you find something like that that really does work – then by all means – please share it with the rest of us!
On the other hand, if it doesn’t work out like you hope it will, then come on back and let’s get to work on something real. Something that will absolutely work for you if you do the work.
What is real is Income Production Opportunities that can help you make more money in more ways that are of your own choosing and that are in alignment with what you will find more satisfying and fulfilling kinds of work.
This is true for your side business or businesses and for your primary income source – or job too.
It is still going to be work. It is still going to take effort and it will be challenging. But you can choose work that better suits you, brings you more satisfaction and more control over your own life and that helps you start getting ahead instead of just getting by.
Once you get that – and once you start applying these principles and making progress then you can take that as far as you wish – as far as your personal drive, unique skills and abilities will take you. Where that is you must decide for yourself.
Maybe it is that elusive “laptop lifestyle” laying on a beach somewhere running your empire from anywhere in the world you like. It is possible, and many people do achieve their own versions of that way of life. Just not instantly and certainly not without having to work their butts off first to get there. Want it? Then do the work and see what you can accomplish!
Whether you want that or more modest improvements in your life, the starting point is the same. It begins with you making a decision that you want something different, then changing your mindset and changing the actions you take daily so that you can start making real progress on an ongoing basis from now on.
Primary Work Choice
Evaluate what you are doing. Is there a way to make it more enjoyable and or more productive for you right now? If so then do it. If not, and if you are really unhappy there start looking for a better job. You may have to take some online classes, read some books and or take some actual live classes to learn some new skills so you can get that better job.
Start with that. Make sure whatever you are doing as a primary income production source – and for most people that will be a job of some kind – make sure it suits you and you enjoy the work and that it can produce the level of income you need while you build a better life.
Next, you will need to consider additional income production opportunities. Some people call it a side hustle, others a part-time business – it doesn’t matter what you call it so much as it matters that you get started and start making additional income from sources that YOU control. Money that is in addition to the money you make from your primary work or job.
Additional Income Production Opportunities
There are multiple proven ways for you to make more money with business opportunities that you control. The key is for you to select the ones that best suit you and then LEARN what you need to know to start making money then DO THE WORK necessary to start getting results. Then keep learning and keep working to dial it in and make more and more income over time.
There are NO SECRETS!
That is the secret I suppose, if there is such a thing. The secret is there are no secrets – just stuff you do not know yet, and that you have not done yet. Learn the things you need to know then do them and keep doing them on an ongoing consistent basis and you will start getting results. That is a fact and that is reality. It is also going to be WORK. It will not be easy and it will not always be as simple as some would like you to believe either. Yet what you need to know can be learned, and you will get better at it over time with practice and you will achieve your own success – if you really try – and if you keep after it and do not give up and quit.
Most people will quit. That is a hard cold reality.
It doesn’t matter what most people do or what they will do. All that matters for you is what YOU will do. Will you do what you need to do to get that better life you seek – or will you be like everyone else that just makes excuses and quits?
Only you can decide that for yourself.
If you decide that you are ready willing and able to do better then here are some Income Production Opportunities for you to consider;
- Choose a Better Job – If you truly hate whatever you are doing now then find a way to replace it with work that you can enjoy more while you also start building your own Income Production sources that you control on the side. There are many different opportunities out there. All you need to do is find just one that works for you. You may even consider becoming a professional Truck Driver – if you want a serious and immediate lifestyle change. This is NOT for everyone though! So research it and consider it – if it is for you then go for it! If not – then just find something else that is and that appeals to you which will also allow you enough income and free time to start building your own side businesses too.
- Part-time Job – I know. It’s NOT what all the gurus preach and it’s not very appealing. Yet it can be a very powerful way for you to build up money that you can use to change your life in big ways. To start with you can use the additional money you earn to build up some emergency reserve funds, and some savings. That gives you more confidence and more peace of mind. Next, you can use it to invest in your own education and in tools and resources that will help you start generating additional income passively and semi-passively.
- Start a Partime Service Business – Cut grass, clean gutters, do pressure washing, haul appliances and install them, do minor handyman type services like installing TV mounts, storm doors, doorknobs and related. Check your area – you may need a license for some of these activities or maybe not – depending on what you choose and where you are. Either way, if you are driven and motivated to succeed it can become a lucrative side business that can be used to fund the growth of itself or use your revenue to launch and grow other business opportunities.
- Blog and Website – You need to consider selling products and services online. This is where real money can be made actively, semi-passively and even that much sought after passive income. To make any money at it you will need an online presence that can be monetized and a good way to do that is, to begin with, a website and a blog of your own. Even a brick and mortar or service business still needs a website. You can start learning what you need to know for FREE right HERE. There are numerous ways to make money with a website/blog – but you can’t make a single dollar that way until you HAVE a website and a blog of your own!
- Your Own Shops and Stores – You can start selling products on eBay and or start an Etsy shop of your own. You can also start a Shopify store (or stores) and sell all kinds of products. Each of these has its own benefits and own limitations as well as its own rules, which you can learn over time once you decide to pursue one or the other.
- Online Courses – It has never been easier than right now for you to develop and launch your own online courses! Chances are almost certain that you have already gained some kind of experience and training in life that other people want to know about. If you can put that into courses that are appealing to them then you can sell courses and produce income that way. The more courses you have and the better they are the more income you can produce. Start with Udemy and then grow your online course business from there. You can check out some of my courses as an example HERE.
- Flea Markets, Yard Sales, Craft Fairs – There are all kinds of ways to sell all kinds of products directly and in person. You can make and create products of your own, or you can source and acquire existing products from multiple sources and then resell them for profit.
- Become an Author – thanks to Amazon and the internet there are no more gatekeepers in your way! You CAN write a book or better yet, write multiple books and eBooks and sell them online. While it is unrealistic and unlikely your first few books will become a bestseller and make you wealthy (though that does happen every now and again…) it is highly likely that you can make some money from your work. You can also use your books and eBooks to build your authority and to get additional sales of your other products such as online courses and affiliate sales as well as other ways to monetize other things you do.
- Become a Partime Real Estate Agent – That’s how I got started as an agent years ago, and I made tens of thousands of dollars over the years – PART TIME. I also used it to learn as much as I could about real estate in general, real estate investing and sales overall. Lessons learned that continue to serve me well today and you can do the same thing if you choose!
- Real Estate Investor – Though it is not as simple or as easy as many gurus would have you believe – real estate investing is indeed a real income production opportunity. Beware though – it will require extensive education and learning new things if you want to be successful, and making mistakes through trial and error is an expensive and painful way to learn! Lucky for you – the internet and the wealth of information available to you through it and through countless books and eBooks can get you up to speed enough so you can get started relatively quickly if you decide real estate investing is for you.
I hope this gives you some things to think about and consider.
While there is nothing that is right for everyone there is always something that is right for you. You just need to find a place to get started and the start. It really is possible to start building a better life for yourself and for you to escape the rat race – the 9 to 5 – or whatever you choose to call it. You can have a better life. You can start getting ahead instead of just getting by. But you have to choose it.
You have to make a decision that you want it bad enough to get up and start taking action on a daily basis to change your life. You have to be willing to do the work and keep doing the work.
What have you got to lose?
Find and choose some Income Production Opportunities that work for you and get started today!