Thursday, March 23, 2023
I Quit 2 Years Ago - 10 Lessons I’ve Learned
January 24, 2023 Newsletter.
I read a stat that said 46% of workers planned to leave their job in 2023. That is a STAGGERING stat and while it won’t happen, it shows the era that we’re in. My audience tends to be 35-45 year old six figure employees who feel stuck. Probably a big chunk of that 46%! In this weeks’ newsletter, I want to share what I’ve learned from the other side - the ‘after the leap’ lessons - in no particular order. Snag the one that hits you hardest and tag me in an Instagram story.
LESSON 1 - FIND YOUR ‘PASSION PAIRING’
For those that struggle with ‘what would I do if I left’, most often we’re worried about us. What would I do? How would I make enough money? I learned that the real question is ‘What do others need from me?’. I use a formula I call a ‘Passion Pairing’ when someone is unsure of how they can quit their job. It goes like this:
What You Love + What You’re Great At = VALUE
Notice the solution to the equation. When you combine your passions and gifts to get a return, it’s a hard road. When you combine them instead to determine how you serve, you create value which in turn creates a return.
LESSON 2 - AUDIENCE ATTENTION PREVENTS BANKRUPTCY
Playing off of lesson 1 a bit, when you are in service with your real estate company or roofing contracting firm or online course and create value, audiences notice. They start to trust you and feel connected to you. When that happens, you’ve captured the most valuable asset possible - attention. Brandon Turner said to me once ‘if you can hold an audience's attention, you’ll never go broke.’
LESSON 3 - PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU’RE ASKED ABOUT
If the Passion Pairing doesn’t land for you, maybe this will. A business is simply the answer to the most frequently asked question you get. ‘How did you quit at 42 making $400,000’ was a daily question and still is. I love talking and I’m great at inspiring people - so combining those two gives me the chance to add value. Emerge Supercharged is one business that helps people get out of an unfulfilling job. My Mid-Life Entrepreneur Mastermind is a new business with a wait list now for those looking for a more personal high end experience and push. I get asked a lot about podcasting - stay tuned for a new business venture there.
LESSON 4 - STOP WASHING YOUR DISHES
The gift of having a W2 is that you have revenue to fund the value-add venture you are launching or scaling. I get the question ‘how do you balance family, job, side hustle, etc’ to which I always answer with a question - ‘are you still washing your own dishes?’. When you give up the paycheck, you’re going to truly understand the concept of being ‘dollar productive’ with your time. I can earn as much as $10,000 for an hour of work. I don’t do ANY household work - none. You shouldn’t either. Your W2 income should be repurposed to hire out food prep, lawn maintenance, house cleaning, food shopping - anything that’s not dollar productive. This is something you want to embed in your budget and being before quitting.
LESSON 5 - SOCIAL MEDIA HAS INFINITE ROI
Some of you are going to eye-roll and skip to the next lesson. That’s like me writing out a stock tip where you can have shares of a company for free that generates you enough cash flow to quit your job. If you bought into Lesson 1-3, then you have to explore building a brand, documenting your journey, serving others. This is how you can ask that most common question in the most effective way. And if you’re posting content and saying ‘but i’m only getting like 300 view on my Reels’, reframe that. If I told you there’s a stage right now for you get on with 300 people in the audience, would you scoff at that? You’d probably be nervous!! Lastly, learn how to monetize your brand. Some say ‘I don’t have enough followers’. How many do you need to monetize? 100,000? Does a switch turn on? The truth is, if you can’t monetize 100 followers you can’t monetize 100,000.
LESSON 6 - THE UNRECOGNIZED HARD ASSET
Buy a piece of real estate or a business and let it provide you ‘passive’ cash flow. That means you can step away for a bit and the business will run, but you’re still dedicating 10-15 hours a week to ensure you’re ‘passive’ income flows. These hard assets are widely accepted but the one that is the same (10-15 hours a week, you can step away for periods of time) is your brand. Investing in my brand provides more equity than any of the 10 apartment buildings I’m a general and limited partner in.
LESSON 7 - IT’S NOT ABOUT HARD WORK…
It’s about what you work hard on! Pareto’s Principle says 80% of the results are from 20% of the effort. My most successful runs as an entrepreneur is when I am not distracted by the 80% tasks that generate 20% of the result. This newsletter, for instance, is a 20% task. When I see the economy changing, uncertainty in the market but still 46% of the workforce wants to quit, it’s my duty to add value leveraging my Passion Pairing by giving more to all of you. More lessons, more highs and lows, more inspiration, more content. When you serve relentlessly, that’s working on the 20% tasks that will generate 80% of your results.
LESSON 8 - MORE FOCUS MEANS MORE INCOME
This is one I still struggle with. I have multiple streams of active income that are all 6 figures. Some need to go away. That’s scary as hell, but I’ve seen in spurts when I truly focus in on one thing, my income actually increases. This means putting down, systematizing, hiring out the things that divert your focus from the most high leverage activity - which is also the thing you LOVE doing more than anything else. Hint - podcasting is mine!
LESSON 9 - EMAIL SUCKS
In my old job, email was essentially everything I did. It was the catch all. I could simply spend a day replying to, forwarding, reading, sending and digesting email. When I quit initially, that went away! Then, I built it back into my day-to-day. The beauty of being on your own is you can hire that out where I couldn’t in my day job. It wasn’t an approved company position for me to have an executive assistant. For $6/hour I have someone taking all of my inboxes and managing them. It’s not perfect, but it’s way better than me doing it!!!
LESSON 10 - 10X IS EASIER THAN 2X
The book by Benjamin Hardy based on a Dan Sullivan principle comes out in May. I have an advanced copy and it is life changing! When you’re looking to 2X results, there are multiple possibilities. But when you set the target to 10X, the scope narrows. The focus is clear. Jason Drees is my performance coach and he would call that ‘aiming at your impossible target’. The concept is the same and powerful. When you understand that 10X is a qualitative metric, not quantitative, this entire principle creates incredible focus and balance in your life.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
#1: Serve Others
When you’re stuck trying to determine how you’re going to get out of your day job, reframing your approach to what you can give instead of how you’re going to get will create clarity and personal satisfaction. Leverage the Passion Pairing, pay attention to what you’re asked all the time, and provide value to the audience that you determine has the need for what you provide and you accelerate your exit.
#2: You Can Hide at Your Job
You can’t as an entrepreneur. You need to be viciously disciplined at spending time on dollar productive activities. I still struggle with this but have been able to sustain 2 years out of a job and there’s no going back! Your day job sends the check whether you spend 3 days this week distracted and getting behind. Your check comes when you put down all the stuff that doesn’t produce income and focus in on your 20% tasks that do - either directly or indirectly.
#3: You’re Not Alone, But You Need To Be Intentional
There are as many people that want to quit their jobs as there are that don’t. You’re not strange, although you’ll be treated that way if/when you share your ambitions. Within that 46% of people who want to leave, the vast majority don’t take any action. They dream and they judge those like you that are taking action. Be intentional with who you surround yourself with. That’s why I have Emerge Supercharged (February 7 class is on sale now - $1,500 or 2 payments of $799). There’s curriculum and content, but the people that truly get how to leverage it dive into the network. They connect with other like-minded members and form friendships. They create a space where their ambition can be celebrated. 99% won’t invest in something like this while simultaneously spending way more in the next 8 weeks on drinks with co-workers and dinners out to numb the pain of the day job. You want to be one of those 46% that follow through, be intentional with your network.
QUICK HITS
Tribe of Millionaires Podcast Episode
✯ To transcend your 2023 vision, I shared a key lesson from Brandon Turner, Dr. Richard Shuster and Preston Smiles on Tribe of Millionaires this week. This episode is designed to speak to identity shift and elevated consciousness. Deep subjects so I’d encourage you NOT to multitask while listening.
A Podcast/Book I Love
✯ I recently re-read Tribe of Millionaires - the book that is the namesake for the podcast and also is core curriculum for (and included with) Emerge Supercharged. Quick read and it’ll give you clarity on key takeaway #3 above.
Lesson from Living Abroad
✯ Your environment matters. For some, the idea of living abroad doesn’t move the needle. For me, moving abroad specifically to the Dominican Republic because of the weather, amenities, culture, language just spoke to me. Here’s a photo of me writing this newsletter upstairs in our house. Hanging with my two pups with windows open, a cool breeze flowing through, blue skies and some music in my ears - I love it here. It inspires me to continue on my 10x journey. If you’re dreaming of that tropical island life, or whatever, know that it’s as good or better than you imagine.
Shit I Find Funny
✯ My wife and I have been learning this about ourselves. Relevant to you and your spouse? 😁
If you want to work with me and become a mid-life entrepreneur, here’s three ways you can do that!
1. Follow me on YouTube. We’re about to blow up that channel and have already put together great content to help you get unstuck. It’s totally free and will be tremendously valuable for you to learn the lessons of becoming a mid-life entrepreneur and avoid the same mistakes I made and continue to make!!
2. Join Emerge Supercharged. This is where I can help you get clarity, build confidence and leverage the community to get yourself out of your day job. It’s the exact cadence I followed and the exact process I learned to quit my $400,000/year job inside of 2 years! I had to fumble around to learn these processes and it still took me less than 24 months - so the possibilities for you are insane! We’ve had dozens quit their day job in the last 2 years and many more are on deck for 2023!! You can get into our 8 week Accelerator with full access to the community for that time for just $1500. Try us out and let us support you on your journey to lifestyle freedom!
3. Come to The Dominican Republic. Our January 2023 Mid-Life Entrepreneur Mastermind in Punta Cana is SOLD OUT! I am taking applications for a second event I plan to host in the late winter/early spring so fill out the form and get on the waitlist for the upcoming announcement! This is a fully immersive, in depth, luxury experience designed to push you beyond your limits and get you unstuck. If you’re feeling that sense of urgency to live your life purposefully before more time slips away, this is the best experience I offer and it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Until next week
-Jamie
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