Chapter 1: The Transformative Power of Writing

In 2019, I made a pivotal choice to start writing online, and it remains one of the best decisions of my life.

Did I achieve instant financial success? Not at all. In fact, I might have ended up losing money initially.

During my first month on Medium, I earned less than a dollar, my articles garnered under 100 views, and the quality of my writing was, to be frank, subpar.

Yet, that first dollar changed everything for me.

It was akin to learning to ride a bike without training wheels; I felt liberated and free to navigate a world of possibilities, unshackled by conventional constraints.

This is the true essence of writing—not the accolades or recognition, but the profound internal shift it brings.

While accomplishments can be fleeting, personal transformation is lasting.

So, what’s the takeaway? Invest your time in your 5–9 alongside your 9–5.

You see, in your day job, you are easily replaceable, whereas your 5–9 is a realm where you are truly irreplaceable.

No one is indispensable in their role; this truth has been starkly highlighted by recent layoffs in the tech sector.

Take, for instance, a former Google employee who woke up to discover she had lost access to all her work tools and emails.

She documented her experience on TikTok (though the original post has since vanished) and found herself without explanation, support, or guidance for her next steps.

The message was clear: laid off, good luck finding your next opportunity—goodbye.

You are merely a statistic on a spreadsheet, and your position is vulnerable to a capricious boss or unfavorable market conditions.

Don't be deceived by enticing perks or flattering words; remember that, in the end, you are just a number.

Harsh as it may sound, if you were to pass away tomorrow, your job would have someone new in place within a week, and within months, people would likely forget you existed.

“Who was Michael again?”

In contrast, what you create in your 5–9 is an extension of you.

You have true ownership there, which can be both comforting and, at times, intimidating.

The knowledge that your side hustle thrives or falters based solely on your efforts is empowering.

While your 9–5 offers no ownership, your 5–9 grants you complete control.

After spending almost six years at my last job and generating significant revenue, I realized I owned none of it.

That was a sobering realization.

All the resources and relationships were transient; I would need to start afresh.

Fortunately, I had cultivated a presence on LinkedIn and built a modest email list, which allowed me to pivot into freelance work and eventually establish my consulting business.

Without that safety net, I would have been completely unprepared, akin to losing everything in a divorce.

Tim Denning once noted that in any job, you may never truly become an owner, leaving you at the mercy of others and exposed to the unpredictability of recessions, layoffs, and pay reductions.

Everything you craft in your 5–9 is a personal asset.

Each article I’ve posted on Medium serves as a digital asset that continues to work for me, even while I sleep.

I can republish these pieces on my own site, ensuring they remain mine.

I have the freedom to reuse, reformulate, and adapt them into new digital products.

Ownership is not merely important; it is everything.

Chapter 2: The Importance of Leverage in Your Side Hustle

The first video, titled "Freedom Comes From Christ - Claim It!" discusses how true freedom transcends societal constraints, urging viewers to embrace their creative pursuits.

When you cultivate a successful 5–9, you are building personal leverage.

This leverage empowers you to make choices about how much you want to work.

Want to reduce your workload? You can do that.

Feel like diving deeper into your projects? The choice is yours.

In my case, no one dictates what I can or cannot publish on Medium; I enjoy full freedom to explore my interests and curiosities.

This leverage enables you to stand firm and assert your boundaries, making you a formidable negotiator.

With sufficient leverage, you can work from anywhere, with anyone, at any time.

You are the architect of your own life.

Establish your leverage first, and then you can construct whatever future you desire.

The traditional 9–5 framework is designed to limit your freedom.

This isn’t just a theory; it is a reality rooted in an outdated model from the industrial era, when most jobs were about clocking in and out on a factory line.

Back then, every hour of labor could be quantified in terms of value.

However, that no longer holds true in today’s knowledge and creative economy.

Here, input does not necessarily equate to output or quality.

True freedom in your work is not something that comes naturally; it must be actively forged.

You need to be unreasonable and fight for the future you envision.

So, invest your energy in your 5–9 and forge a path towards the freedom you've always desired but felt unworthy of.

You have one life—make it count.

The second video, "I Quit My 9-5 Job in Finance for Freedom," delves into the fears surrounding quitting a stable job and the empowerment that comes from taking that leap.

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