Id like to share my experience on how i’ve been able to achieve my dream at 26 years old.
I come from an average middle class family and was fortunate to have a father who showed me that you can start from the bottom and work your way up in a company by working harder than everyone else. His favorite quote he still tells me to this day “if you want to be noticed, be the first one in and the last one to leave.”. He is now the CEO of a national company that he has been working at for 25+ years. He still goes in at 5:30am and leaves at 6:00pm everyday. He says he does it because he loves it.
Ive watched him do this my whole life and THOUGHT I wanted to be like him, even got my degree to work in the same industry for his company. But when I was in college it hit me, everything that I actually love to do and am interested in does not offer a realistic career path that would provide for a future family. I realized im stuck working for the rest of my life just to get by and maybe support my hobby’s if I have time.
During my last semester in college I was working for my dads company hating life. Im also very introverted, hate attention, and felt super awkward being the boss’s son. A few months before I was to graduate they offered me a position as I expected…. I saw what my salary would be and immediately got excited thinking about how id easily be able to support my family and my hobbies/interests. But I was still stuck on the fact that I didn’t like the work and hated the environment even more.
This is when the solution dawned on me. I just needed a way to support my family and personal hobbies AND just as importantly something doesn’t take up 90% of my time, as thats what truly matters to me and makes me happy. I began thinking if I could land a remote position at a company id at least have more control over my personal time.
So I denied the offer to work for my dad’s company lmao and shortly after secured a remote position for a smaller company within the same industry. Plus they paid more .
This decision turned out to be the best decision ive ever made. Been working remotely for this company for almost 2 years making 80k+ and on average I only do actual work for about 5-15 hours a week. I get the work done thats asked of me so I don’t feel bad. The rest of the time on the clock is spent in my garage doing what I love working on my hobby ️
TLDR: Thought I was doomed to work doing things I hate for the rest of my life. Took a chance, now I make good money working 5-15 hours a week.