by Stevie Swai
Well hello. And how in the world did you fall down this rabbit hole? Welcome, welcome to my wacky and wonderful world. I’m glad you’re here. This is my first blog post on this new website–hopefully the first of many in which I will share my journey, filled with drama, loss, gains, risks, dumb mistakes, white lies, and a little BS as I’ve navigated life, worked like a loon and lost my shorts in the stock market.
So who am I? No one really. A goofy, self educated, middle aged entrepreneur type who has made a living in about 12 different ways, doing anything and everything to keep from having a real job and as far away as possible from the corporate American death trap. Now don’t misunderstand me – there’s nothing wrong with corporate jobs, higher education, and living within a super structure; they’re just wrong for me. Totally wrong.
Why? Hell, I don’t know. I wish I did at times, especially those times when I found myself wrapping quarters to buy gas and re-using coffee grounds to the point the water was running clear. I could come up with all kinds of reasons I suppose, but I think the most honest reasons is that I just don’t like being pinned down AND I despise the idea of working my ass off to make other people rich. Oh, and I really loathe asking anyone for permission to do something important, like going to my grandma’s funeral. More on that later 😉
That probably sounds a little rebellious and entitled doesn’t it? My parents thought so. “That’s just life; that’s just the way it works”, they would tell me about working in the real world. “Suck it up, you have no choice” is really not something I have ever been able swallow very well and as I have learned over the past 30 years, we don‘t have to. We always have a choice. We may have to sacrifice something for the choice, but the choice is there none the less.
And during those 30 years of not doing anything the conventional and safe way, I’ve managed to live without public assistance and unemployment. I have earned and been gifted large sums of money and lost the same and then some and survived it. And now, although I’m far from being wealthy, I’m super happy and feel extraordinarily free and I hope to be a champion for you should you have the audacity to take the same challenging and invigorating path.
So I guess in short, I hope to connect, through this blog , with the rebels and free thinkers; the drop outs and hard workers; the visionaries and risk takers; and, of course, anyone else who wants to indulge in my bumblings. I hope to have a lot of fun with you and with this new venture. See you soon!!
Hi,
As I said am catching up on my reading….hope you are discussing my little idea with scott. Am similar in mindset to you but with the difference of having entered the corp world….barely surviving and finally escaping it. Have gone through similar periods and situations like you have….made bunch of mistakes…and still am. However, I now know what I want to do and what I don’t…still think that working with friends and making money is possible and that the end game is to ‘ retire’ and achieve ultimate freedom….freedom from chores and people you don’t like …freedom to do what you want and when it suits.
Hope to meet you sometime and perhaps start a new adventure …
Best,
Aamer
Yes, we are discussing your ‘not so little’ idea 😉 I do like what you have floating around in your head. And it is certainly possible to make money with friends. In all of my adventures, my clients became my friends or my friends became my clients. We can meet through skype sometime once we get our cameras in place. Would be nice to finally put faces with names.
Ideas are always small….it is us who tend to enlarge them beyond control. Always happy to Skype ….not sure you want to see my face.
However, if there is interest am happy to make my way over ( grab a few shake shacks on the way ) and discuss and answer any questions. Really think we can do something good here both in terms of success and also working together on a project that can be fun. I actually think there is a lot to be done….whilst preserving the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom of working for one self.
But let me know if Skype is the way to start ….
Best,
Aamer