Job + Side Hustle

Hey it’s Xavier,

They say the best way to learn lessons isn’t to make all the mistakes yourself but to learn from other people’s lessons.

This will remain as one of my guiding principles in 2024.

Here’s a story so you can learn from my mistakes…

Since 2014, I have been an off-and-on entrepreneur. I got my first taste of entrepreneurship when I was 9 washing cars…then again in high school cutting grass.

At that moment I knew that I would always seek the freedom to make money how, when, and where I wanted. I have always pursued jobs with unlimited time off, remote work, or some level of flexibility in where I work.

This has allowed me to have the freedom to pursue side hustles while I was working a day job.

Now previously I always thought that the only way to go full-time as an entrepreneur was to burn the boats and go full-time.

The pressure would force me to level up and make a full-time income.

This advice might work if you are single but if you have a family you’re failing at your key responsibility…provider!

It’s extremely hard to be a provider if you aren’t already making a sustainable profit in your business.

The other unspoken problem this creates is poor decision-making.

If you need money you’ll do things that don’t align with your long-term outcome. You’ll let that little voice my mentor calls “Lesser Self” run the show.

Life sucks when it’s ruled by that weak terrorist the “Lesser Self”.

I neglected this truth for a long time but I realized how hard it was to pay bills, run a business, be a dad, be a husband, care for my body, and build relationships when I wasn’t in control.

I was in a constant state of fear, and anxiety and overwhelmed by my reality.

I was only one bad day, week, month away from losing it all.

What would that mean for my family, my kids, my wife?

Could my fragile ego take that blow?

It felt like a failure to work a job and side hustle…

I was being conditioned by social media against my knowledge and reinforced by the lesser self who was in control.

(Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.)

P.S. This story is too important to cram into one long email.