10 Quick Tips To Escape The Rat Race

Are you thinking about quitting your job their job to either go freelance or start your own business?

23 years ago, I quit my job as a music industry lawyer, so I know it can be a scary thing to do… especially when everyone around you is telling you it’s crazy to leave such a well-paid job. The first day of my new business career was the first and only time I’ve ever had a full-blown panic attack. I still remember collapsing on the sofa as I was about to leave for my new office and breathing deeply into a paper bag until I’d calmed down.

I’ve had many ups and downs during my entrepreneurial career.

I’ve built a number of businesses from scratch including several 7 and one 8-figure business but I’ve also made lots of mistakes and been through some pretty tough times.

Despite that, I’ve never regretted leaving the law. Being my own boss and living life on my terms is the only way I would want to live my life.

So, if you have a plan to escape the Rat Race, I applaud you.

It takes courage and conviction to stop following the crowd, relying on someone else for a pay cheque and forge your own path in life.

These 10 quick tips will provide you with a little guidance to make sure you can avoid some of the common pitfalls people make.

But before we go into those let me just say:

If you want to truly escape the Rat Race and live a life you love, you not only need to take practical steps to improve your financial position, but you will also need to undo years of conditioning, rebuild your belief system and make a shift from a ‘consumer’ mindset to a ‘producer’ mindset.

To a large extent, all these go hand in hand.

From a purely financial perspective, to escape the Rat Race, you need to create enough passive income to cover all essential expenses and enable you to afford the lifestyle you desire.

You do that by cutting out debt, and reducing all non-essential expenses so you can live within your means.

If you live frugally, scrimp and save, invest very wisely (and continue to live like that forevermore) then you can escape the Rat Race fairly quickly… But that never sounded like much fun to me. It sounds like you would spend your whole time obsessing about how much things cost rather than being joyful and carefree.

The saying goes the best things in life are free but the reality is some of the best things in life are NOT free...

Dreams cost money.

The bigger your dreams the more money you’re going to need.

I always say live within your means. And if you want to enjoy all that life has to offer you, rather than wearing five layers of clothing to reduce winter heat bills and cutting coupons to live within your means, you need to ‘expand your means’.

By that, I mean to increase your income by creating a business that will, after a few years, run on autopilot, create additional income streams, and allow you to invest in a range of passive-income-producing assets that produce monthly cash flow.

That’s what I help people to do via my membership site the Freedom Code but for now let’s dive in.
10 quick tips to steer you in the right direction:

1. Set realistic expectations.

Don’t expect it to happen tomorrow. It is likely to take 3- 5 years of consistent focus and hard work before you can build enough passive income to survive off – longer if you want a luxury lifestyle. But what’s the alternative – another 30 years working at a job you hate?

2. Build a financial cushion so you can leave your job without the pressure of needing to earn to pay bills.

Start by reducing debt and cutting back on unnecessary expenses. You really don’t need subscriptions to five streaming services or membership to that gym you only go to once a month. Earn some extra income part-time and start saving whilst you are searching for your ‘Freedom Business’ idea.

3. Be committed. There is a huge difference between being interested and being committed.

Make decisions based on the information available and stick with what you have decided until it becomes clear you have made a wrong decision. That’s fine. Everyone makes mistakes. The first business idea you try probably won’t be the one that succeeds. That’s normal. Learn from it… And use it to find new opportunities.

4. Don’t try and reinvent the wheel.

The fastest way to build success in business is to model the successes of others – either those who have done something similar in your field or take what is successful, perhaps something in a different industry, emulate it and improve upon it.

5. You must believe you are worth it and you deserve it.

If you have low self-esteem you will find ways to sabotage yourself and your success. You must have a positive self-image, or you will fail.

6. You absolutely must have belief in your abilities.

You have to believe, with great conviction, that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Everything is possible.

As Henry Ford said: "Whether you believe you can or you believe you can't you’re probably right".

7. Be focused on one big goal that really inspires you.

Create a burning desire to achieve it. Do this by writing out a description of your ideal life in minute details - read it every day whilst really imagining what you will feel like when you are living your best life.

8. Create a step-by-step road map.

When you have set your big inspirational goal – something that may take you 5 or even 10 years to achieve, create a road map of how you are going to get there.

Break it down into 5 years, 3 years and 1-year goals.

Decide what you need to accomplish this quarter to keep you on track... and then break it down further into what you need to do this week.

9. Focus on the small actions.

The ones you need to take each day to create the right habits and you will soon start to notice how quickly you are progressing towards your bigger goals without even trying.

As Robert Russell said:

"Habit is God’s way of making good automatic."

10. No man is an island.

It’s tough starting your own business and sometimes friends and family don’t understand and are not supportive. If that’s the case, join a group of like-minded people for support and help and find an accountability partner from that group who shares your ambitions. Hopefully in our Freedom Community, you will find plenty of support to help you achieve your goals.