Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch
In my previous Medium post I talked about how I sold my BMW for $700 (so sad). I thought this would be the end of my financial hardships. Selling my BMW taught me to not be reliant on one stream of income. This was a concept I understood at a surface level but not fully.
After selling my car I landed a job that allowed me some financial stability, but it was only enough to keep me afloat. To get to work each day I had to walk 1.2 miles at 6am, then board a train by 6:30am, take another bus at 6:45am, then rush across the street to clock in before 7:15am. All of this for a job that barely kept me alive LOL. The work was boring, menial, and the staff was borderline depressing. I can share some funny stories about my experience there in another post.
During my time working there I was doing all I can to learn several side hustles. I did video editing + graphic design when I was home, forex trading anytime I found a decent trade (I sucked at this 😭), sold sneakers, and did random flips on Poshmark or Ebay. This entire process was draining and largely ineffective. Being in a dead end job that barely kept me alive increased the daily pain I was experiencing. I was in a rush to get out immediately and solve my problem. In my second month at the job I got to travel to the UK for a documentary I had been working on remotely since the previous September. While there I shot, explored, and a music video I did motion design for dropped. I felt good, the work I was returning to felt beneath me.
When I got back to work after 10 days of being in the UK, I was riding high for about two days. Everyone was asking about what I did and how were things. I did my best to keep things lowkey. I’m selective in sharing information (even though I’m telling my story on Medium lmaoo). By the third day, all the dopamine from the UK trip had worn off. I was back in my boring reality. Spending 2.5hrs each day, Mon-Friday bouncing from a dirty train, to a packed bus, and walking 2.4 miles roundtrip (12 miles a week). This may be minor to others but this was hell to me. During my bus trips in the morning I found a consistent winning trade set-up on a weird currency pair. I could make $100 on my bus ride over to work (basically what I would make for the day in 20 minutes). Somedays I would I lose the $100 after over trading, I was so desperate to get rich quick. The following week after coming back to work, on my bus rides I was winning consistently and not losing the money. My brother was winning big too, like astronomically big. Seeing what he was making inspired me even more. Then on a Tuesday in the middle of March I made $500 trading in one hour. Before my first break at work I saw $1000 in my trading account.
At this moment I knew I was destined for greatness. For the rest of the week I hovered between $800–900 but I consistently made $100 during my commute to work. In my mind I had some kinks to iron out but the money was there. I did the math.
Why come to work when I can make my daily income (after tax) in one hour. If I did this all day uninterupted I’d at least pull in $300–700 a day.
BIG BRAIN THINKING!
With the theoretical math done I decided to quit that Friday (the 2nd week back after traveling to the UK). On top of this I found out I could drive Uber and they would give me a car. Money problem solved, car problem solved, dead-end job gone! Wow look at God moving so fast.
Four days after quitting my job, my trading account was down to $300. Then by the following week it was down to $50. I still had money saved and I was a soon to be Uber driver. Three weeks later my trading account reached zero, Uber denied me as a driver and I had no clue what to do. My friend got me this freelance gig with Nike and I fixed my issue with Uber. But the end of April was coming and I basically had $10 in my account 😂. The last week of April arrived and I was prepared to face the worst. On the 28th of April I got a deposit to my account for the freelance gig and Uber sent me a notification to finish my registration to start driving. I was blessed! I took the bus to the Uber station got registered, used my deposit to rent a car and started driving Uber that same day. I had rent paid, and a little bit of bread in my pocket. I was good for the moment, at least I thought I was.
For the young Black men that are reading this, I know the pain of financial struggle. Do not make decisions to get rich quick, it will most likely lead to more problems. A few big wins does not ensure long term success. Think big but be practical in your steps to get there. If you are in a dead end job, focusing on building one ☝🏾 additional income first. Ensure that it works and is consistent for at least a few months. Keep the end goal in mind but find pleasure in the incremental increase. If you focus on your suffering, it will only exacerbate it. I will continue this story in another post. Peace and love 🤎🖤.
