If we don’t work hard to break free from the trap of exchanging time for money, five years later, we will find ourselves in the same position, blaming the government, blaming society, blaming capitalism, but still poor.
We can only stop being poor when we look ourselves in the mirror and say, “I take full responsibility. Yes, I was born without connections, without money, without skills, but it’s up to me to change all that.
I can learn new skills, I can network and meet people who can help me, I can find ways to leverage and invest the little money that I have, I can invest in myself and learn more. It’s all up to me.
When I came to Canada, I worked for many years as a janitor, as a busboy, and in many other low-paying jobs for low-skilled immigrants. But I always knew those jobs were only temporary. I always knew that I had to get out of the time-for-money trap.
I invested in myself, created businesses, invested in real estate, invested in the stock market, and today I can harvest the fruit of my labor in the form of dividend payments.
I still work for money, as a photographer, I get paid by the hour or by how many photos I take. However, photography is not my main income; my main income comes from the dividend checks I receive every three months.
Looking forward, we have two new projects for 2024 where we will not be exchanging time for money.
- We got into the event organizing business, we created Solopreneurs Montreal where we will be hosting a monthly networking event. With time, the revenue of this venture could double, triple, or quadruple. We are also writing a book on entrepreneurship. We put all the work upfront and collect the rewards later.
- We will continue investing in the stock market. Last year, we had a net worth increase of over 10%.
We have to take action
If we want to break the cycle of exchanging time for money, we have to think of activities that we can leverage to increase revenue without doing additional work. We should be able to make money as we sleep and make money while we are on vacation.
If we lived in a fair society, people who work 40 hours a week would get fairly compensated and would have a good standard of living. But we don’t live in a fair society.
My job is to inspire those who want to get out of the system, create their own businesses, and leverage them in a way that can produce enough wealth to escape the dollar-per-hour trap.
We have to change from a victimhood mentality to an empowerment mentality. I can’t change the world, but I can adapt how I respond to the world. We have to take control of our financial destinies rather than passively accepting.