Best Business Idea #6 - Rise and Grind

Sunrises and sunsets are perfect times to grind away

Do you have big dreams of financial success, and perhaps even early financial independence? Do you ever find yourself working extremely hard to improve your life financially, only to find your progress slow and easily negated by external circumstances? If you're scratching your head, wondering why you're not getting where you want to go, then I have a secret that will change your life.

Many people who are not making forward progress with their finances are struggling simply because they aren't working hard enough. Now, you may protest that you work fifty to sixty hours a week with an hour-long commute each way. In which case, I'd counter-protest:

• Are you working a second job?

• Are you cycling to work?

• Do you always make your own coffee at home?

• Do you eschew, rather than chew, avocado toast?

• Do you wait at least three years between vacations, which you select solely because of their affordability?

• Do you work nights and weekends on your side business?

• Have you invested at least sixty percent of your gross income since you were fifteen?

• Do you spend countless hours clipping coupons?

If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, move along, for I have nothing to teach you. If, however, you answered "no" to any of them, this life-changing secret is for you. And the secret is this: The only path to success is to put yourself through unfathomable misery. Don't believe me? Can you even think of one thing you wouldn't mind doing that would earn you the kind of money you want? I didn't think so.

This secret of unfathomable misery is not just for those looking to climb the financial ladder. Muhammad Ali famously said "I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." Here is a man who understood what is basically a fundamental law of physics—you must suffer to succeed.

So Rise and Grind, baby. Get to work before the sun is up, and don't you think about stopping until long after the sun is down. Want to spend more time with your kids while they're still young? There will be time for that when they've grown up! Want to have daring adventures in unfamiliar lands? After a decade or two of suppressing your adventuresome tendencies in favor of ramen noodle meals at home, a day trip to the nearest big city or beach will seem like enough adventure for a year. This way, you will never run the risk of falling in love with expensive places or pricey experiences!

If you're serious about financial independence and making it big, get to depriving yourself right away and to the maximum extent that you can bear. Then, turn up the intensity a notch or five. If you hate your work, bury yourself in it until you convince yourself that you like it. Kiss date nights, family vacations, and new experiences goodbye. If your stress and sleep deprivation aren't pushing you to the brink of a mental health crisis, you're not trying hard enough. Rise and Grind, because it's impossible to love your life now if you want to love it in the future.

(Sequel to follow)