I Started A Business Because I Was Depressed (Now I'm Financially Free)

Hey there, real quick before we jump into the episode, listen, if your earnings treadmill hasn't set you free yet, running faster won't either. Listen, hustle without principles just going to burn you out. So here's what I want for you. I want you to join me for my money machine experience. Live it is three free trainings. Deep dive into how to escape the treadmill and build a money machine that actually works for you. All right, grab your spot here by going to moneymachinelive.com and I'll see you in the free training. Have you ever felt stuck in a life that you didn't design? Working in a job that literally drains you, Living for a paycheck, living for Fridays to come and wondering if that's all there is. Listen, if you're searching for a way to break free and find your purpose and create a meaningful life while building true wealth and a rich life, this episode's for you. This episode I'm going to share a personal journey. A journey from feeling lost and unfulfilled in a high powered career, going, going places to starting my own business that not only aligned with my strengths and my passions, but aligned with my values and allowed me to get the path to financial freedom.

In 1989, I stood on one of the tallest buildings in downtown Los Angeles. It was a late on a Friday night. I was staring out at the city lights and I was looking at what was a beautiful skyline of downtown Los Angeles at night, all lit up. But inwardly, I was miserable. I had everything I was told I should want. I had this career, I had this profession, I had this trajectory that was going to make me successful, build a huge profession and make a good income. But somehow I felt empty. I don't know about you, but maybe you felt stuck. Have you ever felt stuck in your life? A life that maybe wasn't the one that you designed and thought, God, there's got to be more, there's got to be more. But you weren't sure how to find it. That was my breaking point. I had spent almost five years at one of the top consulting firms in downtown Los Angeles because I was told to. I was a cpa. And this was the journey. My degree process, my career trajectory was, was to go to a big firm, get the education, get the experience, become a partner and live out my years. And there was this realization as I, as I turned inward to see the partner that I was working for, Tom, at the time, that this wasn't my life. I was living someone else's life, someone else's expectations, but they weren't my own. I saw this person sitting behind a desk that was overweight, that was stressed out, that was unhealthy, that was in a place where he didn't really have a whole lot of joy in his life. And I realized really quickly that that was my future. If I didn't change something, then that was my future. I was going to follow the same path that many people have now. There are plenty of people that stay in that kind of environment and they thrive and they love it and everything else. But for me, I was struggling. I was struggling. And the only thing that I got. Well, there's a couple things I got. The education and experience was phenomenal. The salary was decent. The hours were horrible. Okay? And. And so I turned around, I walked into his office that night on a Friday night, and I looked at Tom. I sat down, I said, I need to talk to you. And he said, what? I said, I'm quitting. And he says, what? What? Now, now, wait a second. I don't want you to go do this. But I. But I literally quit without a plan. I quit because I was miserable. I quit because I felt like I was depressed. I quit because I knew that this wasn't what I wanted. And I quit because I knew that I could have a bigger impact if I did something different with the skills, the strengths and the knowledge that I had. And so I. I left the job. Within two weeks, I found myself in Japan. I cashed out my 401k. Y' all do not cash out your 401k. Big mistake. I didn't understand the money stuff that I understand today. I would never do it. Today we're going to talk about. About how to do this trans. This trans. Trans transition, if you will. If it's something that you're thinking about, how do you move from something that maybe creates a salary and it's what is expected of you, to something that creates fulfillment and freedom and feeling like you're on a calling. And I'm going to walk you through what I call the. My effective transition formula. It was born out of this.

Kind of transition, as I reflected on it, because I've had so many people come to me and says, mel, how do I. How do I move? How do I. How do I take what I'm doing, but do something different and know that I have a high probability of success and know that I am going in the right direction? And. And so one of the things I get people do is, look, when I quit, I literally Walked in and quit. That was not commitment. That was reckless. Okay? Now, it may have been bold, but it was reckless nonetheless. At the time, I had a house payment. I was splitting a house payment with my brother, but I didn't have a relationship. I wasn't in a marriage. I didn't have people depending on me. I didn't have kids. I didn't have any of that. So it was reckless, but not so much that it could have destroyed everything. But I'm telling you not to do it. I'm going to give you the. The map to do it, because it taught me a lot of important lessons. And as I helped other people transition.

From a career that was more of a transactional career to a journey that was more fulfilling, I learned some things. And so I'm going to walk you through this framework, and there is. There's effectively three major steps to it, and it will do a couple things. One, it's going to raise your confidence level and the probability of success. Two, it's going to help you gain clarity on the journey that you want to be on. Three, it's going to tell you the steps and the pathway to make it a possible success. So if you're out there sitting back saying, there's this yearning, there's this angst that's pulling at you and saying, I want to do something more. I want to do something different, this is the map to get you there without being reckless. All right, so let's jump in. I'm going to jump to my iPad. I'm going to walk you through a framework that I drew out here to help you out to make that happen. The idea behind this is that in order to have an effective transition, to me, we need to have a situation where we have clarity. Okay. That we have clarity in the journey. The second thing that we need to understand is that I believe that we're all put here to live our calling. I believe that we are all given a specific gift. That gift may be something that you were born with. There's some people that have talent, skills, they're musically inclined, something like that. But it might also be a gift that we need to nurture. It might also be a gift that you are put here to bring to the world. And so that means that you got to work at it and build it and everything. But the bottom line is, I think we're all put here to live our calling. And. And then the third thing is that it doesn't feel distressful. Okay? It may be stressful, but it doesn't Feel distressful, you find comfort in it and everything. And so in order to do this, I said there's. There's three steps. And the first. The first step that I take my clients through and I want you to think about if this is something you want to do, is what I call exploration. When we talk about exploration, it's really about how do I take you? This is the thinking. This is the thought process to get you ready. It's really about how do I take you from sketchy to confident? How do I help you understand that you go from an idea, this twinkle in your eye, to this magic in the pocketbook, that it's really real. And I think there's three steps and three things that need to be present for this and in order to really make this exploration piece meaningful. And so the first is this is to understand that I want you to follow your unmistakable passion. Now, let me be really clear here. I hear so many times, people will say, oh, follow your passion, and the money will follow. It's bs, okay? You can follow your passion all. All day long. The money may not follow. The only time the money follows is when you take that passion. You create value in someone else's life with that passion. When you do that, people are willing to pay for it. So it's not the following, the passion. Let's. Let's face it, look, I love chocolate. I follow that passion. The only thing I'm going to get is a bigger waistline and probably become diabetic, okay? So it's not about just following your passion. It's about finding a way to create value, to solve problems, to create bring solutions to people's lives with that passion. And so in that process, now you have an unmistakable passion. And in order to find out something that you should ask yourself, I think, is this. What lights you up? What lights you up? What problem do you deeply care about and understanding that maybe you have solved it already and you get a chance to share your process? Listen, the whole thing of me building the money machine, this was a problem that I solved, this idea of financial freedom that I realized that we had two journeys, the earnings journey and the money journey. And they taught us about the earnings journey, but not the money journey. And I wanted to solve that problem because I saw people struggling, I saw people suffering, and I did myself. And so. So that first piece is, is to really understand that you have an unmistakable passion for it. The second is that you are going to provide unquestionable value. It is, like I said, I need to create value for others with the passion I have when I do that now all of a sudden it becomes commercial, it becomes marketable, it becomes something that you get paid for. So you can ask yourself, what is it? You know, you may have a passion for it, but how do you create value in other people's lives for it? And then the, the third piece of this exploration stage is what I call insightful interviews. We got to, we got to ask, we got to do some market research. We want to talk to our potential audience. And, and nowadays it's, it's a whole lot easier because you can run test ads and things like that through social media. When I did it, there was none of that. I didn't do any of this. But it's going to help you understand their needs, it's going to help you understand their pains, it's going to help you understand their wants, their desires. So they will be willing to pay for the solution. And these conversations are hugely, hugely valuable. Hugely valuable. And so that's step one. Step two is what we then move to what I call the evaluation phase. Great. We did the exploration, we did the thinking where we are more confident about it, but now we have to really dig in and evaluate and say, does this really make sense? And in the first step of this is that we got to create a vetted plan. We, we really need to sit back and say, what is the plan? Not some wishful thinking, not some.

Just conceptual, you know, framework, but a true plan, even with your financial week. That's why I do the money Machine master plans. We literally put a plan in place to last you till you, it's morbid, but till you die. We plan it out till age 90. Okay. And see, and we stress test the plan. We look at scenarios, we look at worst case scenarios, we look at best case scenarios, we look at scenarios so we can raise the probability of success and the confidence in the plan. It's the same thing. If you're going to do a transition, do you have a vetted plan, something you stress test, something that you looked at and say, what happens if it all goes bad? What happens if it all goes great? What happens if it's somewhere in the middle? Okay, refine the ideas through the plan. Then you take those ideas in this next step and that is to sit back and say, how do I micro test it? How do I do small tests? You know, starting small, test the idea on a smaller scale, doing a, maybe a launch or a beta or a pilot or an offer and see what happens, see what comes back and, and really validate what's coming down and the information that goes back. So you microtest it. Then from there, you're going to look at, you're going to step back and you're going to do some meaningful assessment. You're going to look back and say, what did this tell me? What did this tell me about the journey? What did this tell me about what I'm trying to accomplish? And I did none of this when I quit my job because I, I was clueless. I was just a. I was kind of pissed off, irritated, frustrated, and I just quit. Okay, Big mistake. All right? Now, in hindsight, it all worked out. But I want you to do this right. I want you to have a high probability of success. And this is the path that I've walked people through, hundreds of people through, to make it happen for them. That leads me to step number three. And now in step number three, this is where we start to execute. We've gotten the thinking down. We've analyzed and evaluated it and got it to a point where we know that it can work. Now we're going to take that idea and we're going to move it to results. We're going to start doing the things that need to be done to make it happen. So in here, again, there's three things that I want you to focus on. And if you just look at it, that's all you're doing, three steps. And each step has three priorities. Okay? In this one, it's to really test out the financial viability of, of what it is. Can this sustain you and your living and the lifestyle you want? Is it scalable? Okay. Would allow you to pay your bills? It may not at the very beginning. And so we have to have that plan in place to transition through that now. But I want you to test it and say, look, if I, if I can, if I can make the money at it, and there are enough of them, there's enough of a market at it, then maybe I can make this transition. But if I'm speaking to a market that doesn't have the ability to pay, maybe I'm working with.

People that, that aren't making enough money to give, to pay enough to sustain me, then maybe I got to look at a different market. Now, I'm not saying not to serve them, because there are a lot of people that I serve for low or no cost as my way of giving back, but those that pay me at a higher level, that I work with, at a more intimate and more access level, they're the Things that pay me enough to allow me to do that and still carry my overhead and, and have the lifestyle I want. So this is a place where you test the financial viability of it. Then, then from there you have strategic players you need to look at, at who it is that you need to make this a success. And, and I want to be really clear for you here. I, I know that.

Will say, you know, people are self made, self made, millionaire. Self made, self made, self made. I don't believe in self made. I'm not self made. I'm, I'm not self made. I am made by the people around me. I am made by those that are in my audience. I am made by those that have, have been my clients and my customers and my mentors and my guides and all that. I'm made by something bigger, something more powerful and I don't want to disregard it as if I did it all myself. Now granted, I've done a lot of work, you've done a lot of work.

But it is not without having strategic partners or players in the game with you to help that happen. So you got to ask yourself, who do I need in, in this game to help make this work?

Is it contractors? Is it advisors? Is it mentors? Is it something that is going to raise the probability of your success? Who is it? Make that list and then make that contact. Talk to them about the idea, talk to them about the fact that you tested it. Talk to them about the plan, Talk to them and say, would you be willing to guide me? And maybe you have to pay for that guidance, that's fine. But get the right players to increase the probability of success. And then the, the last piece of this is something that I call what is your scale threshold? What is your scale threshold? This is a measurable milestone that allows you to know, oh, this is going to work. There is a dollar threshold and a point where you can sit back and say, I can let go of my day job, I can make that transition. Because if I take this on a part time basis and I've hit this scale threshold, I know that on a full time basis I can scale it further. And it's usually a percentage of your expenses. Many people will say, if I get this business to run at a point where I know that I'm, I can cover 30 to 35% of my living expenses on top of the operating expenses, I know that I can get it to cover a hundred percent. I just need to put more juice, more fuel, more effort into it, which means that I Go full time. Now, it's a different percentage for everyone. Okay? But a lot of people will say, if I can hit 30, 35, 40%, then I know that I can hit 100% and more. Okay? So you gotta define here what that scale threshold is. It's basically where you're gonna let go of that safety net, that. That lifeline to where you were, that you're transitioning from to transition to. Okay? That's. That's the process. It's the process that I take. Take my clients through, since I screwed it up and didn't do it that way. All right? Now, here's the thing. Here's what happens. On the other side of that, there is a reward. And that reward is this. It's joy, it's flow, it's freedom. It's you being aligned between your work, your strengths, your skills, your passion. Everything changes. I don't feel like I work a day in my life anymore. Now. I am not. I am not Pollyanna. There are some days that I am stressed. I am tired. I'm going. I want to do this, okay? But I am no longer grinding for a paycheck. I am no longer wishing for a Friday. I am no longer doing that. I am building a meaningful life. You are building a meaningful life. There are the emotional rewards. This is why I say, as much as I talk about money, as much as I want you to be as wealthy as you want to be, I'd rather you be as rich as you desire and dream of. Because the richness in your life is the emotional rewards you get by creating experiences by the way you feel, by the way you share, by the way you do things. It's not just about the financial benefits, but it is about the emotional benefits of knowing that you are aligned, you are congruent. You are aligned with your values, you're aligned with your vision. You're living true to your calling and that you are living in your passion each and every day, and that you were able to monetize it at a level that allows you to live a life of choice. That's financial freedom. That's why we do this. So listen, if you're feeling stuck or unfulfilled, if you're looking at things and saying, I know that there's more, I just don't know how to get there. I want you to take this framework and use it as a checklist to walk through a process to get yourself on that journey, to live your calling, because that's what you're here to do. Okay? Ask Yourself, what do I want to create? Ask yourself, what's my passion? Ask yourself, how does this passion serve others? And then map it out. Map it out. All right? And as you do this, I want you to always keep in mind that you are building two journeys. One is the earnings journey. The other is the money journey. And that money journey needs to be parallel with the earnings journey, because that's where the true financial freedom is. Because over time, when your money machine is built, you will separate your earnings from the efforts to earn it. And when you do so, that's where you find true freedom. That's where you find true choice. Okay? Because your life doesn't have to be limited by your degree. It doesn't have to be limited by your profession. It doesn't have to be limited by society's expectations. Your parents, your siblings, your friends, your neighbors. You have the power to design your life that aligns with your purpose and your passion. And you get to start today because it's never too late. All right? I hope that you found this helpful. I know that this was a little different, but I've gotten this question so many times. I said, let's talk about is the path, one of the paths to financial freedom, and it's the path that I took. Now, I didn't do it this way, okay? But I learned how to do it right. I hope that this helps. I hope you found it out. If you know someone that's going through something like this, do me a favor, share this with them. Give them the tools, give them the tactics. Give them the support to make the transition in a way that is powerful, probable, and profitable. All right? And if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the channel and leave me a comment, leave me a review. Let me know what's going on in your life. All right. I'd love to hear from you. All right. Until I see you on the road to your financial freedom. As I always say, always, always strive to live a life that lives you. I'll see you. Thank you for listening to the affluent Entrepreneurship with me, your host, Mel Abraham. If you want to achieve financial liberation to create an affluent lifestyle, join me in the Affluent Entrepreneur Facebook group now by going to melabraham.com group and I'll see you.

And that's it for this episode of Building youg Money Machine, where we help you learn how to master your money, eliminate financial stress, and live a life of choice. If you found this valuable or helpful to you, here's what I'd love for you to do. If you do me a favor, go to Apple, Apple Podcast, or wherever you're listening to this podcast and rate and review the show. It helps us tremendously to keep us at the top of the list so we can continue to get this information and this message out to people. Because I truly believe that financial freedom is your birthright, and I want to help each and every one of you claim it. Thanks so much.