Comfort vs Growth: It's time to sink or swim

Sometimes real change requires drastic action.

I'm almost 28 years old, and I feel like I am wasting the prime of my life. I currently live in my childhood bedroom at my parents' house in Elk Grove, California (near Sacramento), and I work part-time at a hospital making $26 per hour.

Life isn't exactly going how I thought it would be going by now when I was younger.

I have wanted to be an entrepreneur and take a non-traditional path for as long as I can remember. I despise the idea of working a 9-5, commuting every day, and being surrounded by franchise fast food, freeways, and suburbs.

I am stuck in a deadly combination of rejecting the 9-5 lifestyle, living in an extremely expensive part of the world and country, and having a safety net of comfort in the form of my ability to live at my parents' house for free.

I have had fulfilling and exciting periods of my life where I wasn't living at home, but I always knew I could just move back in whenever I wanted. This has led me to slow growth and procrastination towards my dreams due to thinking I have time and safety.

If things continue this way and I don't act with a sense of urgency, I will be well into my 30s with nothing to show for it.

It's time to cut the cord for good, remove the safety net, take the plunge for an experience-rich and fulfilling life, and apply some tactical stress into my life.

Here is how I plan to finally live a life of true independence, fulfillment, and progress towards my dreams:

Pick a date and commit

It's January 2025. I haven't picked a date yet, but somewhere in the next 4 to 8 months, I am going to leave home for good, whether I am ready or not.

Between now and that date, I will continue to save money, apply relentlessly for remote work, and work on building my freelance writing and social media management portfolio.

Deciding on a date and committing to it no matter what will force me into action when it comes to preparing. If I am not prepared by the date—that will further force me into action so I don't royally fuck up and blow all my savings and be forced into an extremely tough situation.

Go nomadic and minimalist

Backpacking and traveling the world while being young is a bucket list item for me.

While I work on my personal brand, living out of a backpack and traveling Southeast Asia for 6-12-24 months sounds extremely appealing to me.

My dollar will go further, I will inevitably have a great experience, it will provide me independence, inspiration, and fulfillment, and it will give me content for my personal brand.

My gut is telling me this is what I need to do. Even if I fail, I won't regret the experience. When I am old, I will regret it if I don't go.

When my backpacking time is up, I will probably move back to my hometown of Calgary, Canada where some of my best friends live along with a lot of my family. Things are a lot more affordable in comparison California, and I love Calgary.

Remove failure as an option

Lastly, I am adopting the mindset that I will never be moving back in with my parents' house to avoid the 9-5 or buy myself time. It's independence from here on out, one way or another.

Obviously, I will return to my parents and California to visit them 1-2-3 times per year. I love my parents a lot. I just want to live my dreams and make them proud, which requires cutting the safety net and forcing myself to make it.

It’s time to sink or swim.

This week's newsletter was more of a journal entry and me just spilling what has been at the forefront of my heart, mind, and soul.

I want independence, a nomadic lifestyle, and to grow my personal brand. It's time to jump.

If any of you can relate to my situation, I hope this brings some form of value, and I would love to connect with you.

Follow along if you want to see how this all unfolds. I hope to look back on this writing in two years with a sense of nostalgia, yet pride because I have found true independence.

Thank you for reading.