My audacious 3 step plan to leave commuter life behind in a year

Oct 16, 2023

I went for a walk downtown on my lunch break yesterday and I got so depressed.

Then I got inspired.

I was depressed because I saw what my future would be if I didn’t make a change right now.

Sad-looking, scruffy, out-of-shape office workers 10–12 years older than me, taking an hour off from their boring jobs to shovel garbage food in their mouths before shuffling off to sit in front of screens for another 4 hours before the hourlong drive home to suburbia.

I’ve never been shy about my desire to leave the commuter life behind.

Six months ago, I felt like I was getting there.

As I explained in the video below, I was getting close to making a full-time income from writing alone:

The bad news is my writing income fell off a cliff.

The good news is that, around the same time, I achieved full YouTube monetization. And I published my first printed book on KDP (affiliate link).

I also have about $11,000 in cash from writing to buy passive income financial instruments.

So I have options.

But I know that only one thing will ensure my success: I need to be more consistent and productive than anyone else out there.

I know I harp on this a lot, but it really is the most important thing to remember: Consistency is everything in content creation.

The simple fact of the matter is: People who produce, get paid.

People who produce only when they feel like it can do fine … but never good enough to leave the commuter life behind.

For me, fine isn’t good enough anymore.

I can’t go on living among the sad-sack office workers and wondering if I could really make a living at this and control my own destiny.

I need to know.

So here’s how I’m going to find out.

An older gentleman looking depressed in front of a laptop. — Commuter life … I’m over it. (Image licensed by the author under the Unsplash+ License)

Step 1

I will focus in on 2 platforms only: the one you’re reading now and YouTube. I will primarily produce content that can synergistically live on both.

Step 2

I will live up to the name if this Publication and PUBLISH EVERY DAY. No exceptions — either here or on YouTube, you’ll find something from me for the next 365.

Step 3

I’ll be accountable to myself — and anyone who wants to take this journey with me — by posting my progress toward my goal every day (so get email alerts to keep track!).

It’ll look like this:

Publish Every Day Goal Tracker

How much I need to retire comfortably: $250 CAD per day

What I earned yesterday: $19.64 (writing), $0.99 (YouTube), $0.66 (dividends)

What I published:

This Substack post about the 13 stocks that helped me crush the market last year
This YouTube video:

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