Billy Keels  0:00  

Today's going along podcast, we're going to do something a little bit different. Today's conversation is sponsored by the Billy Keels advisory program. If you want to learn more about how to make your nine to five optional, just go to Billy keels.com. Forward slash advising. Once again, that's Billy keels.com. Forward slash advising. Today's episode of The going along podcast, we are definitely going to do something different, something that is impactful, and something that is going to give you a response, a direct response. Because today is going to be about question and answer. And specifically, I have a question that was sent to me, and thought, You know what? We're going to answer some questions here every once in a while, and I'd like to give you the same opportunity. This specific question came through LinkedIn from someone that I've been in contact with for a while and had a number of questions. And I actually get a number of questions that come through LinkedIn. And so I want to give some insight specifically to questions that were asked. So today's question comes from a new cool b We're going to leave it at that. But the question that comes from a new cool is the following says I'd love to hear more about your journey and how you left the nine to five. Can you tell me more specifically, I'm especially curious on the question you asked yourself to figure out what you wanted to do next. So first and foremost, I appreciate these kinds of questions. I appreciate being able to to respond to them, and would invite anyone who has questions to definitely send those questions along to me for not connected through LinkedIn. Definitely connect there. This is a great way for us to have a conversation, also, too, through another channel. But I want to answer this question, because I think it's also important to really provide some context, rather than just a direct answer, right? So some of the things that I do want to do is I want to share a little bit more about my journey, just in case you you have not been familiar, or this is maybe your first time listening, or first time watching, um, because as someone who spent 26 years in the corporate career, someone who really liked my job at the same time, I was going through like everybody's going through, I'm on my own particular journey in life, and lot of different life changes that are happening. Being from the Midwest in the US, moving to Europe, after having traveled and worked throughout some 58 different countries, deciding it was going to be a one year sabbatical, then getting into the enterprise hardware and then software space, where I spent the last 16 years of my corporate career, and also had this burning desire to really build my own business and have control over my time. And so at the genesis of an equals question is wanting to really hear more about my journey and how I left the nine to five, which, as you know, nowadays I'm calling the nine to nine, and specifically curious about the questions you ask yourself to figure out what you wanted to do next. And I'm going to get to those questions, because the questions are really, really important. The one thing that I would also suggest, if it is, if this is your first time here, I would highly suggest going back and listening to the four year anniversary, which is episode 435 because now this is primarily I'm doing this as a just sharing my own thoughts, my own individual thoughts, but episode 435 decided to have someone who has also done hundreds And hundreds and hundreds of episodes of podcasts, and exited himself and Jerome Myers interviewed me, and we really kind of got into my journey, specifically things that happened for me in 2023 which is also what has led me to this point, and also getting to answering Nicole's question. So definitely check out episode 435, let me share a little bit more about the journey, some specifics, because I think this is also important, because at the age of the later on, the in my later 30s, decided that it was the time to to get married, first kids at 3638 and and then also to really thought about investing for a number of years, and I know it's something that we will definitely talk about in future episodes, but it took me a while to actually get out and actually take action, pull the proverbial trigger on actually making the investment. I spent a lot of time in theory. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was the right theoretical thing to do. But it wasn't the right well, it was I needed the time that I needed to eventually get to the point to being able to take action after going through the period of finally investing back in 2013 life was going well, left the corporate life, and then also to in 2023 go through other life changes, go through divorce, go through business changes as well, and so part of this is something that helps to inform you where you are in your own specific journey. But let's come back to answer a new question. So what were some of the different questions that I asked myself to try and figure out what I wanted to be able to do next? Text. Some of them may surprise you. Some of these questions may be right on. And the reason that I wanted to talk to you before about what was happening in my life, what you have, what you will find, and what I typically find when I'm working with someone is when there are major inflection points in life, when things are happening for you in life, and sometimes you may perceive that they're happening to you, but the majority of them are happening for you. It just takes some time for you to really understand what's happening. Very similar thing, which is why I wanted to talk about when I went through my own specific life events. One of the things I would also say is making the choice to move to Europe and doing that before I was 30. That was also another major life event that is one of the main reasons that I've continued to be in Europe for the last 23 years. But anyway, let's come back to to some of the things. And if any of these questions start to sound familiar to you, you just know that you're on track for also wanting to figure out what is the right next thing for you. And I know that in the previous episode, talked about that episode 437, like the five sure fire signs that you need a profitable side hustle. If you any of these start to ring a bell, you're going through the process. So just prepare yourself. But some of the key questions that I ask myself is, I think in some of these are very, very normal. First was, I'd always done everything in corporate and the the path had always been laid out for me. I just simply had to follow the KPIs. And the question was, being from a middle class family, what happens if I fail? And that's a pretty normal thing, what I later started asking questions was 180 degrees opposite of that, what happens if I succeed? And then it became, what happens when I succeed? And so there are different questions, but these are some of the questions that I was asking, but usually started. And mine started very much so from a scarcity mindset and what happens if I fail. I also wanted to know how much better my life would be when I actually controlled my time. This is something that comes up a lot as well. Like, okay, well, yeah, but if you're working at corporate, then now you're building a business. So aren't you still like working? Well, of course, of course, yes, continue to work. The question is, what am I working on? How is the energy that I'm expending? How is that coming back to me? Is it a worthwhile emotional investment? Yes, is it a worthwhile financial investment that is up to you, and that depends on what you were doing before you decided to go to a side business or build your own enterprise. But these are some of the questions that I had going on. I also asked myself at a certain point in time, like, because I knew that I wanted to move, like, remember, I was working for 10 years on my business on the side. It just started out as a little bit of a side investing and trying to figure out alternative investing space. And then afterwards, I realized, oh, goodness gracious. I set out this five year plan, and I accomplished it in a year and a half. Then these investments could actually start to generate enough cash to to help me make my job optional. And so once I realized that that was a possibility, I wanted to start to realize, like, can I accelerate this? But I couldn't do it because I didn't have the experience. So my question was, should I start to invest in myself? Scariest thing I ever did before that the company had invested in me so I could get the sales skills or the leadership skills or even the public speaking skills, but I never sat around and thought, Okay, I want to invest in myself and being conscious about it what I then started realizing I'd been investing in myself all of my life, and it was just a matter of saying, Okay, this is something different. This is a a new way to look at it. But am I going to invest in myself and a coach to help me get a particular skill that is going to help to make my nine to nine optional? Was,

did it? Was it worth it? That was the question I was asking myself. When Nicole's Wells is okay, is it worth investing in a coach to help me reduce the timelines get to the goal that I had reset for myself, because I realized that this was a path that could set me and my family up for greater things in terms of control over time. Unfortunately, got to a point where, yes, was able to do that, life changed at that point in time, as I mentioned to you before, but hey, got to, got to the to the goal. But the more important lesson was the one that I learned, that you can actually control your time if you have a very clear plan and execute it and have accountability. So those are a couple of the questions that I've asked, that I asked myself I know I also wanted to find out, like, when the rubber met the road, like, does the activity that I'm doing, does it give me energy like, literally. Does it give me energy like, is this a worthwhile venture for me to continue to go down this path, to build this side business I also wanted to know, is this creating the environment that I truly want? Was I going to be surrounded by people that I wanted to be surrounded by? Was I doing the things that I wanted to. Be able to do. And was that the environment? Was it a positive one? And then also, like, very realistically, like, was what the activity that I was gonna do? Like, is this starting to grow my economy, like, my own personal, family economy. Like, was it a worthwhile venture? I talked about it before, the emotional return on investment. And then also, too, you've got a financial return on investment. Talk to you about other before, like, what happens if, if, if not, if I do get to the goal, but when I get to the goal, and also thinking about, what would the impact be on my family? Right? These are just some of the questions. And like I said, I really suggest that you look at listen to episode 437 because if you've got any of these five True, true, surefire signs that you need to get a profitable side hustle, these are questions you're going to be asking yourself too, because you're going to see the signs, you're going to feel the signs, and I would suggest that you definitely go through that. So these were some of the questions. Like I said, I want to go back, and I'd like to make this a more of a frequent response to questions, asking the question. This was a very specific question about asking what I was doing to figure out what I wanted to do next. I wanted to provide you with some context what was happening in life, that these different life events were happening that created the context for the types of questions that I was asking myself, and I'm sure that they will inform the types of questions that you ask for yourself as you go through life. It's one moment in time if you are a single person living overseas versus if you are someone who has been in a committed relationship and marriage for X number of years, 25, 3040, years with kids, all these types of things will inform the types of questions that you're asking yourself. That's what I wanted to, most importantly, let you know. And many of these questions I had in the beginning, I wasn't consciously thinking about them, but as my plan got clear, as my accountability was even clearer and more present, and I was making progress in seeking progress, not perfection. These questions got more direct, the responses got more direct, and it also drove more decisive action. So I really appreciated Nicole be asking the question today, like I said, this is something that I'd like to do more of. If you if we are not already connected on LinkedIn, I would definitely suggest to go over there, connect with me, ask any questions you want. We can have a chat. And also to this is going to be one of the best ways for for you to submit your questions. So submit it to me, working on other ways for you to be able to submit questions, but this is definitely something I am committed to doing. As long as you send me more questions, give you the answers that you want to ultimately help you make a more informed decision. So with that said, share today's episode, and if you know somebody who's got a question, make sure that we're connected on LinkedIn. Ask the question there, and I'm more than happy to answer the question and give you the input so that you can make more informed decisions moving forward. So with that, I'll be here. You chair, family, friends. I'll be here preparing for the next episode. So until then, go out and make it a great day. And thank you very, very much. Today's conversation was sponsored by the Billy Keels advisory program. If you're looking to make your nine to five optional and need some help, just go to Billy keels.com. Forward slash advising. Once again, that's Billy keels.com. Forward slash advising.

Unknown Speaker  13:29  

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