San Francisco and Silicon Valley are humming with the new IPOs of Zynga, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Despite Zynga and Facebook having a difficult time post IPO, billions in new wealth has been created. You may think money is raining from the sky here in San Francisco, and to that I would say you are correct!
When you live in an area that has so much activity, you start absorbing the energy simply by the people you meet. Your poker game might have a person from Twitter, Google, and a VC firm for example. Suddenly, your connections are that much better. I’ve been busy thinking about how to further develop a sustainable online business. I need to step up the sense of urgency because my career in corporate America is soon coming to an end.
Over the next 5 years, I plan on building the Yakezie Network into the best collaborative blog network on the web. Meanwhile, I plan to continue saving aggressively, in order to retire solely off my passive income (savings interest, CD interest, dividends). The idea is to create a perpetual runway of income so that I’m free to take risks and do things out of interest rather than money.
WITHIN FIVE YEARS
When we know there is an end, we cherish the present that much more. It’s the same concept where we write down a specific goal to remind us of why we are doing what we are doing. Making money is pretty pointless if all you’re doing is hoarding.
Within five years, I plan to move to Honolulu, the best place for an online entrepreneur to live. If you read my post, you’ll see that the time zone is perfect for working with Asia, Europe, and the continental USA. Meanwhile, all the good things there are free or inexpensive: beach, surfing, boogie boarding, golf, tennis, swimming, and hiking. Honolulu is also about 15% less expensive than San Francisco! Such is the beauty of living in an expensive place during your working career.
The one thing I fear is island fever given Oahu is not that big of a place. After about six months, I’ll want to travel. The plan is to live in Honolulu for six months, travel on a cruise or by land for another two months, live in Lake Tahoe, California two months and of course spend two months in my beloved San Francisco.
WHY NOT JUST GO NOW?
Responsibility holds me back. I do wish I had the audacity to drop everything and kick back in Hawaii right now. However, it’s easier said than done if you’ve developed a long career and roots in one place over the past 11 years. I don’t want to completely severe all my relationships at once. Instead, I plan to gradually make my way out to Hawaii, spending a little more time there as each year goes by. So far, I’ve been back three times in 2012 for a total of 25 days. Perhaps in 2013, I’ll spend two months, adding on an additional month each year goes by. Like my friend Paul, it’s very hard to just walk away.
Ever since I was in high school, I’ve been very conservative, believing only hard work, networking, and getting a good job were the solutions to a financially secure future. As many of you know, that’s not true. Extensive risk-taking is another possibility for living a good life as well. You see it everywhere online and I just love it!
I’m just doing it a little differently from many of the untemplaters out there. Instead of making my fortune the untemplate way, I’m making my fortune the traditional way to then allow myself to live the untemplate lifestyle.
GREAT FEARS REMAIN
Happiness has never been my problem. My problem has always been the fear of failure with poverty as an end result. I grew up in countries which displayed an incredibly sickening dichotomy between the rich and poor. Images of children begging on the streets with their mothers have been seared in my mind. As a result, I don’t want to take anything for granted. It’s way too easy to just give up and live in mom’s basement here in America!
It’s up to each of us to find something that makes us get out of bed in the morning without an alarm clock. I realized my enthusiasm for my day job began to fade after 10 consecutive years in 2009. It’s part of the reason why I started Financial Samurai, as an outlet to explore new things. My recent sabbatical has also given me a lot of insight. I should probably also take some more vacation time in general as well.
As a result of my waning enthusiasm, my goal is to make a change this year in a positive way. I’m almost there, and I hope to share the strategies I’m employing in an upcoming book.
Whenever I think about my five year plan, I smile. The plan keeps me going in good times and bad times. I’m sure there will be new twists along the way, but either way, having a plan helps keep the drive alive!
Readers, what is your five year plan and what’s your strategy to get there?
Regards,
Sam
Photo: The pool at The Resort At Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe. SD.
Congrats on the positive five year plan! I really need to start making a similar plan for myself and a much longer term plan as well.
Thanks! You should definitely create a 5 year plan. It makes things more visceral, exciting and purposeful!
Great plan! Of course, I am biased. I had a similar plan that took me seven years to execute.
I would disagree with the use of the word “end”. It is a beginning and it leads to places unknown. When you start on this journey, you will be able to explore a lot of things you have not even thought of yet. For example, I never saw myself teaching or writing. Good luck and enjoy the journey.
Thanks. The end is just my word for the beginning of something new. It’s what I talk about in my upcoming book. I’m pretty pumped!
Awesome! Will your special someone be moving in five years too?
I hope so! A free life is no fun living alone.
Keeping our end games in mind helps a lot, especially when we are working around the clock and still sorting through uncharted territories that can make our brains hurt. You have a fabulous sounding 5 year plan. Mine is still forming, but I’m very excited and expect to have some big changes by the time I’m done.
I’m sure you will have a fantastic five year plan as well. We just can’t lose site of the end game through all this work and stuff.
Yakezie IPO? Make sure you underprice it by 15% so you don’t get excoriated in the press!
I wish you luck in these next few uncertain years, and I’m glad you aren’t turning away from the Bay Area completely. I hear you on how expensive it is here – the cost of living is no joke, even down to utility costs.
Haha, yeah right man. I’m seriously leaning towards everything just being a lifestyle business e.g. the end goal of the business is to have a GREAT lifestyle, not for mega riches.
Just moving outside the Bay Area makes things SO much cheaper. Can’t believe how much better Hawaii is in terms of cost!