When I was in high school, I decided I wanted to become an engineer. I pictured myself in a managing position with a lot of responsibility, a great salary, and having everything figured out. I thought that was the definition of success: being confident, healthy, having a beautiful family, a challenging career, and plenty of money.
By the time I was 35, I had achieved exactly that. I had five years of experience managing a production company. I led multiple groups, carried a lot of responsibility, and had a beautiful wife and three young children. From the outside, everything looked perfect.
But the reality was very different.
I fell into a severe burnout because I was trying to give 100% to my family and 100% to my job. It was simply too much. After recovering, I went back to work, and within a couple of weeks, I was exactly in the same place — working just as hard, trying to do everything for everyone.
I looked ahead and realized that if I stayed on that path, maybe in 15 years I could take over my boss’s position. But I would have to fight other engineers and managers just to get there. And would that life actually be better? My boss had even more people to manage, more problems to solve, and not significantly more money. That future didn’t appeal to me at all.
I looked at my bank account and saw about 10,000 Euros in savings. I thought, This is not what I signed up for. I had done everything I was supposed to do. I had the successful career, the good salary, the nice car, the title. But I felt deeply unhappy. The confidence I thought I would have about life and finances, the time I thought I would have for my family — none of it was there. I was sick, tired, and not proud of the parent I was being because I couldn’t give my time and energy to my kids. My relationship was suffering. I had followed the rules, but I was not where I wanted to be in life.
The Shift: Creating Space to Think
The journey from trading my time for money to building systems and assets that work for me started the moment my wife and I made a crucial decision: I would leave my job.
I needed to create space in my head and my energy to figure out the best strategy for our family financially. If you don’t take the time and space to look for better alternatives, you will inevitably fall back into the only thing you know — which, for me, was getting another job, chasing a better salary, and staying in the rat race.
We decided I would stay home, take care of the kids, and start looking for ways to create income online. I realized that you can build systems that work for you 24/7, regardless of what you are doing. I educated myself, started an online business, and after about a year, it began generating income.
That completely shifted my perception. I had always believed you had to be at the office from 7:30 AM until late in the evening to earn your salary. Suddenly, I was working a couple of hours a week, and the systems I built were working for me even when I was on holiday or enjoying the weekend. I would wake up to payments that came in the middle of the night. Even though those initial payments weren’t huge, they were incredibly impactful. They proved to me that there are other ways to create income.
As that system generated more money, I didn’t increase my spending. I saved it until I had enough to start investing. I realized that the money I was earning from my online business needed to be invested so it could start working for me, too.
The Hard Truth About Change
If you ask me what would have made me change direction faster, the sad truth is: getting a burnout earlier.
People often need to hit rock bottom before they are ready to make difficult changes. Quitting your job and starting something new sounds easy in theory, but it is terrifying in practice. You feel like you are throwing away years of study and career building. You worry that your parents or friends will think you are crazy. That fear of the unknown is exactly why most people stay in unfulfilling, devastating careers.
In my case, I needed that burnout to realize I had to make big changes. Otherwise, I would have just fallen back into the comfortable and the known, doing what I always did and hoping things would magically improve.
Interestingly, once I quit my job, I realized it was much easier than I thought. Financially, there were actually advantages. Most of my salary had been going toward daycare and after-school care for my kids. Once I was home to take them to and from school, we saved about 80% of what I used to earn. The financial impact wasn’t nearly as huge as the mental hurdle of stepping into the unknown.
If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice to avoid the burnout entirely, it would be this: Look for people who are living the life you truly want — not just on the outside, but in every aspect. Find people who feel fulfilled, who are in the financial position you desire, who have the health, the freedom of time, and the peace of mind you want. Ask them what they are doing, and mirror them.
Don’t just blindly follow the path you decided on in high school, or the path your parents told you was the solution to all your problems. Find someone living your ideal life, and do what they are doing.
From Scarcity to Abundance
Today, I live off my investments and assets — real estate, crypto, precious metals, and alternative funds. My perception of money and time is completely different now than it was during my corporate career.
Back then, I operated from a place of fear and scarcity. I never had enough time; I was always too busy and too tired. Time meant I had to be the first one at the office and the last one to leave, leading by example and expecting my team to do the same. Money was just something you got every month, and the only way to get more of it was to trade more time and effort. There was always a sense of not enough.
Now, I operate from an abundance mindset. The time I put into my assets or systems doesn’t correlate directly to the money I make. What matters is the quality of the work. You might put in very little time, but the results can be immensely great. Yes, you need to educate yourself, talk to people, and build a network, but those are enjoyable activities you can do on your own terms, from beautiful places.
An abundance mindset means believing there is always enough for everybody. I have enough time to do what I need. I have enough years to build, enough years to enjoy, and enough years to let my assets and investments grow. I don’t feel the frantic need to make money today or get a raise as quickly as possible.
I am relaxed. I trust the choices I make in my investments. I have enough time for my family, for my wealth building, and for myself. That is the true power of shifting your mindset: it doesn’t just change your bank account — it changes your entire experience of life.
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear where you are on your journey. Are you still in the rat race, or have you started making the shift? Leave a comment below or start here to explore the resources that helped me most.
