The 4 Ways To Escape the Rat Race
We all hate the rat race:
The daily commute
The busy work
Pointless meetings
Your jerk of a boss
The office politics
So, why do we keep racing?
The problem — we are stuck in a vicious circle of consumption.
Once your dismal workday ends, understandably, you want to live it up a little.
So, you buy that fancy dress or that new gaming console. You go to that chic restaurant. You book that weekend trip to Tulum.
But now that you have spent all your money, what do you need to do? Right, you have to go back to work to make more money.
It’s the perfect system — you need to consume so you don’t go crazy from your mind-numbing job. And you need to keep working so you can cut loose again.
You are stuck.
The 4 Alternatives
There are 4 main ways out of this.
1. The “Get Rich” Model
One way to leave the rat race behind is to get rich. It’s the start-up paradigm. You build a business for a couple of years, grow it as much as possible, and then sell it for millions. Afterward, you are free to do whatever.
In the eyes of society, this is the most acceptable option; if you pull it off, you will be admired.
It is also the option that sounds the sexiest. Who doesn’t want to be rich?
Thus, it is the option that most people dream about.
2. The FIRE Model
You might have heard of the FIRE movement (“Financial Independence, Retire Early”). Here, instead of optimizing for income, you optimize for savings. You keep your 9 to 5 for the time being, but radically cut your expenses:
You move to a smaller apartment and share it with a friend
You sell your car and take the bike to work
You buy your groceries at the discounter and cook every meal at home
You consider every purchase; if it’s unavoidable, you buy it secondhand
People who take this all the way can save 50–70 percent of their income every month. Combine this with a sound investment strategy, and you'll be able to quit your job in 10–15 years.
Now, your time is yours again.
In comparison to the first model, the FIRE model appears less sexy to most people. It sounds too much like sacrificing.
3. The Service Business Model
This is a combination of the two previous models — you increase your income and decrease your costs.
The best way to do so is a service business. Here, you offer an in-demand service to well-funded companies. Examples of such services include:
Copywriting
Graphic design
Marketing services (SEO, PPC, etc.)
Developing
If you get good at any of these, you can charge between $80–150 per hour, sometimes more.
Now, if you also cut your expenses somewhat, you can get away with working only one to three hours per day.
The cherry on the cake: Most of these services can be offered online; it doesn’t matter where you are located. You could live in Bali, going surfing every day, while servicing your clients in the US or Europe.
Also, living in a low-cost country, your dollars or euros will go much further. You will be able to afford a higher standard of living than what you would get for the same money at home.
This option seems sexier than the FIRE option. But here, the problem is social stigma. People are afraid of being seen as “dropouts.”
4. The Passion Route
So far, we have either optimized for income or savings — or both.
With the passion option, you ignore all of these.
When you are getting paid to do what you love, you don’t care that you have to work 10-hour days or that you are barely scraping by. It’s the thing that you would be doing anyway, even if you didn’t get paid for it.
For example, in 2007, I started an MMA gym. At the time, the sport was virtually unknown in Germany, so it was hard to find students.
I worked 10 to 12 hours a day, took on a side job to keep the gym afloat, and still struggled to pay the bills.
I didn’t care. I was living, thinking, and breathing martial arts. That is all I wanted at the time.
This option often seems attractive on paper, but in truth, many people cannot stand the workload and the financial insecurity. You have to be upfront with yourself.
The Fine Points
Each of these options has its specific pros and cons. They also play to certain personality types. Knowing these fine points will help you choose the right model.
1. Getting Rich
It takes a certain type of person to get rich. Virtually all I have ever met display the same three qualities:
They are highly self-motivated workhorses. They will work 10–12 hours a day, 7 days a week, without a boss looking over their shoulders.
They are willing to sacrifice, especially when it comes to relationships and health. They will risk divorces or heart attacks to achieve their goals.
They are not married to a certain activity or industry. If one thing doesn’t work out, they will pivot.
If this is you, great. If this is not you, you must figure out how to become this person, or else choose another model.
2. The FIRE Model
The FIRE model is an interesting option for people who want to quit the rat race, but are somewhat risk-averse and simultaneously very patient.
The main appeal — you don’t need to quit your 9 to 5 and risk messing up your CV. You can simply change things on your end, i.e., save the majority of your income.
But you have to be patient. It won’t happen quickly — you will have to endure the rat race for another decade or so.
Also, FIRE is a lot like dieting — it means self-restriction. When everybody is consuming and living it up on the weekends, you are staying put. That makes it hard to sustain.
3. The Service Business Model
This is the model I recommend to most people.
A huge advantage of this model — you can build it relatively quickly. It is possible to pull it off in 6–12 months, even while holding a full-time job; I have seen a few people do it even faster.
After this, you should be able to replace your current income with your side hustle (or close to it).
But make no mistake — during this time, it will be hell. You will give every free minute to your service business. Think 20+ hours per week on top of your full-time job. That leaves room for nothing else.
Yet, it is a sprint that can be endured. 6–12 months of hell is not that high of a price to pay to be out of the rat race forever. The long-term upsides far outweigh the short-term pain:
Working less (1–3 hours a day)
No boss
Setting your own hours
Being able to travel
Keep reminding yourself of these upsides, and there is a chance you will see it through.
The greatest stumbling block will be social stigma. Even post-COVID, becoming a digital nomad is still considered a departure from the mainstream. Your family and friends will tell you to not “throw it all away.”
4. The Passion Route
This is the model dearest to my heart. I ran an MMA gym, I worked as a dating coach, and now I run a “life coaching” business (terrible word).
The main appeal — you are looking forward to (almost) every day. On most days, when I wake up, I feel excited. I want to get out of bed and start working on the things that make me happy. It is the opposite of Monday morning blues.
However, for most people, I don’t recommend starting with this model, for several reasons.
First, it takes longer to get going. Passion businesses typically don’t cater to essential needs in life. You are selling a “nice to have,” not a “must have.” Thus, the longer ramp-up.
Second, a lot of people are not clear about their passion. They are pulled into different directions. If that’s you, you should first run a series of mini-experiments before committing to a business.
Third, passion businesses typically require a lot of marketing know-how. Since you are not selling a “must have,” you need to present your product attractively, so people will buy anyway. Acquiring those marketing skills takes time.
What I do recommend is starting with a service business model and then transitioning over to a passion business. The service model will give you the time to run those mini-experiments, so you can pinpoint your passion. It will also teach you many of the marketing skills for succeeding with your passion business later.
I know this can still seem overwhelming, even when broken down like this. Hence, the temptation is to stay where you currently are, with your 9 to 5.
Don’t. Time really doesn’t come back; I am starting to realize this more and more, as I experience middle age.
Trust that many of the things that now seem overwhelming will figure themselves out once you get going. And when you are finally out of your 9 to 5, you will wonder what you were so scared about.
Until next time,
Niels