Billy Keels  0:01  

Do you feel trapped by a great paycheck? Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels advisory services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to make it optional.com. Once again, that's make it optional.com.

Speaker 1  0:19  

Helping you build freedom without losing your edge. This is the going long podcast with Billy Keels.

Billy Keels  0:31  

Are you trapped by a great paycheck? Because if you are, it's going to be worth it for you just to invest a couple of minutes in this very brief podcast, because I'm going to share with you my own experience, but also experience that I'm having with with clients, and I really want to help you get unstuck. So it's going to be worth investing just a couple minutes in this episode too, so that you can get the key as to how you can feel not trapped any longer by that great paycheck, because it's a it's a problem, because it's your problem, and I want to help you solve your problem. But most importantly, I want to also reflect back, because I know at this time of year, and depending on if you're listening when this podcast comes out, this is the time of year where you've just finished the fiscal year, like I remember my corporate days like it was yesterday. And so you get to the end of the fiscal year, and you are, you know, you've gotten to the bonus check, or you haven't gotten to the bonus check. But one thing is sure is, for sure is that you are exhausted, because you've done every single thing you left it all on the line, and the end of the year you don't have any more to give. I remember that. I remember getting to what was the end of my fiscal year and just being completely exhausted. And then right after that. Here's the great part, right? Because not only did you leave it all on the line, you're exhausted at the end of the year. Now you're at the point where you're looking forward in the growth target. Because you are in a growth industry, it is multiple double digits, and you're thinking, oh my gosh, how am I going to start to do this again? I get it right. I've been there, done that, and you're, you're, you're just thinking to yourself, oh my gosh, I got it but, but I got to do it again. I got to get up and do it again. Because this is the thing. This is the paycheck that is giving me the life and the lifestyle. So you want to get another bonus check, you want to get another massive bonus check. And inside you're thinking yourself, you know what? Because I was thinking the exact same thing, what I wanted to be able to do. I wanted to have much more control just over over my days. I wanted to have a lot more quality time with family, and I wanted to do it in a way that was less stressful. Any of that resonate, because it probably does. I mean the clients that I speak to and then I'm working with. It's a very similar thing. And like, if I think back to the beginning of the journey in this whole point of being being tracked by a great paycheck, I get it because, as I was going through my corporate career, consistently having those, you know, those six figure bonus checks, those multiple six figure bonus checks, and life was feeling really, really good. And at the same time, it was a consistent trap, because I didn't have anything else. But once I started realizing, like, I don't want to continue to do this, like, feeling like I'm running around in circles forever. So I started figuring out, like, Okay, well, I'm gonna spend some time. And I finally got to a point where I was spending, like, multiple hours a day, and I was looking at other options, like, what could I do to not feel like I'm consistently exhausted and always looking for more growth and growth and growth? And so I started looking at different opportunities. I was looking at, Okay, should I invest in franchises? And there were so many franchise opportunities, and they all look so simple. And then I started digging in, and then multiple hours of day before I realized that I was doing my day job and I was also looking for new opportunities, like two and three hours a day every day, like seven days a week. I was looking at different real estate opportunities. I was downloading different guides and support documents and looking over different investment opportunities. And it was literally years of doing that like specifically for me, it was, I started doing that in 2008 and didn't actually make my first commitment until 2013 right? Let me not digress. Let me get back to where I was talking about. So, you know, going through this and having so many hours a day that I was investing, but then I realized, that it got to be to a point where I was doing so much activity and all doing all this stuff by myself, and I realized, yes, I was getting the bonus checks, and yes, I was working the hours, and yes, I was doing all these things, but I was so overwhelmed, because even I didn't have a real process, I didn't know what I was really looking for. So I had so much overwhelm that I just guess what I did? I stuck in paralysis analysis because analyzing more stuff, downloading more guides, watching more videos, listen to more podcasts. But it wasn't until I did this one thing that I started realizing, like, I'm not trapped by a paycheck, and this is why I'm sharing it with you, because I don't want you to go through the same pain and suffering that I went through. I want you to get to where you want to go. Which is a life of optionality, much sooner than it took me to get there. So, so what did I do, and what? Why am I sharing this with you? Because if you're feeling trapped by a paycheck, it's a really simple process to be able to get there. I like, literally, the very first thing that I did is I decided that I decided right, that it was time to make some decisions, but make decisions and take action. But here's the, here's the three decisions that really, literally changed everything for me and the one specific action. The first thing that I did is I decided, okay, I'm looking at all these different options, but what is it that like investment options, either in businesses, in investment opportunities themselves and building a new business. But I said, Well, what in the world like? What am I chasing? And so I sat down and I figured out, what is the exact amount of money that I need to be able to move forward? Now that number that I call that the optionality number, it is the foundation of everything, because what that did is it gave me clarity. And if you do not have clarity, you will continue to wander in the job, in the in the woods forever, like, know where you're going. So the optionality number gave me the clarity that I needed to be able to take the next step. And the next step was really figuring out, okay, now, based on where I want to go, I have a certain skill set. I have a level of expertise. I have a network. So what is the right vehicle, for lack of a better word for me, like, how am I going to get to that number in the vehicle for me at that point in time when I got started, right? Because I'm getting ready to tell you, like, what the thing was, I'm telling you the decisions. But once I figured out the vehicle, it was real estate for me. That was about helping me to figure out where I needed to focus my energy. So I wasn't thinking about, you know, real estate one day, franchise business, the next day, a couple investment opportunities, some aim, some seed funding, all these different things, like, now I was focused. I was clear. Now I'm focused. And so then what that did is that helped me get to the to the next step. And this is the the most critical of them all is I blocked time two hours a day, five days a week, those first two hours of the day. And I've written about this in LinkedIn, and I've I know I've talked about this a bit here, but what that helped me to do is it helped me to get to a point where I could take consistent, focused action on the vehicle that was going to help me get to the number that I needed to get to which was my optionality number, right? And so when I think about all of those things, the specific actions, the decisions that I made, it led to the one specific action now, and I'm gonna not going to sit here and tell you that it was super easy all the time. No, there were moments where work took over and it got me sidetracked and but at least when I was getting sidetracked with work, I knew where to come back to, because I had a very specific plan on what I was going to do. I knew that I knew the number that I need to get to, I knew the vehicle that was going to help me get there, and I knew that I needed to take consistent action. So that plan brought me back, and then I got the guided support that I needed. I had an outside in perspective that helped me stay on track to do what to take. The first step. I took the first step. And taking the first step meant going from theory to actual practice, placing my capital. And that involved my energetic capital, my financial capital, my intellectual capital. In that first real investment opportunity, I took the first step. So if you don't want to feel trapped anymore in your role, you've got to get out of the paralysis analysis and the overwhelm and start to get really crystal clear on what it is you want to do. You want to do. You want to start to focus on the vehicle that's going to help you get there, and then you take consistent action, and if you have a challenge with that, I got outside in perspective to help me, to help me have guided action from someone who'd already been there, doing what it was that I wanted to do, and that helped to accelerate the timeframe for me. Now, I finally got there right. I didn't feel trapped by my paycheck anymore. Actually, after four years of taking consistent action, I was in a point where I did not need the paycheck anymore. So I did not feel trapped by the paycheck. I didn't feel trapped that didn't do it perfectly. It took, you know, it took me a long time to get to the specific process and prove a method that I'm helping other clients. With my clients, like like my client Kevin, who benefited from that, it took me two years to get clear, and it took him four weeks, right? Because he's following a proven path to be able to now get crystal clear on what it is he wants to do, why he wants to do it, and taking consistent action to get there. That's why the program that that I'm that I'm working with clients that are executive clients who really want to be able to get to this life of optionality. It's helping them to do exactly that, the executive edge Advisory Program. And one of the things, especially when you're starting out the year, if there's something you want to find out more about, you can go to. Make it optional.com, I know you've heard it before, but make it optional.com. And so you don't feel trapped by the great paycheck. I know what it's like. I've been there, and I'm helping clients to stop feeling trapped today, enjoying their job, excelling in their role, and at the same time being able to build that profitable side business. Do it discreetly, do it in a way that makes sense, and not making all of the same mistakes that you typically will make when you're building a business on the side. I made a lot of them, and I paid full price. Don't do the same, and then you can enjoy more of the days. You don't feel trapped any longer. You have much more control. You're having more quality time with your family, and you also are doing it in a less stressful way. So listen, if that's you, I just made it really easy, you can go to make it optional.com. You can reach out to me directly. If you're listening or watching and you've been on LinkedIn, we can connect there. And so what I would say is, if it's not you and you know somebody who's going through this that they you can see that they feel trapped, share today's episode with them, get on the phone, talk to them, go from theory to practice. It's such an important thing, and while you're doing that, I'll be right here preparing for the next episode. So until then, go out and make it a great day. And thank you very, very much.

‍