Why I Left My 200K Job to Pursue Financial Freedom
Perhaps, by being an outsider myself to the corporate world, I can be on a new path to create a life outside of the mainstream and to live by my own definition of what real success means.
— Pearl Li
I once told my mentor with Elite Legacy Education that helps people gain financial freedom through investing “Out of 24 hours a day, the time that belongs to me to spend however I want is only 2 hours a day!! Lower than 10%. 8 Hours allocate to sleep, 3 hours getting ready for work including shower, eating and getting ready, 1-hour commute both ways, the rest is all working. How is this NOT slavery??” My mentor said, “At least you are getting paid well, most average families live like this only getting paid a fraction of what you make.” I replied, “To be barely kept alive and never allowed to really live?” I heard my own voice quivering with emotion and had to pause a bit to let the silence take hold.
My mentor signed a bit and said, “Keep trading, you will get there!” Her voice was half sympathetic to me, yet half reassuring in confidence. She knew what was like to be in a tough spot. She once was a stay at home wife, hit with enormous medical debt with a husband, the sole provider of their household that was fighting through cancer. She never thought she would be an incredible trader/investor, after all, she did not have an occupation. Yet, trading brought her abilities and discipline to a mastery level. I see now that there is a difference between pursuing a job versus pursuing real wealth.
It has been 3 years since that conversation. I joyfully said goodbye to my corporate job and fell in love with my life! The memories of how I used to work is now fading. Even my physical body responded so well to the change. All my headaches are now gone. My hair is shinier, my skin glowed and my overall energy level increased. I have met critics of my decision, who are puzzled by what I did. After all, leaving a seemingly lucrative job at Amazon is not something to be taken lightly. I am incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to do so. I know so many seemingly well-paid corporate workers, who simply cannot leave their paycheck, regardless of how unhappy they may be. There is a toll on them more than money can compensate.
To be fair, I didn’t always regard the corporate job as “Suffering in silence”. I had about 5 years in my corporate career that I loved. The most potent ingredient of this motivation came from inspiring leadership that earned my trust and provided incredible learning opportunities for me. In return, I put in the time and the diligence willingly while feeling uplifted in my spirit to be a creator. However, I’m afraid those days are now gone. We live in an era of fear-driven corporate environment. Most people managers are ill-qualified to manage people. They fail to understand that what drives high performance from humans are not numbers but positive emotions. That extra ounce of energy, motivation, and diligence is the most honest expression of the team’s trust in a leader.
I once read a book called, “The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success”. It showcased some of the rarest leaders, who may seem too “down to earth”, selfless, and ordinary by what stereotypically describes a“High Powered” position to exhibit some of the most extraordinary strength in character that welded them incredible influence over their peers to deliver results while winning people to their side. However, those characters rarely get highlighted in the media. Like the title of this book, good leaders are rare, like outsiders. They are the exceptions to the mainstream.
Perhaps, by being an outsider myself to the corporate world, I can be on a new path to create a life outside of the mainstream and to live by my own definition of what real success means. I am more hopeful than ever that my life will manifest things outside of expectations.
This post serves as an extended notice to my network and the general public about my curious developments. For those that would like to follow me periodically, you are welcome to subscribe to my post. I hope to serve as a window to enrich your thoughts on financial freedom and occasionally say things that you can’t say while being employed.
The Theta Finder. In the Making. Pearl previously has been a product management professional for more than 10 years working at well-known companies such as Amazon and Nielsen Company. She took the leap in 2016 with Elite Legacy Education to learn about building long term wealth through financial market trading/investing. In 2018, Pearl happily left her job to pursue investing/trading fulltime producing theta style trading that generates monthly cashflow. She is thrilled to be a voice on the Tackle Trading platform to share her transformation as she goes through various phases of her growing experience.
Originally published at tackletrading.com on March 8, 2019.
