Do not quit your 9-5
It's not about courage
The hustle culture nowadays has a terrible version of what courage should look like
They tell you courage is about quitting your current activity in order to dedicate yourself 100% at something
Bullsh*t
Stop the only thing bringing you money and food to the table in order to try the next online business will be your end
Courage is about showing up, admitting you might fail, being a beginner at something and fighting temptation
Before being brave, you need to be humble first:
You get humble once you enter the gym and see guys bigger than you
You get humble once you start a business and realize you don’t have the skills
You get humble once you realize you don’t have all the answers
If you are not satisfied with your life, you must grind out of it
Use the weekend (and other free time) to build the life you want, not to escape the life you have
Giving up on your 9-5 will remove the safety net you have
You might take the sigma-male approach and disregard minimal safety
But this will give you maybe 3-6 months of security before your funds run out. Let’s say you survive even for a full year…
You will get tremendously stressed when your plans go south, when your skills prove to be insufficient, when it takes more than expected
Stress people make stupid decisions and take unnecessary risk. If you know the food on the table is a guarantee, you will be more present, and actually grind more
It works for me that way.
The times of the year where I am more productive are the ones where I need to find the time to build my projects outside my 9-5.
Holidays and more relaxed times of the year? I get anxious and tedious by the amount of time I have to dedicate only to one thing.
“But Val, I have children and a wife to take care of...”
This applies especially if you have tons of responsibilities like family. Your safety net it’s their safety net.
That company, project, business you have in your mind will come, be patient and build that character on your free time.
The path for greatness does not happen in 6 months, it’s a persona you have to acquire. Give time for your works to reflect it.
I know others who have done it quickly and even dropped everything to pursue something with a few dollars in their name.
Some get rich, some get miserable.
But we gotta stop comparing ourselves with instagram reality, and pursue the path of acquiring skills, creating value for the community, building our name…
Only after that we will earn our freedom
Last note (and the most important): The ones that take this strategy and win are the most capable of fighting temptation and fight mental resistance. Unfortunately, it’s part of the human condition, but we can be better. God bless you.




"Before being brave, you need to be humble first". Cool thought. I am a great defender of courage, but we all must understand our limits before trying to build "the life we think we deserve".