I remember when I quit my day job at the ripe, old age of 32, there were a few people in my life who were concerned about what a “gap” in my résumé would look like for an employer should I decide to reenter the workforce at a later date.
My personal concern over this was absolutely zero.
To me, it was akin to a prisoner being released from prison, only to then worry about any experience, advantages, and/or relationships they built up over the years of incarceration but would then be without if they were to later reenter the prison system.
I wasn’t worrying about a gap in the résumé.
I was too focused on becoming financially independent and striving toward my potential as a human being.
Now, I’ll be honest. I was a bit scared about what the future would mean without a day job’s paycheck to fall back on, but I was just as (or more) excited about what I could do if my resources were fully unleashed.
There was no failure. No going back.
And knowing this only propelled me forward.
Yet when I started to analyze other people’s fears over a move that wasn’t even theirs – they were concerned over the worst that could happen – I took a closer look at that which they were so focused on: the résumé.
You know what I noticed?
The word résumé (the summary of your education and job history) looks exactly like the word resume (begin to do something again after a pause).
That struck me like lightning.
The résumé is a physical manifestation of the resuming of that which holds one back from experiencing a truly free life.
Building a résumé is building a resume. It’s not building an end.
When people are so heavily focused on building a résumé, they’re simply building themselves a trap in which they’re going to resume doing the same undesirable things over and over again.
Having a good-looking résumé is only setting yourself up to resume doing what everyone else is doing.
You’re going to resume getting less sleep than you’d like, showing up to a job that you probably don’t totally enjoy, dealing with office politics, eating your lunch within a predetermined time frame, punching in and out, long commutes, and limiting yourself and your potential.
Why would I want to resume any of that?
Well, I didn’t. And I still don’t.
Instead of building a resume, I built an end.
That end was and still is financial independence.
The crazy thing is that it wasn’t that difficult, nor did it take that long.
I was below broke – worth less than zero dollars – near my 28th birthday. Yet I became financially independent at 33 years old.
The dividend growth stock portfolio that I spent that time frame building now generates the five-figure passive income I need to cover my basic expenses in life.
We’re talking less than six years here to go from (below) zero to hero.
I documented how that all unfolded in real-time throughout my journey, and I’ve recounted the steps here at the blog, as well as through the “blueprint” to early retirement that I wrote for Daily Trade Alert.
Short-term pain for long-term gain!
Moreover, the “pain” wasn’t really pain at all. There’s very little sacrifice involved in the kind of lifestyle that is required to become financially independent reasonably quickly.
Once you realize that money and happiness don’t correlate at a constant 1:1 ratio (more money doesn’t mean more happiness past a certain, low threshold), it’s easy to allocate more of one’s resources toward areas of life that produce better and more meaningful long-term results.
And I actually think the real “sacrifice” is spending most of one’s life at a job that doesn’t create a rich environment for personal happiness, fulfillment, and purpose.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I work. I still work. I work a lot, actually. But I don’t job. I’m not a jobber. There’s a massive difference between working and jobbing.
Financial independence confers significant benefits to oneself, yet the journey toward and achievement of financial freedom isn’t that complex.
More accurately, it’s simple but difficult.
It’s simple to understand the mechanics. Anyone can do the math and run a spreadsheet or two. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do this. (By the way, how many rocket scientists are actually financially independent? That’d be an interesting thing to look into.)
However, it’s difficult to actually execute the necessary steps day in and day out. It’s difficult to step off of the treadmill that everyone else is running. People want to fit in. They want to be accepted.
But if you think and act like everyone else, you’ll end up living like everyone else.
Again, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to look around you or read up on a few surveys/studies to find that most Americans are overworked, overstressed, and overweight. Most industrialized countries aren’t like this. And I can certainly say life isn’t like that here in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
So if you want that typical life, live and act like everyone else.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a hard pass on that.
The thing is, though, you do have to participate in the game for a few years. The résumé is important while you still need it.
But it should all just be a means to an end. You shouldn’t spend too much time building a resume. You should be building an end, which leads to a new and exciting beginning.
Use your résumé to make the money necessary to have excess capital in the first place, because it’s that capital that will buy you your freedom.
I spent about eight years in the auto industry. And my résumé looked good while I needed it. But that which others were using to resume was being used by me to end… and then begin again.
And so as we begin a new year, think of this as an opportunity to begin the engineering of your end, which may very well lead to a beginning that could unlock a whole new you.
Don’t build a résumé. And don’t build a resume. Build an end.
What do you think? Would you rather build a résumé, which is simply a resume? Or would you rather build an end?
Thanks for reading.
Image courtesy of: aechan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
P.S. If you’re more interested in building an end than a resume, I’ve put together a list of excellent resources that could prove invaluable toward achieving financial independence. Since financial independence is the ultimate end, and simultaneously the ultimate beginning, these resources are definitely worth checking out.
Hello Jason,
we’re on it (my husband and I) 🙂
Our portfolio is around 95K at the moment, we buy solid companies with at least 3% yield, but we started just last August so still a long way to go!
Reading you is so inspiring, I’m not sure we will make it in 6 years like you, but I don’t plan to be working in my fifties, that’s for sure! (I’m 32 now).
Please keep writing!
Andrea,
Hey, that’s great progress there. To be sitting on a nice pile of wealth that’s generating a significant and growing source of passive income puts you in a fantastic spot. Can’t win it if you’re not in it. Success begets success, so you’ll just see that snowball accelerate as time goes on. It’s all inevitable now! 🙂
Best regards.
Hi Jason we chatted years back on your old US blog. Good to see your doing well 🙂 For all the folks here just getting started I would like them to know, keep a good attitude for the future and save save save no matter what.
You may not remember but I actually had to start three times ! First was the orig start, then a divorce, then a poor choice of a partner ( she was just looking for a free ride ). But I raised 3 great sons and was still able to break free at 43 🙂 Now getting on 57 and I have never looked back I’m still investing in great companies which I plan on continuing forever and passing the portfolio on to my 2 granddaughters. Life really is great 🙂
Wish you and all the folks here all the best 🙂
Bob,
That’s an awesome story. I love how you didn’t let anything hold you back or keep you down. You kept on working hard and moving forward. That’s the right attitude to have! 🙂
I believe that nothing can hold us back if we approach things with the right attitude and a healthy dose of gratitude.
Looking forward to the day I can say that I, too, have been free for more than 10 years.
Best regards.
I am building an end. Ever since I first found your blog, I have been building this end that you speak of. It is something that I am going for in full force and I got my girlfriend on board.
FV,
I couldn’t imagine going after it with anything less than 100%. If you’re in it at full force, that’s great. Your life and time deserve nothing less.
Cheers!
I love thinking of it as a resume and not a résumé, that’s a sharp observation.
It’s funny, I’ve jumped through all the right hoops in life and get zero satisfaction from my “resume”. What I do enjoy is my time with my family and pursuing my interests.
I’m going to mark my permanent early retirement (on a mini one now) by building a bonfire with a stack of my “resumes”.
Moose,
Haha! Thanks!
I’ve talked to a few people about this over the years. I always see this light in their eyes, along with a quick laugh, where you can see it really spark an idea in their mind. I don’t know if anyone else has ever really observed the similarities between the two words in this sense. I think it’s a pretty neat concept.
Every year that goes by, my résumé looks worse. Yet every year that goes by, I get happier. Go figure.
That’ll be a hell of a bonfire when the time comes! 🙂
Best wishes.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a hard pass on that.”
Ha. Seriously. Working in a cubicle farm (IT job) was quite an eye-opening experience. So many people complain about their jobs, yet they do nothing to break free. They don’t understand that having a job could be optional in a very short amount of time if they made some simple changes. Instead, they keep spending money because they are unhappy and they think they can buy their way into happiness. It doesn’t work, so they spend more and more, only to find themselves under a mountain of debt and just as unhappy as they were before — if not more so.
When I started the cubicle job it felt like I was in some alternate dimension where zombies roamed the halls under fluorescent lighting. That feeling never left. I’m just glad I was able to jump in and out of that twilight zone fast enough that I could keep my sanity. Hard pass, indeed.
Travis,
Absolutely. That’s the hedonic treadmill. You run faster and faster, only to find yourself in the same, doomed spot. All one has to do is… get off.
Jump in and out, indeed. The résumé is a great asset for as long as you need it, which should be a very short period of time. Then the only resume you should be building is the resuming of your actual life.
Best regards!
Good morning Jason,
Great post! As a native of Sweden I have it on good authority that Americans are overly obsessed with having a resume and what a potential gap in such a resume would mean. LoL! After returning to Sweden after over 20 years in the US (where I spent most of the years as a stay at home mom) I had job offers thrown at me. And at my first teaching job at a high school in Sweden I did not even leave a resume.
Thank you for your very inspirational blog about freedom. I will be there in a few years.
Kind regards,
Anneli
Anneli,
That’s an awesome perspective. Thanks for sharing that. 🙂
It’s interesting to see the differences between the USA and a lot of other developed countries, especially across Europe. Always pros and cons to consider. If the career, money, and power are important, the States has a lot to like. Otherwise, you start to see some appealing options elsewhere.
Best regards!
Hi Jason,
I am in the position in which I work because I want to. Work has been getting worse for the past one year due to the change of the management. The vision of the management is not longer in line with mine. I am glad to have the so called “FU Money”. The current work environment does not make me feel stressful because I know that I can walk away if I want to do so. Meanwhile, I am on the lookout for the other job which makes me happier.
Ben
Ben,
Thanks for dropping by!
You’re right. There’s a huge difference between having to work and wanting to work. I also work because I want to. I think anyone who becomes more or less financially free at a young age will continue to work out of sheer desire and drive. But that work will thereafter be on their terms, making a résumé in the traditional sense fairly meaningless.
Cheers!
Hi Jason,
While you’re in the game everyone is so focused on the resume. Companies could care less about you and unless you have a good network or politic well, it’s tough to move through the ranks. You’re right, a resume is a means to an end. All they really want is how much can you make them or save them. Upper level of management will always siphon as much work out of you and as much $ they can from the company. Which is why I don’t really trust stocks in general, since you cannot control what happens in these companies. Hopefully share holders keep them in check.
I wish I had got out of the rat race earlier.
I give you credit for having the courage to get out sooner and live a much healthier life . You seemed to have executed your “plan B “while in the game and it is paying off !
Best regards,
John
John,
I hear you. I’m not quite that gloomy about the concept of jobs, as I freely acknowledge there are a few people out there who genuinely enjoy what they do and have had a pretty good experience in the workforce. But because the vast majority of people – and stats will back that up – have had a very different experience (like I did), I do what I can to help and inspire. Worrying about what a piece of paper looks like to an employer is, in my view, a poor use of resources, other than using that piece of paper to your advantage for the short period of time it makes sense.
Appreciate the support. I have zero regrets about quitting when I did. It was just the right time to get out and see what else was possible. 🙂
Cheers.
Jason,
I love this. It was these types of articles that I liked to read when I was still learning about what it meant to be FI.
Working on the path to FI has undoubtedly given me the ability to seek out different opportunities that I didn’t think were possible (for me). For example, I’m flying out today to a new city for an interview. It’s an opportunity for a new beginning.
But as the theme of this article suggests, I am not seeking to build my resume. I’m seeking opportunities that align with what I want to do regardless if it looks good on paper!
HP,
Thanks so much! 🙂
Best of luck with the interview. If the work is meaningful, purposeful, and enjoyable, that’s great. Work is wonderful. I don’t think I’d enjoy my life nearly as much without work. But a large part of the enjoyment is hinged on it being at least somewhat on my terms/within my control. Because jobs are so inflexible in that regard most of the time, it (having a job) is just not a spot I see myself in ever again. I guess you never know, though. If some amazing “job” popped up down the road that fulfilled me in every imaginable way, I might look into that. But it definitely wouldn’t be for the sake of a résumé.
Sounds like you’re going into it for the right reasons, too. Good stuff!!
Best regards.
I don’t have much to add other than I like the observation about what a resume is. They are very depressing documents, when you think about it. They detail all the ways you’ve made yourself subservient to others and how you can put your life off to the side and place the potential employer’s life above yours. Nothing in there about improving your own wellbeing, only on how you can improve a group of strangers’.
Maybe you should help people create an endme.
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
ARB,
Yeah. Absolutely. I like the way you put that. That’s more or less what it really is. How willing and able are you to do as you’re told, play the game, and fit in? To be fair, an employer deserves to know that. I get it. They’re investing in their employees. It’s the nature of things. It’s just not for me. I’m much happier after finding my version of the end (which has opened up a whole new beginning). 🙂
Thanks for adding that!
Cheers.