You’ll always be a slave. Unless you get this sorted.

Thousands of people try and quit the rat race and make a go of their passions every year, but it doesn’t work for everyone. What is the missing ingredient that lets others make a living while others have to trudge back to work?

“I wasn’t born with it. It was a horrible process to get to this. It took me my whole life. If you’re new at this — and by “new at it,” I mean 15 years in, or even 20 — you’re just starting to get traction.” — Louis C.K.

We all want creative freedom in our work.

We all want to write our own checks.

We all want to work on meaningful projects.

We all want to work alongside people we hand-pick.

But these coveted desires only become permanent fixtures in our lives when we have one thing.

Career capital.

This idea comes from Cal Newport and his book ‘So good they can’t ignore you.’

In it he tells (or warns to be more accurate) of people who have tried to break away from the corporate 9–5 machine. These freedom seekers have tried to live off their passions without a parachute.

In other words, they’ve jumped without a safety net of skills. No proven skills (or products/ services) that people would pay for long enough for them to sustain a living.

As a result, they’ve had to go crawling back.

That’s a walk that no one wants to make.

And I should know. It’s one I’ve had to make.

In the past, I’ve fallen victim to this desire to break away and do my own unconventional thing.

But when I’ve done that without adequate career capital it hasn’t gone well.

With a dislike for authority, the promise of freedom always would get my attention.

And I would jump on things, willingly making that trade. Even though there wasn’t clear financial stability to support these pursuits.

From going after a passion-based career. To invest in opportunistic entrepreneurial ventures. I’ve made my fair share of regrettable choices in my twenties.

Sure, I’ve got good memories, but why not have the freedom from your career capital AND the memories?

They’re not mutually exclusive.

The big lesson I’ve taken from these years now looking back is a simple one.

It’s to use the time that we are willing to spare, to build that required leverage we need.

And we all have time, we don’t have a lot of it.

Some of us have evenings, others have mornings. Some of us have weekends, while some of us have certain weekdays.

In whatever time we do have, we have enough to make progress and that’s the tough truth pill to swallow.

We all need to have that hard conversation with ourselves.

We have to decide whether are we willing to sacrifice fun today for freedom tomorrow.

Because jumping without career capital leads to a likely walk of shame back to the job market.

While staying put can lead to deep-seated self-resentment and regret in the future.

No one wants either of these scenarios.

And thankfully we can avoid these hells from becoming realities.

We have to start by looking at what we are actually doing.

The point is to do what you can to keep your stability whilst you build the monetary vehicle.

To not get off the ground, but that can sustain flight too.

And that will come at different levels for us all.

It will depend on our current lifestyle. The associated expenses and time requirements with young children or pets etc.

There is no one size fits all monetary amount that says, “ok now you can quit”. But there is an amount for everyone.

Know your number — what are you aiming at?

So, a rough calculation I like is to look at your current bare least living expenses over the last three months.

Look at the average of those three months. Then multiply by three. That for me is a sensible amount to shoot at.

If your vehicle can hit three months or more, at least triple your monthly living expenses. You are on to something.

I always like the security of cash. So I would still not make the leap until I have at least my year’s living expenses in cash in a savings account.

There is something psychologically soothing about knowing you can support yourself for a year at least. But each to their own.

It will be a sacrifice to get to this point though.

It won’t be easy in the first few weeks and months to build momentum.

It will feel alien as you start acting in a different way.

Working hard on one thing when you it was maybe just a thought a little while ago.

And watch out for how difficult it will be to say no to some of your usual go-to escapisms.

But I’m not saying to completely go without.

Keep the ones that actually make you feel better.

But it is time to curb certain things. We can’t do everything.

And I get it, it is hard. No matter your interests, today there is something for everyone at the tap and swipe of screen.

You have to train yourself to think differently.

You have to think long term.

If you want freedom, it won’t be that hard to drop certain activities.

Like how many more Netflix crime docu-series can we all watch this year?!

And do we need another big hoody this winter? Come on.

Remember that the version of you today won’t be as valuable as the version of yourself this time next year.

So long as you keep building your value in the dark, you will be changing the course of your future.

And that is invaluable. That is definitely the best use of your current time.

I’m sure you agree that even if it does take longer than you had planned (and it will!).

The person you’ll become at that quitting point in the future, will be worth all this short-term sacrifice.

So get building your career capital now.

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”