There was a lot of back and forth in my decision making.

在做決定的過程中，我反反覆覆考慮了很久。

I was wrestling with doubts, facing tons of uncertainties and hearing countless reasons as to why it was a crazy idea.

我在懷疑中掙扎，面對無數的不確定性，聽到無數的理由來解釋為什麼這是一個瘋狂的想法。

But despite all of the reasons not to do it, I found that there were five things in particular that I did before I quit that made the decision to quit a whole lot easier.

但是，儘管有各種理由不這麼做，我還是發現，我在辭職前特別做了五件事，這五件事讓我更容易做出辭職的決定。

And hopefully by sharing them with you, it'll help you decide whether or not you want to pursue a similar path, and if so, how to go about it.

希望通過與大家分享，能幫助大家決定是否要走類似的道路，如果要走，又該如何走。

The very first thing I did was build a creative thinking fund.

我做的第一件事就是建立一個創造性思維基金。

Whenever someone asked me how I mustered up the nerve to walk away from a cushy, well-paying job, I could easily pat myself on the back and say, oh, I'm just a brave person or I'm a huge risk taker.

每當有人問我是如何鼓起勇氣從一份舒適、高薪的工作崗位上離開時，我都會輕鬆地拍拍自己的肩膀說，哦，我只是一個勇敢的人，或者我是一個巨大的冒險家。

But the truth is that neither of those are true.

但事實是，這兩種說法都不正確。

And a big chunk of my courage was backed by something a lot more tangible, a financial safety net.

我的勇氣有很大一部分來自於更實在的東西，那就是財務安全網。

I had a large amount of money, nine months worth of my living expenses set aside to continue paying for my living expenses, even if I made no money from my side business.

我預留了一大筆錢，相當於我九個月的生活費，即使我的副業賺不到錢，我也可以繼續支付我的生活費。

At the end of the day, money affords you the privilege of having a big leap feel like a small hop.

歸根結底，錢能讓你享受到大躍進就像小跳躍的特權。

By having some money set aside, it made the risk of walking away from a consistently paying job a lot easier, knowing that I wasn't going to be working from a place of scarcity or a place of desperation, and that I would still have the focus and the freedom to think creatively.

通過預留一些錢，我知道自己不會在匱乏或絕望的情況下工作，而且我仍然可以專注和自由地進行創造性思考，這讓我在放棄一份收入穩定的工作時更容易承擔風險。

If you have high interest rate debt as well, then you also definitely want to pay that off before thinking about quitting.

如果你還有高利率債務，那麼在考慮戒菸之前，你也一定要先還清這些債務。

And there's an order in which I would recommend, which is build out a small financial safety net first, then pay off your high interest rate debt, then build out your full creative thinking fund.

我建議的一個順序是，先建立一個小的財務安全網，然後還清高利率債務，再建立完整的創造性思維基金。

I have a free cheat sheet that goes into what you should be doing with your money and in what order.

我有一份免費的小抄，詳細介紹了你應該如何使用你的錢，以及使用的順序。

It has all the steps I took in order to set myself up financially, and it's all on one page, completely free to download.

它包含了我為建立自己的財務狀況所採取的所有步驟，而且都在一頁紙上，完全免費下載。

I'll leave the link in the description if you want to check it out.

如果你想查看，我會在說明中留下鏈接。

The second thing to do is to go evenings and weekends first.

第二件事是晚上和週末先去。

It's hard to pursue a side business while you're working full time.

在全職工作的同時從事副業很難。

I totally get that.

我完全理解。

You're already spending 8, 10, 12 hours a day at the job.

你已經每天花 8、10 或 12 個小時在工作上了。

The last thing you have the capacity for is more work.

你最沒有能力做的事情就是做更多的工作。

But if you do want to take this seriously, you've got to make it work with the constraints that you have.

但是，如果你真的想認真對待這件事，你就必須在現有的限制條件下做到這一點。

And one of the best things I did was to keep my full time job whilst pursuing my passion projects and my interests on the side, essentially giving up my weekends and my evenings to do it.

我所做的最好的事情之一，就是在保留全職工作的同時，兼職從事我的激情項目和興趣愛好，為此我基本上放棄了週末和晚上的時間。

And instead of thinking of my job as something that was getting in the way of me working on my side business, I thought of it as something that was funding it.

我不再認為我的工作妨礙了我的副業，而是把它看作是我副業的資金來源。

It was helping me build faster than I could have on my own because I was able to use the cash flow to invest and to scale.

它幫助我加快了發展速度，因為我可以利用現金流進行投資和擴大規模。

So for instance, when it comes to my YouTube channel, the first thing I invested in was a proper camera.

是以，比如說到我的 YouTube 頻道，我首先投資購買了一臺合適的攝影機。

I upgraded from a day to day iPhone to a 1500 Sony camera.

我從日常使用的 iPhone 升級到了 1500 索尼相機。

And if I didn't have a job, spending that amount of money on a side business that I didn't even know would make me any money would have been a lot harder to do.

如果我沒有工作，花那麼多錢去做一個我都不知道能不能賺錢的副業，會更難。

But knowing that I have the funding coming in made it a lot easier for me to keep reinvesting.

但我知道我有資金來源，這讓我更容易繼續進行再投資。

It gave me the freedom to experiment and not worry about any costly mistakes I make.

這給了我試驗的自由，不用擔心犯任何代價高昂的錯誤。

Very quickly, I then paid for an editor so I could keep focusing on the scripting and the creative side.

很快，我就花錢僱了一名編輯，這樣我就可以繼續專注於劇本和創意方面的工作。

This again wouldn't have been something that I did had I quit my job.

如果我辭職了，我也不會這樣做。

I probably would have tried to save money in a lot of ways by doing things myself instead.

我可能會在很多方面自己動手來節省開支。

And I would recommend to keep your full time job and focus on your side business on evenings and weekends until the income from your business is the same amount as your living expenses or more.

我建議保留你的全職工作，在晚上和週末專注於你的副業，直到你的副業收入達到或超過你的生活費。

Ideally, you want it to be like this for three months.

理想情況下，你希望這樣的狀態持續三個月。

Three months means you've cracked a formula and it's not just a one off.

三個月意味著你已經破解了一個配方，而且這不僅僅是一次性的。

By the way, one of the tools that I've been using from the start is Grammarly, who are very kindly sponsoring today's video.

順便說一下，我從一開始就在使用的工具之一是 Grammarly，他們非常友好地贊助了今天的視頻。

A huge part of my side business revolves around writing, writing newsletters, writing scripts, writing captions, responding to an email.

我的副業很大一部分是圍繞著寫作，寫通訊、寫腳本、寫標題、回覆電子郵件。

And in fact, this is the case for most of us.

事實上，我們大多數人都是這樣。

By using Grammarly, I save countless hours on proofreading and writing that I would have spent trying to write something perfectly.

通過使用 Grammarly，我節省了無數的校對和寫作時間，而這些時間本可以用來寫出完美的文章。

And what I love about it is it integrates across your whole laptop so you can use it on every single tool and browser that you open.

我最喜歡它的一點是，它可以整合整個筆記本電腦，是以你可以在打開的每個工具和瀏覽器上使用它。

It checks my emails as I write them on Gmail, proofreads my scripts as I work on them in Notion, and it provides me ideas for captions before I post on social media.

當我在 Gmail 上寫郵件時，它會檢查我的郵件；當我在 Notion 上編寫劇本時，它會校對我的劇本；當我在社交媒體上發佈標題時，它會為我提供創意。

It will make your writing more compelling while still staying true to your tone and your style within one click.

只需點擊一下，它就能讓你的文章更有吸引力，同時還能保持你的語氣和風格。

And the best part is all of the features that I mentioned are completely free, so you may as well give it a go.

最棒的是，我提到的所有功能都是完全免費的，所以你不妨一試。

You can get access straight away by signing up through my link in the description.

通過描述中的鏈接註冊後，您就可以直接訪問。

The third thing I did was to reframe the concept of taking a pay cut.

我做的第三件事是重新構建減薪的概念。

I have a few friends who have moved from banking to working for a startup.

我有幾個朋友從銀行業轉到初創公司工作。

And they've taken a pay cut in the process, but they have equity in the startup.

在這個過程中，他們雖然減薪了，但他們擁有初創公司的股權。

So they've got a small, small piece of ownership in their new company.

是以，他們在新公司中獲得了一小部分所有權。

And if it takes off, that small piece of equity will be worth 10 times more than what their previous salary was.

如果它起飛了，這一小塊資產的價值將是他們之前工資的 10 倍。

I thought of taking a pay cut to work for myself in a similar way.

我曾想過以類似的方式減薪為自己工作。

So at the time that I quit my job, I was making the equivalent of about $300,000 from my banking job, which was my all-in package.

是以，在我辭職的時候，我在銀行工作的收入大約相當於 30 萬美元，這是我的全部收入。

And then at the time that I quit, I had made $4,000 that month from my YouTube channel.

辭職時，我從 YouTube 頻道賺了 4000 美元。

I don't know at the time if that was sustainable, but I did some back-of-the-envelope calculations.

我當時不知道這是否可持續，但我做了一些事後計算。

And assuming I was going to make the same every month going forward, I was taking an 84% pay cut.

假設我今後每個月的工資都一樣，我的工資就會減少 84%。

Gross.

噁心

But I didn't think of it as a pay cut.

但我並不認為這是減薪。

I thought of it as this is the equity that I'm building.

我認為這是我正在建立的資產。

Me going all-in and focusing on this thing that I'm doing for me is building equity in my startup.

我全身心地投入，專注於我為自己做的這件事，為我的初創公司建立股權。

And so that was a mindset shift for me that helped me let go of a big paycheck.

是以，我的心態發生了轉變，這讓我放下了高薪。

And another way to think of it is you are paying for learning.

換個角度想，你是在為學習付費。

So say I was making $300,000 from my banking job and I quit.

比方說，我在銀行工作賺了 30 萬美元，然後我辭職了。

I spent six months on my YouTube channel and then I realized it wasn't going to work.

我在 YouTube 頻道上花了六個月的時間，然後我意識到這是行不通的。

I could probably go back into banking and get another job.

我也許可以回到銀行業，再找一份工作。

Sure, it might not pay me the same amount.

當然，它可能不會給我同樣的報酬。

It might be paying me $250,000.

它可能會付給我 25 萬美元。

If you look at it like that, I wasn't then taking a 100% pay cut.

如果你這樣看，我當時並沒有減薪 100%。

I was taking around 15% pay cut to learn a whole load of business skills.

我減薪約 15%，學習了一大堆商業技能。

And that is totally justifiable if it means giving a shot at something that you've always wanted to do.

如果這意味著要為自己一直想做的事情放手一搏，那是完全有理由的。

The fourth thing I did was test my commitment.

我做的第四件事是檢驗自己的承諾。

For nine years, I was told what I need to do, what I need to work on, what I was aiming for.

九年來，我一直被告知我需要做什麼，我需要努力什麼，我的目標是什麼。

I had this template that guided me essentially on my career trajectory.

我有這樣一個模板，它基本上指引著我的職業軌跡。

Meet these KPIs, get promoted.

達到這些關鍵績效指標，就能獲得晉升。

Bring in this much revenue, get a bigger bonus.

帶來這麼多收入，就能得到更多獎金。

There was such a clear plan that when the idea of working for myself came around, I questioned how I was going to be near as disciplined or motivated without having all of these structures in place and someone to report to.

有了這樣一個清晰的計劃，當我萌生了為自己工作的想法時，我不禁懷疑，如果沒有這些結構，沒有人向我彙報工作，我怎麼會有那麼強的紀律性和動力。

The entrepreneurial world is not for everyone.

創業世界並不適合所有人。

And a large part of it is because a lot of people do thrive off having this template for their careers.

這在很大程度上是因為很多人的職業生涯都是以此為模板的。

And what was for me a good measure of my commitment and discipline was how I treated my side business while I had a full-time job.

而對我來說，衡量我的承諾和紀律的一個很好的標準，就是在我有一份全職工作的時候，我是如何對待我的副業的。

So when you have a full-time job and you're trying to build something on the side, things are going to have to give.

是以，當你有一份全職工作，卻又想兼職做點什麼時，就必須有所取捨。

I had to say no to a lot of social plans, travel plans to really be able to commit to this thing.

我必須拒絕很多社交計劃和旅行計劃，才能真正投入到這件事中。

And that was a really good indicator or a self-realization for myself that I don't need external factors to stay motivated.

這對我來說是一個非常好的指標，或者說是一個自我認識，讓我意識到我不需要外部因素來保持動力。

If I did constantly find myself coming up with excuses as to why I shouldn't work on my side business and said, go for this dinner or go out for these travel plans, that's fine.

如果我發現自己經常找藉口說我不應該做我的副業，並說，去吃這頓飯或出去旅遊，那也沒關係。

But then equally, I know my priorities wouldn't change if I quit my job.

但同樣，我知道如果我辭職，我的優先事項也不會改變。

The same temptations and the distractions will always be there.

同樣的誘惑和干擾永遠存在。

One of my friends took a sabbatical to work on her side business.

我的一個朋友休假去做她的副業。

And instead, in that time period, she ended up just going traveling for two out of the three months and didn't actually work on her side business at all.

相反，在那段時間裡，她三個月中有兩個月只是去旅行，根本沒有真正從事她的副業。

She came back and then realized that she's not someone who can work for herself.

她回來後才意識到，她不是一個能為自己工作的人。

She needs to be told what to do to be disciplined and productive.

需要告訴她該怎麼做，才能讓她遵守紀律、有所作為。

And this was a really good way for her to test her commitment before quitting and going all in.

這也是她在辭職和全身心投入之前檢驗自己承諾的好方法。

And number five, reframe, I don't know if it will work.

第五，重新構思，我不知道這是否可行。

I was speaking to one of my close friends the other day.

前幾天，我和我的一位好友哈拉。

She works for a big four accountancy firm in London, and she's been doing it for nearly 10 years.

她在倫敦一家四大會計師事務所工作，已經幹了近 10 年。

And she's got to a place where she feels hugely misaligned.

而她到了一個地方，覺得自己嚴重錯位。

She doesn't want to continue going down this big four corporate route, but she feels stuck and she feels like she's burnt out and she doesn't really know where to go from here.

她不想繼續走四大企業的老路，但她感覺自己被困住了，感覺自己已經精疲力竭，她真的不知道何去何從。

She said she's always wanted to start her own podcast.

她說她一直想開辦自己的播客。

She's been thinking about it for the past year, but she's been putting it off because there are so many podcasts out there already.

去年，她一直在考慮這個問題，但因為播客已經太多了，所以一直拖著。

And she doesn't know if she could bring anything unique or fresh to the table.

她也不知道自己能否帶來什麼獨特或新鮮的東西。

The way I see this personally is that the goal isn't about winning or starting a side business solely to quit your job.

我個人的看法是，我們的目標並不是贏，也不是僅僅為了辭職而做副業。

Instead, it's about making sure that you won't look back in 10 years, regretting not taking a chance to do something that you truly wanted to do.

相反，這樣做是為了確保在 10 年後回首往事時，不會後悔沒有抓住機會去做自己真正想做的事情。

Because the fear of regret is far bigger than the fear of failure.

因為對後悔的恐懼遠遠大於對失敗的恐懼。

If you keep walking down the same path, sticking to a job that you know doesn't fulfill you, you'll only feel more and more out of sync with your true self.

如果你一直走在同一條路上，固守著一份你明知無法滿足你的工作，你只會覺得自己與真正的自己越來越格格不入。

Imagine yourself in a year, three years, or even a decade from now, feeling increasingly regretful that you could have been doing something that you genuinely love.

想象一下，一年、三年甚至十年後的自己，會不會因為本可以做自己真正熱愛的事情而感到越來越後悔。

Now, imagine on the other hand, you gave your podcast or whatever your side business is a shot.

現在，反過來想象一下，你給你的播客或任何副業試一試。

You wholeheartedly pursued it only to find out that it wasn't actually your thing after all, and it didn't work out for you.

你全心全意地追求它，卻發現它其實並不適合你，而且你也沒有成功。

You won't then have to spend the rest of your life haunted by this what-if ghost.

這樣，你的餘生就不會被這個 "假如 "的幽靈所困擾。

You can return to your job and confidently say, Hey, I chased my dream.

你可以回到你的工作崗位，自信地說：嘿，我追逐了我的夢想。

I listened to my heart and tried out that podcast thing.

我聽從了自己的內心，嘗試了播客的方式。

Turns out it wasn't for me.

事實證明，它不適合我。

And actually my day job doesn't seem so bad now that I know that I'm not missing out on my dream.

事實上，現在我的日常工作似乎也沒那麼糟糕了，因為我知道我不會錯過我的夢想。

At the end of the day, it's great to think about starting a side business.

歸根結底，考慮創辦副業是件好事。

It's great to think about starting a podcast.

考慮開設播客是件好事。

It's great to think about starting a YouTube channel and investing for the future.

考慮開設一個 YouTube 頻道併為未來投資是件好事。

But the only thing that's going to matter 10 years from now is whether or not you actually did that thing.

但 10 年後唯一重要的是，你是否真的做了那件事。

And that was the last kind of mindset shift that really made me think, well, I've got everything else in check.

這是最後一種心態轉變，它讓我覺得，好吧，我已經把其他事情都處理好了。

I may as well give this a go.

我不妨試一試。

So those were five things I did before I quit.

這就是我辭職前做的五件事。

If you enjoyed this video and you're really taking this side business thing seriously, then you'll enjoy this video that I have right here, which goes into the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur versus an employee.

如果你喜歡這段視頻，並且認真對待副業這件事，那麼你一定會喜歡我這裡的這段視頻，它深入探討了創業者與僱員的利弊。

Thank you for watching.

感謝您的收看。

And I hope to see you there.

希望能在那裡見到你。