Ep. 35 Your 9-5 Is A Trap... Unless You Use This Secret "VC" Strategy

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Is your 9-5 providing you peace of mind, or just enough "bribe" to tolerate the stress? This week, Jim challenges the traditional definition of financial stability. With AI and automation shifting the landscape of knowledge work in 2026, relying on a single paycheck is the most dangerous financial move you can make.

Jim discusses the "Venture Capitalist" strategy—treating your current job as the funding source for your future assets, side businesses, and ultimate freedom. We dive into the psychology of being "unfireable" and how to use your 9-5 to acquire the skills and tools necessary to break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

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Transcript

Jim 0:00

The salary is the drug that give you to stay complacent while you make the mistake that a regular paycheck is actually financial stability and mental peace. They pay you just enough to tolerate the stress, but never enough to buy the freedom that cures it. Think about it, you're nine to five. If that paycheck stops, everything else stops. The lifestyle stops the home or the apartment, the car, the groceries, everything is at risk. And for some, this is a big reality check and there are multiple things that are happening right now that could lead to this. think about restructuring at a corporation. It's usually euphemism for you or somebody is out. We've got AI and algorithms and how those are continuing to erode at operational roles and a lot of white collar or knowledge work roles, they're being automated. That traditional nine to five is becoming more and more volatile than a diversified side business or side hustle. And then if you're younger, coming outta college entry level work is becoming harder and harder to find. And again, that's part of because of ai. Now, contrast that a bit with the 1%, those high net worth individuals, they don't just have income streams, which is what everybody kind of defaults to. They have an ecosystem of assets that provide them financial security, stability and mental fortitude and mental peace. so the trap is that most people spend a hundred percent of their time on a job that more than likely, is providing them 0% equity and eroding at their future. let's talk a little bit about the bribe versus building something. The trade off is this, that nine to five, you're essentially renting your time to that company and your best energy to build someone else's or a corporation's dream. You're not building your own. what I would challenge you around that is how do you change your mindset on your nine to five, especially in the environment we're in. Gone are the days where people would spend 20, 30, or 40 years working at one organization where they would not only build a lifestyle that was great for them, they would have maybe a pension for the future. Were able to build up a retirement boon that would allow them to leave that corporation and still maintain a great life that just doesn't exist the same way it did in the fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties. As it does in 2026. And so you have to look at your current nine to five job or your current, paycheck or salary as the venture capitalist to your future, to your side hustle, to your retirement, to whatever it is, right? And so using your nine to five as that venture capitalist is a strategic move that will help you in the future, whether it be short term or long term. Quick program interruption. I get it. Money can be emotional, frustrating and stressful, but if you are or plan on working on your money, you don't have to do it alone. Join our private net wealth nest community for weekly mindset, practical money tips, and group accountability. Think you need a personalized plan. Check out our one-on-one coaching. Lastly, if you're an organization, school, or small business, we also run course-based financial education programs that help those closest to you head to our website or click the link in the description and we'll get you set up with the help that you need. If it's short term and you're looking at things like a side hustle or generating a little bit of extra income to do something that you enjoy, the nine to five allows you to do different things that will help. you move that ball forward faster. You can use your nine to five to buy tools that you might need. Maybe it's technology, maybe it's, equipment, whatever it might be that might allow you to eventually either supplement some of your nine to five, or in some cases if you're really passionate about something and you get really good at it, you turn that side hustle into your new nine to five. The other thing that most people don't take into account. Is using your nine to five to develop skills that can impact whatever else you're working on outside of work. And I'll use the example of Netwealth Nest While my passion is around helping people, understand money and play the game better. My nine to five, which I currently still work, I'm in the same boat as the rest of you. My nine to five has allowed me to develop skills around helping people, coaching people, and distributing education to people in a way that's easy to understand and that they can execute on. that's something that I've taken and I placed into what I'm working on with Netwealth Nest and has allowed me to help a bunch of individuals, probably better than if I did not have those skills or I did not acquire those skills through the nine to five. So you don't have to just use the money that you're getting a nine to five to fuel something else. You can use the skills, the knowledge, and experience that you have to also do that. The other thing to remember that we haven't talked about here is also the long term capabilities and the long term is really something simple that you generally hear about. It's making sure you're saving, but also making sure you're investing long term. You can't forget to utilize your nine to five to fill those buckets and those holes for future you, whether it be a 401k or just putting something in some other type of investment vehicle like an IRA or external stock purchases. The ability to invest long-term into your future is critical, and you absolutely should also be using your nine to five to do that. And so taking some of these types of tips can lead you into an unfireable mentality. What I mean by that is if you're overtime able to build up. Money, whether it be in emergency savings, whether it be a side hustle, any of those things, you are able to make a psychological shift when you have enough in the bank or have other income coming in where you can say no to either a bad boss or a toxic environment, or you could say no to doing something where. Maybe it's taking a promotion that leads to more stress and more time coming out of your life. You don't have to do those things. There's also a peace of mind of having an emergency account that can allow you to take other opportunities, even if they pay less. Maybe it is a different corporation or it's a different role that you would really think you would rather enjoy inside your current corporation, but maybe it pays less money if you have other options or other incomes that are available to you. It again, just allows you the option or the choice to make the decision that best fits you. Another thing to think about is you build out those avenues like the emergency savings or the side hustle is how this is providing security to you long term. It could be providing for you, it could be providing for your family, but think of it as just making sure that you are providing the appropriate things. It would be like if you have kids, making sure that you have a car seat in your car to protect them when they're young and can't just fit in the seatbelt. Same concept here. There's a peace of mind knowing that you're covered and you are safe as you execute these things. And here's the deal. true freedom. It is not about just being rich and having all this money. It's about having options, having contingencies, and protecting your peace of mind. So here's my challenge to all this. As we talked about earlier, just having your nine to five, it could lead to ruin, it could put you in a position to have to make poor decisions in your life or financially that could set you back. So what does your emergency fund look like, or what other incomes do you have? I want you to calculate what we kind of call your days to ruin. Meaning do you have enough built up if something catastrophic happened, like a layoff where you could have a runway to figure out what your next move was, or you have other income that would allow you to do that? If that is under 90 days, you need help, and that's what we're here to do. Jump on our website. Let us know how we can help you leave a comment. there's a link in the show notes here, to our website, but we can help you build that security, that stability, and help you with your peace of mind around your financial picture. Thanks for joining today. My name's Jim. Bye everybody.