My goal in life as a young girl was to be an entrepreneur and never work for anyone after the age of 30. I didn’t know what I wanted to pursue as a career, I just knew that I wanted to make money. I started numerous businesses and made good some real estate investments to help me along the way  but somewhere along the path, I have failed at my “No Working After 30 Goal”.

At 33 years old, I’m still working for the same company I worked for when I first graduated from college. And while I have made a lot of mistakes along the way, I’ve also have done some things right.  I would like to share with you all the things I’ve learned; from starting numerous businesses, purchasing real estate in one of the most expensive places to live in NYC by the age of 22 and so much more.

What are my goals you ask? I have many, but ultimately, I would like to be financially independent with the choice to retire “early”. I am not sure how early I want to retire, whether it’s at 40, 45, 50 or 55 years old. I am undecided about the specific retirement age because I am not sure I want to make the necessary aggressive lifestyle adjustments it takes to attain early retirement. I struggle with wanting to live in the moment but make smart decisions for the future. Also, I am married with 1 child and another on the way. I have more responsibilities and things to consider than if I were a single girl in her 20’s.

I never wanted to be in the rat race for long and I had more energy and boldness in my 20’s when it came to wanting to escape the hamster wheel. Now that I am married, with a mortgage and child, I have noticed that my energy and motivation for wanting to get out of the rat race has slowed. I now see how people get stuck. It’s so much safer to follow the status quo, to live and spend like everyone else and keep the safe job in order to pay bills. But, there has been a fire smoldering inside of me, wanting to burn free and wild. And I will not suppress it any longer.

I am not a professional writer,  so please bear with me. All I know is that I have a story to tell. I have thoughts that need to get out to the world. Maybe my story and journey will help others like me who feel somewhat confused on this journey of life. Primarily, I am here to learn. And boy do I have a lot of learning to do. I also know that I can make an impact on the world with my story and that’s where we start on this path together.

Jamila

P.S. Please introduce yourself in the comments so I can start to get to know you too