277: Fighting the “Hustle Culture” That Ruins The Joy of Financial Independence w/ Pete McPherson

“Hustle culture” has been a term for the past decade or so. It somehow became a badge of honor to prove that you’re working the hardest, longest, and most stressful job around. You can handle it, you’re making money, putting in the hours, but what do you have left at the end of the day? This constant grind is what Mindy likes to call the “death race to FI” due to its unnecessary harshness on your free time, relationships, and mental health.

Pete McPherson foresaw this “hustle culture” taking over his life when he quit his sixty-hour week accounting job and decided to start his own business. This wasn’t the first, or second, or fiftieth time Pete had started a business, and he was driven to never set foot in an office again. He wasn’t making phenomenal money the first year, but he made enough to provide for his family, and that was enough for him.

Mindy and guest host Sarah Putt from OT 4 Lyfe talk with Pete about the rarely discussed downsides of chasing early retirement and financial independence. Make no mistake, even if you decided to work twenty hours a week, like Pete, you can still make plenty of money all while being able to watch your favorite movies in the middle of the day or spend time with your kids!

In This Episode We Cover

The detriment of “hustle culture” and why working hard doesn’t mean burning yourself out 

The importance of having an available safety reserve in case you get let go from a job

Jumping into entrepreneurship and developing the grind to make it work

Learning from your mistakes and seeing every failure as a lesson

Picking your “good enough” number and living life on your terms

Why time freedom is the ultimate goal of FI, not exorbitant wealth 

And So Much More!

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