I quit my full-time job in August of 2019 to become a full-time Content Creator on Youtube. I just got done balancing my books for the remainder of 2019 (Sept-Dec). And…I’m in the black! Barely. I made $1986.58. Total. For those four months. That comes out to approximately $125 a week. If you extrapolate that out into a 40-hour workweek (and trust me I work more than 40 hours a week) it comes out to $3.13 an hour. I made what a waiter is paid hourly…minus the tips. (PS. I have a Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/BuildDadBuild WINKIE FACE.)

At my old job, I was making around $75000 a year, with great benefits. Now if I hit the drive-through at McDonald's, the person taking my order makes more money than I do. How do I know I made the right choice by quitting my job? It’s how I feel about myself.

I worked in the insurance industry for 10 plus years. And every day I contributed to a ridiculous corporate grind that has the facade of “helping people” but is really just a self-perpetuating money-making machine that takes advantage of the same folks they claim to be helping. Once you see the design for what it truly is, you kind of want to shower when you get home from work.

And like all those struggling actors that have dabbled in gay porn, I did it for the money. And they kept giving me more of it! But like I said before you eventually just really start to feel unsettled about how the industry preys on people like you and me. And does it at a really inconvenient and emotional time in their lives.

So, I had planned my escape for a while. Building my Youtube channel. Saving money. But I ended up having to bail early after depression started messing with my health. (I talk more about my depression in my blog: Surviving The Holidays — How To Tell Your Depression To F*Ck Off Around Christmas and Running From My Problems — A Solution For My Depression

and about half my other blog posts!)

Anyway, let’s just say that when I quit my job it was not as an ideal time as I had planned. We hadn’t put away enough money and my channel wasn’t as big or generating as much money as I would have liked. And to add insult to injury my views and subscribers began to taper off right after I quit. It seemed like I couldn’t put out a good video to save my life.

And that starts to take its toll on you. A lot of self-doubt enters the picture. More self-doubt leads to more anxiety and depression. You can spin out pretty quick.

Then I got a DM on Instagram telling me how I inspired them to get off their ass and out into the shop. And another one from a stay at home dad that got motivated to take up woodworking because of one of my videos. And another from a young girl that said she was always intimidated by build videos on Youtube until she saw me highlighting my mistakes along the way. And they just keep pouring in. When I talk about my depression I get messages thanking me for speaking out. More messages from others telling me their stories.

And something just clicked. It’s not about the money. Of course, I need to figure out a way to generate more revenue to keep the boat afloat (BTW I have a Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/BuildDadBuild), but when I was at my previous job I never felt GOOD about myself for what I was doing.

I’ve done a couple of live streams now. The support is REAL. And I’m building a community. A community of super supportive makers. And I feel like what I’m doing is making a difference in people’s lives. I feel like I’m a positive influence.

That feeling is amazing.

I don’t get that feeling of dread as Sunday draws to a close, knowing that I have to work on Monday. My stomach isn’t killing me every morning before work. I no longer stare at that clock waiting for the workday to end. I’d love to say that I don’t get depressed anymore, but that’s not true. However, I have better tools to deal with it now when it happens.

I am 100 percent positive I handled the passing of my father much better than I would have if I was still working a 9 to 5. Because my life has meaning now.

That’s what I want to pass on to my kids. Do something that MEANS something to you. Help people. Both teach and learn every day. Put yourself in a position where you want to get out of bed in the morning. Inspire people. Change lives.

And most importantly, work with your hands!