Me, Inc. (13 page)

15

Vacations, Holidays, and Other Wastes of Time

“If you live for weekends—or vacations—your shit is broken.”

GARY VAYNERCHUK

Russian-born branding, social media, and retail entrepreneur

C
apitalism has made it possible for all of us to enjoy the privileges that were previously reserved for the rich. We have equal access to all the information mankind has amassed in its entire existence. And because of the Industrial Revolution and other wonderful advancements, we now have lots of spare time that would otherwise be filled with menial tasks. Technology, if used properly, can free your day up significantly.

If we are fortunate enough to have a job, we typically work five days a week, and have two days off on the weekend. Sometimes we even get three-day weekends. Most of us with jobs get two weeks off per year in paid vacation days. We also have all sorts of paid holidays off. We get paid sick days. And women get paid maternity leave.

If you add it all up, most of us spend relatively little time working, or focusing on our careers at all. We may even have more time off than actual workdays.

In previous centuries, workdays often lasted ten or twelve hours, and there were often six or seven such days in a workweek. Wages were a few dollars a week. Vacations were only for the rich.

So here you are, with lots of free time on your hands. And you've certainly gotten used to it. And perhaps expect it.

When you were growing up, your parents may have given you a very comfortable life. So did the school system. You probably went to school from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. Homework aside, the rest of the day was yours to use as you pleased. You had weekends to yourself. You had holidays to yourself. If you got sick, you could stay home and still get fed.

None of this prepared you for what life is really like.

Right after you graduate from school, you may come to the stark realization that you don't have the slightest idea of how or where to get a job. You probably have no idea how you are going to make a living, much less make your fortune. For one thing, you don't know how capitalism works. You may not know much about economics, but you will certainly still need to understand the basics of a business model if you are going to become a successful entrepreneur.

That means that you will have to think for yourself, and that you will have to educate yourself. And that all of it will be YOUR responsibility.

So I'm going to be your drill sergeant. Let's take a look at the military model for a moment.

Let's say you're eighteen or older and you volunteer to join the military. In boot camp, you will meet your drill sergeant. The person who will put you through hell. The person who will make you do twenty-six-mile hikes. The person who will wake you up at 5 a.m. and make sure that you have no time off.

You are not going to like your drill sergeant. But he's also the person who will make sure that you are ready for battle, and the lessons you learn from him may end up saving your life on the battlefield.

So the guy you hate the most is actually your best friend. Because you
need
a taskmaster. Because without him, you won't force yourself to do it. He has to force you to
be all that you can be
.

You're going to learn responsibility, learn the nature of working with others in a group, and when you're done, you'll be in the best shape of your life. All the things you will need to function in the real world.

As a child, you may have gotten a weekly allowance, or “spending money,” but in the real, adult world, you don't get an allowance. You don't get money for doing nothing. In life, if you don't work, you don't make money.

Get used to it.

DON'T TAKE VACATIONS.

There's no reason for you to take a vacation if you're a young person. You can define what young means for yourself. Start at eighteen years of age and go until your thirties.

I have never taken a vacation. I consider work a privilege, not a birthright or means to an end. You actually don't have a God-given right to have a job or to work. If you can earn a dollar, then thank America and its people for giving you the opportunity to work for it.

There are many countries in the world where you would have
no opportunity
, regardless of your work ethic.

In America, where there is all the opportunity you could ever imagine, there are no excuses for goofing off.

This goes for everyone.

Let's say you're one of the lucky ones. You have a job. And you have your entrepreneurial aspirations. Keep your day job. Pay your bills. Spend the rest of your free time working on your career. Your dream job. Your passionate entrepreneurial venture.

Let's take a look at your spare time, outside of the job that currently pays your bills.

Out of each working week, you get two days off. Multiply that by 52 weeks, and you've got 104 days per year in which you're not working to build your career. Take another two weeks off for vacation, that's another 14 days of doing nothing. You also take off holidays, religious and otherwise.

To me, all of that spells “loser.”

You can and should use
all
of the time you have to further yourself. To educate yourself. To dream big. And
do
big.

Don't quit your day job, and do work on your time off.

Do something every day to advance your career.

Ladies, you'll still have evenings free to put on your little black dress and go to the clubs. Guys, you can still go out to a ball game, but don't waste the entire day doing
nothing
. But even these things can be business—networking is business. Bouncing your ideas off of people is business. Gathering contacts is business.

If you're at home on a day off, don't just spend the day in front of your TV like a lump of clay.

Work. Plan. Network.

Get rid of the friends who want you to spend your whole day doing nothing with them. They're not your friends. They're your enemies. Your friends should be cheerleaders for your entrepreneurial interests. Your friends should not suck up all of your valuable time. Like vampires, those friends will leave you lifeless.

The harder you work, the luckier you get.

Work overtime—for yourself.

Entrepreneurs set their own hours and work year-round. Even after they've achieved their goals and even after they're filthy rich.

16

Priorities/Practice What You Preach

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

military officer, historian, adventurer, conservationist, and twenty-sixth president of the United States

I
usually don't care to pry into people's personal lives, even when I'm giving them advice on life and business.

However, there are certain personal life choices that, generally speaking, just don't help you.

Reckless spending, for example, doesn't help anyone. Not even millionaires.

Live well below your means.

I still do.

To get even more personal—try to stay “straight,” that is, no drugs, no booze. You will not win if you don't stay straight. Really. There's nothing in drugs or booze that will make your schmeckle bigger, make you smarter, or make you run faster. Also, it costs a fortune to feed your hunger. And you may get fired when they find out you're a loser. And you may wind up in jail. And you'll lose your money. Your date will not be impressed by you throwing up on her brand-new shoes, as you spout poetic babblings that are meaningful only to you.

If you drink enough, your God-given member won't even work, and the next day you'll feel as if a truck had run you over. You may not even remember what you did, where you were, or who you were there with. Bottom line: if you get hooked on drugs or booze, you're fucked.

I've never knowingly been high or drunk, except in a dentist's chair. I've used that time for other things.

Also, don't smoke. You'll stink like an ashtray, and you'll be playing Russian roulette with cancer. If you lose, you'll die a slow, miserable death.

All of that, because you want to look “cool.” It's a waste of your time.

Of course, on the side of the cigarette pack, it says something like “Hey, moron, this stuff might give you cancer or some other disease.” In Canada, cigarette packages actually have
pictures
of what cancer does to smokers.

In most public spaces in the United States, smoking is no longer permitted. So if you're a smoker, you end up looking like an addict, sucking on your cancer sticks outside your place of work, or outside of bars, clubs, and restaurants.

There was actually once a brand of cigarettes called Death cigarettes. Not surprising, it was successful.

If you choose to become a smoker, you are an idiot, and you may lack the discipline and intelligence to be a successful entrepreneur. On the other hand, if you have the strength of character to recognize your mistake and kick the habit, then you may have what it takes.

In addition to personal health, the health of your business plan is paramount. A healthy business plan, and a healthy life plan, is one in which you always have a backup plan—in other words, a way to keep paying your bills.

Let's say you're a garage mechanic, and you have big dreams about opening up your own chain of branded garages around the country. Terrific.

While you're working at the garage to pay your bills, what's your backup plan if the garage goes out of business or you lose your job?

Have something else that you can do to pay the bills. Immediately.

Keep your day job and pay your bills, while you're making plans to turn your big dreams into reality.

Should you go to college? The truth is, it really depends on what your career aspirations are.

If you want to become a doctor or lawyer or other high-end professional, then you'll need to attend an institution of higher learning. In fact, you might have to attend medical or law school for as many as twelve years to earn your degree or degrees.

On the other hand, if you're an entrepreneur and aren't sure exactly what you want to do but have really big ideas, I would urge you to dive into the deep end of the pool, right out of high school. Sink or swim. You will learn a lot.

While you're getting your entrepreneurial dreams off the ground, you'll need to limit your financial exposure. In other words, avoid unnecessary spending and save your money.

I will keep making this point in the book.

You need to eat, but you don't really need to eat filet mignon every night or buy bottles of champagne at a thousand dollars a pop. You need clothing that will make you look respectable, but you don't really need a ton of fancy clothes you'll never wear, and will just hang there in your closet.

Do not buy a home. Not when you're starting out.

Live at your parents' home if you have to, and until you can afford to move to a city (I'll get to that shortly). Living at home will always be cheaper, and you'll get home-cooked meals, too. But don't be a mooch. Pitch in with household costs. Buy groceries. But limit your financial exposure. Translation: save on the rent while you invest in your future. I know, it's not “cool” living at home. Try paying your rent with cool.

If you meet a girl you like a lot and you need some private time, rent a hotel room for a night. Make it romantic. Fill the room with music. Splurge on chocolates and roses. When you're done, dump the hotel room, and continue not having to pay rent or a mortgage.

Save the money.

Don't buy a house until later in life. I didn't. The first home I bought was a penthouse on Fifth Avenue in New York, overlooking Central Park. I was thirty-eight years old and I had already made headway toward a fortune—I wasn't about to buy a house if I wasn't already on my way. Until that time, I rented. My monthly rent for a good part of the seventies (until 1979?) was $200.

Renting means that you can pick up and go, without great financial risk. And if you can't afford the rent, or you lose your job, you can move to a cheaper apartment, until you get back on your feet and go back to building your fortune.

Don't buy a home until you have amassed four times the value of the home in your net worth. If you're worth $1 million after tax, go ahead and buy a $250,000 home. And try to minimize the length of your home mortgage. You will also be able to deduct certain monthly mortgage fees, and front-load the “decrease in value” of the home and other legal issues. (For what this all means, I urge you to get legal professional counsel—there's legalese that you have to be ready to dance with, unfortunately. But again, it is up to you to educate yourself. It is not up to anyone else to make it easier.)

Don't buy a car. Certainly not a new one. You may not even need a car. Take public transportation if you can. If you must, buy a secondhand car. But pay cash, don't take out a loan. Buy a rent-a-wreck type car for $1,000–3,000. If you have the cash, pay cash. If you don't have cash, don't buy it.

Buying a new car, even a cheaper model, when you're in your early twenties and don't have a good-paying job or career, doesn't make sense. Even if the car costs $20,000, by the time you're done paying off your car loan several years later, it will end up really costing you $50,000 or more. And that's after-tax money. Which means you'll have to earn even more. And then there's insurance. And repairs. And what if your car gets stolen?