Howdy everyone,

I've been putting ideas and words on paper, maybe to write a book, a blog or something else.... I really don't know to be honest. But by looking at others around me, I feel compelled and the needs to help them to process their life somehow differently or with different thinking tools. I'm far to be a writer, in fact I hate it and I'm not good at it, but I think my message will be useful for them... I'm what most people will consider successful in live and I think that I could help other to do the same!

So if you could read what I put together and tell me what you think would be very appreciated. It's not the best english and/or composition but I think the idea (or part of it) is there!

Chapter 1 - introduction

Do you know what handcuffs feel like? Your body's constricted, uncomfortable, and it's difficult to move. Handcuffs are created to make you powerless and easily led. In the corporate world, they're called Golden Handcuffs and they're what keeps you shackled to a job. These cuffs are golden because they usually show-up as attractive, beneficial, and potentially lucrative. But are they really?

For a lot of North Americans, it means a good paying jobs, with benefits like health insurances, company stocks, bonuses, pension or retirement plans like the 401K, sick days and two weeks of vacation. It might sound nice and dandy for a young professional like you, who is fresh out of the near decade and half of intensive brainwashing and indoctrination (aka school and/or higher education), but usually, about twenty years later, you might start to realize that you're trapped in something that isn't as nice and dandy as initially imagined. After thinking about it, getting a good job with benefits is all your parents and teachers pushed and told you to do.

Usually, at the beginning of their careers, those young professionals are eager to learn the best ways theirs generation could take control, influence their workplace culture and start performing at the highest levels. They want to get noticed, create impact and at the same time discover how to start generating more income and accelerate their advancement within the corporate world by climbing the corporate ladder.

Later on, they'll slowly but surely be locking themselves and their future in something that won't fit their needs anymore. To achieve their goals and over the years, they'll be "flipping" jobs like some do with houses, and try to get better positions by accepting bigger and shinier golden handcuffs. They'll slowly be entrenching themselves in what they "currently" think is the best job for them at the moment, without factoring that vision through a "time filter". They'll rush toward that goal heads down for too long just to wakeup in the future and realize that: What the hell happened? They'll be looking at what they want to be from their current position and not from an potential future position where things will definitively be different. They'll forget to reevaluate their destinations and revalidate their goals on a constant basis and along the way. For instance, in the past, people used to move to California to work for tech companies. Now 15 to 20 years later, the same group of people are leaving the state of California faster than ever because for a lot of them, they can't afford the cost of living.

They've invested so much of their time and energy to create a life for themselves but the cost of living is currently preventing them to really enjoy their life. So, what they wanted to be and do 15 to 20 years ago might actually not be achievable anymore. If they haven't stay aware of the surrounding because they were wearing the big and large blinders caused by the golden handcuffs then, for sure they won't be able to afford retiring in California either. So, if they haven't planned correctly, they might have trapped themselves in a situation where they can no longer leave the over-prices state of California because they're now in an unstoppable vicious circle. By getting bigger and shinier golden handcuffs, they'll also be wearing bigger and larger blinders, that will prevent them to see and process the world with all the opportunities, life will throw at them. And that, is not even factoring the fact that they might get fired or lose their job!

These days, contrarily to 30 or 40 years ago, life is changing, progressing or regressing relatively fast. We forgot that time which is a resource like anything else we consume, cannot be replenished. Our life is directly connected with technology and when technology changes, then our life is also changing but, not always for the best. We aren't noticing it immediately, but either we like it or not, our life and careers are directly linked with the ever changing technology. Something that we enjoy right now, might not be enjoyable in the future.

So what would happen then if, 10 to 15 years later, you would suddenly woke up with 2 kids, 1 large mortgage, 2 cars, several bad debts and realize that, you're stuck in a job or in a position that you really hate but can't immediately leave because you've no other sources of income? If you have been wearing the large and wide blinders because you were solely focusing on your golden handcuffs, then you truly positioned yourself between the rock and a hard place. But if you've been trying to stay aware of your life surrounding, and kept your vision up to date then, you might have made some choices and investments that are going to help you to break free from the golden handcuffs, thus changing your life for something better. Well, this is what this book will talk about, which is, keeping yourself aware of your life surrounding by starting early at rethinking your future and by starting to invest time, money and energy early on, to become an entrepreneur and financially free. Then, by doing so, you'll have more aces in your sleeve to help you break free from the golden handcuffs that might enslave you and your family for the worse and in an unpredictable future.

Chapter 2 - thinking out of the box

The definition of insanity, is, doing the exact same fucking thing over and over again, expecting shit to change. That. Is. Crazy." - Vaas Montenegro

Starting to think out of the box at an early age, stage or ASAP, could make all the differences in the world. But in order to get it to work, you've to start doing something different, to get different results. You need to stop doing what everyone else is doing like sheeple because, to be honest, most of the people in the society are sheeple. Some have fallen under the hypnotic spell of the TV talking-heads, "experts", and religious leaders whom they worship as authority figures. Unaccustomed to thinking for themselves, no amount of truth can sway them from their preconceived prejudices and conditioned reactions. They will even deny that which they see with their own eyes. Individuals who have been so conditioned can only parrot opinions that have been implanted in their minds by outside suggestion. In effect, millions of peoples minds have been reduced to the intellectual level of a CD player, spinning an implanted disc designed by outside forces of which the intended target has no awareness. They soon become victims of a psychological affliction known as "the sheeple effect." Those people are doomed to reproduce history and failures that brought down families, careers, life and entire societies for decades or even centuries. The only way to succeed is to look where those sheeple are heading and then, go to the total opposite way! You've to know: what they eat, what they read, what they're watching, what they do and then, just not do any of it!

"Sheeplehood" is a necessary sociological survival trait and an inborn instinct. Without it, humans may not have achieved even the smallest steps toward civilization. However, as with most natural phenomena, this tendency can be manipulated and used for harmful purposes. The same sheeple effect that enables the masses of a justly governed society to progress toward positive, constructive ends, can just as readily self-sabotage or self-destruct. Sheeple will not only resist efforts to change their misguided beliefs with all of their mental energy; they will usually attack anyone who dares to question their myths. Sheeple are absolutely terrified at the thought of being labeled as an "extremist", "conspiracy theorist", "racist", or being ostracized for thinking independently. Ironically, the very same sheeple who instinctively ridicule outside of the box "theories", are always the first ones to blindly swallow the most ridiculous theories imaginable when their masters present them.

Thinking outside of the box is not just simply a mindset, but also a lifestyle. It’s an art and it’s where your creativity flourishes, where you will excel most because that is when you figure out what you love to do, when you are constantly thinking about how to make it greater than it already is. When you go to sleep and wake up thinking about it, you have found exactly what you are looking for. Since I'm a young kid, I've spent a great deal of time thinking about a lot of ideas, concepts and projects. I could spend hours sit on a couch with a piece of paper and a pencil trying to figure something out "new". Then, my mom would be asking me: "What are you doing? You've been looking at that piece of paper for hours!" I was just thinking about getting something done but, differently!

Sometimes, we can get pretty well stuck in our ways. We just go through the motions, doing what we need to but no more. We’re scared to deviate from the set route and make our own paths. When that is happening, this is when we really need to start to pay close attention and be aware of our life surrounding because we're in the process of turning ourselves into a sheeple. In modern society, our basic way of thinking has been stripped from us, we have been fashioned into robots and made to memorize things that we hate so that we can be shaped into the perfect employee. When you really think about it, the world is forcing you into the box. Society fears your individualism and tries to pigeonhole you into conventional, conformist thought so that you are satisfied by your lack of purpose.

Becoming a successful entrepreneur is easier if you have a certain skillset which includes passion, drive, and innovativeness. Thinking outside the box is crucial, because there’s nothing new under the sun unless you happen to be an entrepreneur which is something crucial if you ever want to break free from the golden handcuffs! Why compete in the market when you can build your own industry, providing consumers with something they need or want but never had before? The world is looking for pioneers, innovators and people who plan on turning it on its axis. They are looking for people who can think outside of the box because that’s where true legends and leaders are born.

Remember that thinking outside of the box gives you an edge over everyone else because you are simply a problem solver. You are looking for voids in this world, approaching things in innovative ways and finding variables to it through your creativity. Thinking outside of the box starts with you and your creativity. It is what separates you from the rest of the crowd. To have the freedom to think on your own as well as having the ability to apply it to what you're working on is worth more than any amount of money in this world. Thinking outside the box is more than just a business cliché. It means approaching problems in new, innovative ways; conceptualizing problems differently; and understanding your position in relation to any particular situation in a way you’d never thought of before.

We’re told to “think outside the box” all the time, but how exactly do we do that? First, it's important to get away from all the typical routines in order to foster creativity. The idea of changing it up is a common one amongst successful and creative thinkers. First, you've to change your environment, your space or your immediate surrounding. Take a walk on a new street, go to the gym to a new location, use a different bench at the park or reorganize your working area. That will give you a chance to look and perceive things from a different angle.

Secondly, do a lot of brainstorming. Throwing out tons of different ideas, especially ideas that might seem slightly off-the-wall can be a great idea to pick out. Brainstorming helps to open up your thinking so that you aren't stuck in the same old thought patterns. Do not limit yourself when you're brainstorming. This is the time when all ideas are welcome, no matter how silly or unworkable they sound. If you start limiting yourself during this stage of the thinking game, you aren't going to progress very far. You've to aim for quantity, not quality. Also try to include others when you brainstorm. It is a great way to get different visions, angles and perspectives of the same subject really fast.

Thirdly, search for random inspiration. You need to trigger your brain to make connections it normally wouldn't make. To do that, look for inspiration that seems entirely unrelated to the problem by looking at random pictures online, shuffle the pages of a random illustrated book, watch a movie that you would normally not want to see, try a new hobby, meet new people, talk to strangers at the bar or study another industry than you are working in.

CHAPTER 3 - GET THE MOMENTUM GOING

"Just fucking do it! Don't analyze, don't spreadsheet and just focus on the few, not the many and the money will follow." Daniel Pena

A fear of taking action is a fear of failure.