The BIG CORPORATE ESCAPE (part 1)

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     ...no, this is not a rant about how big corporations are ruining the world economies, stifling innovation or just reaching the point where they have monopoly over a certain industry (or more) and are considered too big to fail - I will leave those facets to the experts...

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     Instead, what I want to talk to you about is something that I am sure you can relate to - something you might have not thought about, however I am sure you felt it. That feeling of dread when you wake up in the morning, knowing that in 2 hours time you will be back in your 2x2 cubicle, staring at the same screen, reading the same corporate brain-washing emails about how you are a valuable part of the well-oiled money-making machine. Is it starting to ring any bells?

     Well... I'm sure it is - I'm sure in one way or another this feels familiar to you. Maybe you are working a 9 to 5 job that you hate, pushing papers around or filling numbers in a spreadsheet, on an endless loop, without any sense of purpose or meaning, while being bombarded with emails about how well the company is doing - how this quarter has brought more revenue than ever before - and that you're to thank for. Well yes - they're right! You are to thank for. You are one of the many vital components that lead to those numbers - but what do you have to show for it?

     When was the last time you got a raise ? Does your salary grow with - or better yet, more than inflation? Is the company sharing profits with you - or even giving you shares of the stock? I doubt that many of the corporations out there check any of those boxes. So what are your incentives really? What are the things that make you come back every day to do something that makes you feel so... irrelevant, so small? Is it knowing that you will have a paycheck big enough to pay for your rent, your bills, your food and maybe save whatever it is left?

     Maybe you were told that if you go to school, work hard and long enough, save up your money, then you will succeed and eventually retire comfortably - hard work always pays off, doesn't it? But does it really apply when you're doing all these things for someone else? When your hard work doesn't go towards your own growth curve - but towards someone else's? When the moment you stop being profitable for the company you're replaced by someone else who's just as eager to fall into the same trap you did many years ago? If the answer is yes then keep reading...

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     I certainly felt that way - and didn't even realize it for a long time. I felt trapped, felt like something was missing, that I was doing something wrong while at the same time doing exactly what I was told to be the right thing. How is it possible to fail when you're playing by the rules? I was doing what I was always told - since a very young age - go to school, learn, be smart, get a good job and have security, save up and wait for retirement. But that didn't feel right to me - yet I did it anyway. Don't we all?

     Although I didn't go to any university due to a poor financial status, I was keen on getting myself a proper education as soon as I was able to afford it - so I went ahead and got myself a job. I went abroad and started working in a restaurant for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. I wasn't myself anymore - I was just a robot carrying out commands, then going home to charge up my batteries - those 3 months I spent doing that are just a fuzzy memory to me. I can't remember much - there's nothing to remember really - just the feeling of being worthless.

     Fast forward a couple of years and a few equally unrewarding jobs later and I find myself part of my first corporation. A big telecom provider from Canada outsourcing their call-center services in my country's capital, where I moved. I let them draw the curtains over my eyes and accepted that I needed to prove my worth and succeed - to strive for any promotion or win any competition I could get my hands on. And sure, I was somewhat happy on my path to success for about an year or so - but then the ugly truth started to rear its head. I started noticing that the promises of promotions, pay raises and benefits were just bogus.

     I kept seeing colleagues receiving corporate branded mugs, umbrellas or hoodies for their 5th, 6th or 7th anniversary with the company - while probably getting a smaller paycheck than I was. Or being dragged to attend the weekly "ceremonies" where awards were given to straight-A employees for their flawless customer support results with big rounds of applause just to feed their egos and have them hooked on doing the best that they could - but without any remuneration, in any way shape of form. That's like giving your waiter a handshake for their excellent service after an exquisite dinner...

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     That's when I realized I had to get out - to escape this toxic, soul-crushing and unfulfilling environment. This big lie that was sold to me and to everyone around me so easily - without ever second-guessing it. So I started thinking about my alternatives... did I even have any? What skills did I have? Was I any good at anything besides being a small cog in the big corporate mechanism?

     So I started doing research - looking at maybe becoming a freelancer, or starting my own business. I thought long and hard, watched all sorts of inspirational videos, read all sorts of guides or success stories. But nothing stuck - nothing actually clicked with me. I wasn't a musician, nor an artist. I didn't have the capital to start my own business, nor become a day trader. I didn't have the expertise to become a financial adviser for wealthy people, nor did I have the time and resources to go through half a decade of school to get there.

     So I felt defeated - I felt even more trapped than I was before. I started thinking - "hey, maybe that's just how the world is supposed to work - there's no way around it". So I stuck to my job, did what I was told to, kept my head down, and accepted that the only light at the end of this tunnel was my retirement - about 42 years away at that time. But here is where it gets interesting! I was home one day when a friend called and asked if he can come over for a chat and a cup of coffee - I was on my day off so I was happy for the chance to socialize outside work.

     Half and hour into our conversation and I started complaining about work, how bad it felt having to go there every day and how I had no plan for my future whatsoever. That's when he mentioned BITCOIN... and fireworks started going off in my head. I never heard of Bitcoin before, had no idea what it was. I was intrigued - a hunger was emerging deep down inside me to find out more about this. But we went ahead with our conversation as usual and didn't linger on the topic for too long. The only thing I remember him mentioning is that "nobody that goes into Bitcoin, ever gets out" and to this day I believe that is correct.

     So I find myself later that day with my eyes glued to my laptop's screen - going back and forth on Google, Reddit, Youtube and so on trying to figure out what Bitcoin is. I wasn't satisfied with what I learned, so the next day I started doing research again. Found some content creators with Youtube channels about cryptocurrencies, such as Jerry Banfield or Suppoman, and started watching their videos religiously. And while that wasn't the best way to start, nor was I following the greatest minds out there... that's how I found out about altcoins, about Steemit, and about much, much more...

     So that's where my journey into the cryptocurrency world starts - first with understanding Bitcoin - then with understand money, economic mechanisms and the concepts of wealth creation and preservation. That's when I think my whole life turned upside down - when I no longer felt trapped, but felt I was taking a leap into the great unknown. A leap so big that I had to leave behind everything I though I knew up to that point - everything I was told to be right - and forge my own path. A path of knowledge and not faith - a path full of obstacles, of ups and downs, but with a much better outlook than ever before.

     But I promise I won't sell you stories of success - from rags to riches - or how I became a Bitcoin millionaire over night. No - I'm not even remotely close to that. What I promise you instead is to take you along on my journey, and help you draw your own map to your financial independence. Learning along the way the secrets that are hidden in plain sight, and that are intentionally kept away from us by the people running the big corporations. The world can't work if everyone is in control of their own financial future - if everyone would suddenly wake up to the cruel joke that is being played on us ever since we are born and just going against the system.

     The ugly truth is that we're still too small to make a difference - it's hard enough to make a change for ourselves. We can't escape the system entirely - but we can slowly start to play by our own rules. You won't be able to just quit your job today and start investing in your crypto portfolio to hedge against the coming world crisis or against the ever growing greed of the banks. But what you can do is open your eyes, start researching, start investing in your knowledge and understand how you are being held down in chains by the people who control our world's money and start planning your escape - YOUR BIG CORPORATE ESCAPE.

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Follow me on my path to financial independence, and read the 2nd part of my journey, where you will see how my learning curve wasn't a curve at all - but more like a rollercoaster, filled with wins and losses, lessons and achievements, and more...

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Thank you for reading, and if you enjoyed my story so far please consider upvoting and following for more content just like this... @thecryptohoarder