A doctor walked into the hospital room and spoke gently. "I'm going to give you a few minutes to say your goodbyes. When you’re ready, I’ll come back and turn off the ventilator."

Just hours before, I’d gotten a frantic call from my mom. My dad had collapsed. I jumped in my car and drove four hours, the entire trip a blur of wondering if he was already gone. When I got there, I found him in a cramped room in the critical care unit, hooked up to a tangle of tubes and monitors. The only sound was the mechanical hiss of air being pumped into his lungs.

"He has no brain activity," my mom whispered.

Months earlier, my dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. The cancer had spread, but we never knew how much time he had left. A few days before the collapse, he told my mom he felt like he was in his last days. He was never one for drama, so that statement shook us. In the months since his diagnosis, I’d driven to see him often, and we had the kinds of conversations a son hopes to have with his father. I’m grateful for that time.

But one conversation, relayed to me by my mom, stood out. "Your dad was really suffering yesterday," she told me one night. "He never cries, but he really broke down. He told me he wasn't ready to go yet. He said he never got to do the things he wanted to do with his life."

She continued, "He told me that as a boy, he wanted to be a pilot. But his father told him it would never happen and to drop it. So he never pursued it."

I never knew that about him. I always assumed he'd lived a full life.

For most of my life, my dad was a pastor. He felt called to it, but decades of preaching led to burnout. His next job couldn't have been more different: a call center for a cable company. He was a top performer, skilled at handling irate customers with a smile. But he hated the work. Every minute was tracked. He’d come home exhausted, collapse on the bed, wake up for dinner, and then go right back to sleep, only to get up at 4 a.m. to do it all over again. By his seventies, he had no savings. That job took everything from him. He did it for his family, and I respect him immensely for it.

A year before his diagnosis, I told him, "Dad, this job is killing you. I want to help. I'm going to get you out of debt and take care of you and Mom. Go ahead and put in your two weeks."

For the first time in his life, he didn't have to work. They moved to a beautiful town in South Carolina, and I bought them a house near a lake where he could take his boat out. It was a good year for them. But decades of soul-crushing work had taken their toll. His body was worn out, and his health declined quickly. My father ran out of time.

I was angry. Why did he spend his life doing what he hated just for a paycheck? What other dreams did he give up?

The Problem with the Paycheck Path

My dad always wanted me to get a good job. I saw things differently. I saw too many people who were miserable at work. There had to be a better way. This led me to a pretty laid-back approach to college, where I graduated with a degree in Leisure Studies. The most valuable lessons I learned were outside the classroom, forming a life philosophy that has allowed me to travel and live on my own terms, rarely working a traditional job.

This isn't about rejecting work; it's about redefining our relationship with it. We see this sentiment growing everywhere. The anti-work movement is gaining steam on platforms like Reddit, and concepts like "lying flat" are taking hold in other countries. The Great Resignation showed that millions are walking away from toxic workplaces and unfulfilling careers. It seems work, as we know it, just isn't working anymore.

Research even suggests that working less leads to more happiness. A World Economic Forum study found that the five happiest countries (Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Netherlands) are also places where people work hundreds of hours less per year than in other wealthy nations. Even in Japan, a country known for its intense work culture, Microsoft saw a 40% boost in productivity when it experimented with a four-day workweek. This isn't about being lazy; it's about creating a better life. It's about building a side income business that gives you control.

Imagine you won the Powerball tomorrow—say, $132 million. Do you go to work? If we're honest, most of us would quit. We might say our job is about making a difference, but the primary motivator is the paycheck. Take that away, and we’d suddenly find much better uses for our time.

A New Definition of Wealth: Introducing the Passivepreneur

As kids, our dreams weren't about middle management or 60-hour workweeks. We wanted to be astronauts and rock stars. Life was about play, not about paying rent. My goal is to help you reconnect with that sense of possibility and create a life you truly love. A key part of this is understanding that we don't need jobs in the traditional sense. A side hustle turned full time can offer a better path.

A new class of wealthy individuals is emerging, a group I call "passivepreneurs." They are rich in money, yes, but more importantly, they are rich in discretionary time. Their lifestyle isn't tied to a desk. They aren't just high-income earners like surgeons or CEOs of billion-dollar companies. They come from all backgrounds, but they have one thing in common: they've mastered the art of creating passive income. They have built reliable sources of cash flow that work for them, so they don't have to.

This journey starts by asking new questions. If you had back every minute you've ever spent working, what would you do differently? "The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of questions you ask," as Tony Robbins says. What if work wasn't your top consideration? This is the mindset that opens up new possibilities. The focus isn't on a higher salary but on building a PIV—a Passive Income Vehicle—that requires little of your direct time to maintain. What is passive income? It's the engine of this new lifestyle.

Finding your "why" is the fuel for this journey. Maybe you want to sail around the world or volunteer full-time. Your why has to be powerful, because making this change won't be easy. It requires a steep price upfront. But it’s a three-to-five-year plan, not a three-to-five-decade one. It’s about working your ass off for a short time to create results that last a lifetime.

The Myth of Entrepreneurship and the Trap of "Time is Money"

Many of us are taught to believe that entrepreneurship is the ultimate dream—to be your own boss. But here’s the stark reality: entrepreneurs are often less time-rich than the nine-to-five crowd. Many own a job, not a business. They work 70 hours a week for slightly more pay, trading one trap for another. This isn't about being your own boss; it's about not needing a boss at all. It's about designing a system where you don't have to work.

The phrase "Do what you love and the money will follow" is, frankly, bull. Your passion doesn't need to be your paycheck. In fact, trying to monetize your passion can kill the joy. Instead, make money follow you so you can do what you love for the rest of your life. A dollar is a dollar, no matter how it was earned. Find the best vehicle to generate passive income, and let that fund your passions.

The biggest lie we're told is that time is money. It's not. Time is infinitely more valuable because it's finite. You can't save it or get more of it. We all have a "dash"—the line on a tombstone between our birth year and our death year. That's it. There is no dollar value you can place on that dash. True wealth isn't just about money; it’s an abundance of passive income, discretionary time, and free choice. PASSIVE INCOME + DISCRETIONARY TIME + FREE CHOICE = TRUE WEALTH

The Four Steps to Becoming a Passivepreneur

Forget "get rich slow." That path is paved with risk—the risk of running out of time. The truth is, people go from broke to financially free in a few years by getting into the right vehicle. The key is to find scalable side hustles that have worked for others and follow a proven path. Here is the four-step framework to go from a side business with job to complete freedom.

Step 1: Calculate Your Walk-Away Number (WAN)

First, figure out the monthly income you need to quit your job for good. Take the actual dollar amount that hits your bank account each month (after taxes) and multiply it by 1.5. That 50% cushion provides a financial and psychological buffer, giving you the confidence to make the leap. If you take home $5,000 a month, your WAN is $7,500.

Step 2: Select Your Passive Income Vehicle (PIV)

A PIV is an asset you own, create, or control that generates income without requiring much of your time. This could be affiliate marketing, rental arbitrage, digital products, an online business side hustle, or coaching. The crucial part is to pick one. Don't chase shiny objects. Commit to one vehicle and focus on it.

Step 3: Scale the PIV Until You Reach Your WAN

Scaling means increasing the income from your PIV while decreasing the time you spend on it. This is where most people fail. They choose a business that can't be scaled in both directions. For example, a single rental property might generate a few hundred dollars a month, but it's not easily scalable. A franchise you have to operate yourself scales income but not your time. Your PIV must have the potential to grow your income while freeing up your calendar. When you hit your WAN, you're free.

Step 4: Stack Additional PIVs to Build Wealth

Once your first PIV is running smoothly and you've left your job, it's time to build more. Stacking additional PIVs creates redundant income streams and builds long-term wealth. After my Airbnb business was automated, I created an online course teaching others how to do it. That course became my second PIV, generating millions in sales on autopilot. Then I added more: digital tools, books, and software. Each one is a side income business that works for me, stacking on top of the others.

The Mindset for Success: Focus and Commitment

As you find success, opportunities will flood in. This is where most people get derailed. The most important skill you can develop is learning to say "no." Commit to your chosen PIV for a set period—say, one to three years—and ignore everything else. This is how you achieve exponential growth. It might look like nothing is happening for a while, but then, suddenly, everything explodes upward.

This path requires focused work, not just hard work. The ability to concentrate intently on a single outcome for a few hours a day is what separates the winners from everyone else. This isn't an innate talent; it's a skill you can develop. By choosing a few big objectives, you create a filter to say no to everything else. Winning isn't about checking off a long to-do list; it's about doing the few things that truly matter. My dad ran out of time to live his dreams. You don't have to.