I remember watching the movie Rat Race in high school — a 2001 comedy where a Las Vegas casino tycoon pits six teams against each other in a race for a $2M prize locked in a storage locker in New Mexico. There was only one simple rule: there are no rules.
I loved this movie so much, not only for the pure absurdity of the comedy, but also because of what already resonated with me about life: modern-day life is nothing more than a rat race.
99.99% of us are trained by our parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, and employers to play by the rules.
One of the biggest is this— wake up early, work hard for decades, and retire at 65 so that we can “finally” live life.
This is the formula sold to us by hundreds, if not thousands, of movies and tv shows.
Follow the formula. Live the “American dream”. Play in the rat race.
We tell stories. We create ideals. We try to explain the world we live in – a world that changes so rapidly, and that is so sophisticated that no one person can understand or fully comprehend.
All of these stories create a set of “rules” that we as a society all accept and play by.
Yet, as it turns out, society teaches us many things that we accept as truth that simply aren’t.
It’s not some giant conspiracy; it is just what society does!
The problem isn’t that society lies—it’s that it oversimplifies life into a single path and calls it universal.
But there is no universal path — in fact, there aren’t ANY hard and fast rules to life.
Life, just like Rat Race, the movie, has no real rules. Like NONE.
There are consequences, of course—but far fewer rules than we’re led to believe.
As it turns out, you don’t need to play by society’s rules. You never did.
You Never Needed Permission
On the surface Rat Race, was great for some juvenile comedy, but it truly struck a deeper chord for me.
And as I was watching the movie, Rat Race, I remember thinking very clearly that I would be someone who opted out of society’s rat race altogether.
Having already been through the Northridge Earthquake and seeing my house deemed unlivable, followed shortly thereafter by the funeral of my premature cousin, by the age of thirteen, I already knew that life was far too short.
I already knew that I wanted to opt out in my own way.
I didn’t know exactly how I would do it, but I could feel that I wanted, no—needed, to live life my own way.
So I set a goal for myself, to become a millionaire by 30, to work my ass off for a short time, so that I could live life my way.
I didn’t have the language for it yet—but I knew I wanted freedom more than approval.
Of course, I had no idea at the time that what I was seeking was Financial Independence.
Simply put, Financial Independence is the ability, via either personal wealth, or passive income and investments, to cover all living expenses for life without needing to work a traditional job.
Of course, in high school, I had no idea what Financial Independence really was or how to get there.
It’s not something society teaches us, because the reality isn’t very sexy. Working your ass off for a period of 10-20 years and saving/investing your butt off doesn’t make good movies. But it works.
Reading books at the time, like Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Millionaire Next Door, showed me why owning assets and equity was an important part of the financial equation.
Well, what better way to own assets than to create them yourself? By college, I decided I’d pursue entrepreneurship.
And so began my journey from high school kid watching a movie to eventual millionaire at 30, and to someone who eventually decided to opt out of the system altogether, retiring early and therefore saying “no” to the Rat Race.
I got many things wrong along the way, and I was also very lucky…
But there is no doubt in my mind that the moment I realized the rat race of life had no real rules was the moment I stopped asking for permission — and started choosing my own path.
The rules we all think are permanent are mostly just stories.
And all stories can be rewritten.
What’s one “rule” you’ve stopped following?