When Occupy Wall St first started forming I totally felt for these kids out there trying to make changes in the world. I was still in the mind state that I was one of them. Well I ran into this guy one day and he put things into perspective for me during our brief conversation. He told me that I represent everything that they are not. I have probably around 200 credits from 4 different colleges and I am probably about 3-4 classes away from having 4 different degrees, but I decided I was finished with school for the time being and I opened up my own business.
Was it a gamble? Yes Was it worth every tumble of that dice? HELL YES. I love my “job”… I own OMG MMA in Brooklyn and I love everyday that I teach martial arts and well-being to people that come train at my gym!
How did this happen?! I was supposed to be a Doctor when I first went to school! I was supposed to be the dream of every parent from the soviet union!
My plan was to go to college for 4 years and do pre-med, then go to medical school for 4 years and learn how to be a doctor, then a few more years for residency… I would have been about 30 by the time I got out, then I would have started working and paying off my ridiculous debt, upwards of 500,000 dollars.
My life took a slight turn when I started training and competing in Brazilian jiu jitsu.. 3 years into Pre med, I decided that being a doctor would slow down my progress in training and competing… So I mustered up the courage to tell my parents that I don’t want to be a doctor and that I want to train. I wasn’t as courageous as I thought I was because I told them I’d be a dentist instead because it seemed less time consuming and I could still train jiu jitsu.
Fast forward 1 semester, I decided Nursing was the way because Id still be working in the health field and making decent money, BUT I can train jiu jitsu more often than before. So I went to nursing school for 2+ years and realized that, that career choice is not going to make me happy. Yea working with patients is cool, but im not actually making them happy, im just helping them survive and laugh a little.
My next courageous move was to tell my parents that I’m leaving nursing school. I mean I knew I didn’t want to be a nurse, but they wanted me to have the degree “just in case”. I don’t want to do stuff just in case, I just want to do stuff that makes me happy. I told them I want to do something that makes me happy, and that I want to get out of the rat race.
Fast forward 6 months from my “drop out date” and I have a mixed martial arts gym with over 40 students and the happiest days ever! Economies change, colleges lie, and systems that worked for ages collapse. But one thing never changes… If you chase your happiness, you will never feel poor again…
Popularity: 2% [?]