4d (edited) • General discussion
Are You Stuck? The Power of Letting Go and Screaming "FREEDOM!"
By Michael Laba, The Unstuck CEO of Retirement Is Us (2026) Inc.
Article today was Inspired from my friend in the group Peter (Yes Freakin Peter lol) and listening to all our private chats.
Ever feel like you're just keeping your head down, doing the work, but quietly absorbing everyone else's chaos? I see it all the time. People holding onto speculative, non-dividend-paying stocks, hoping for a miracle, all while burning out in toxic jobs. When is enough yes enough???
It’s the ultimate trap. You become a slave to another man's chaos or peoples expectations of you. Let me tell you from the other side of the fence; when you finally let go, it is incredibly powerful. It feels exactly like William Wallace at the end of Braveheart screaming: FREEDOM!!! So stop being gutted !!!
Okay, I let go and give you a flashback to 2024 and I was a little stuck. I don't normally share my 10 portfolios well except one soon coming up from our channel and I learned something yesterday about getting shut down, another article brewing. Let's face it and come on they teach you how to get a job or hold onto a career, BUT NOT when to leave. My goal was $86k to retire. Here was my picture thinking to get to $168k a year and that became the addiction every month as I sold, trimmed and played, not seeing my body at 439 pounds and using a chair to sit as I walk working in workplace.
The Turning Point (When it Started)
Back in July 2021-22, I faced this exact crossroad. I had been cut or rebuilt for the 17th time in my career. I remember sitting at the ball diamond on a beautiful sunny day, listening to the noise of the workplace and someone else's dreams and name on the building and expectations of me. Making 23k a year holding onto speculation growth stocks I was scared shittless knowing my end is nearing and I did not want to learn new systems or work for a 4th sales company after 2 decades of success.
That was the moment. I fired them emotionally on the spot. The writing was on the wall, and I got to work. Wow letting go was powerful and still is today. At the time, my portfolio was heavily weighted in stocks like Air Canada, Blue Chips like TD, RY, ENB, and all the stuff your FA teach you should buy and 4% rules of the past. Much of my stuff wasn't paying me a dime so I asked myself what is the opportunity cost of holding on to this stuff. I cracked open my spreadsheets, calculated how long it would take to get my capital back, and looked hard at Class A shares and the newer income ETFs coming out as I was evolving from Class A share guy to CC Call Leveraged ETF guy as products came out.
The Avalanche of Letting Go
That’s when the sell-off began. Letting go of what you know is the hardest part. But as my buddy Rob calls it, it quickly became an "avalanche." Once you start, it becomes addictive. I dumped the speculation and transformed the rest into a cash-flowing machine. If you are wondering how to make the math work for your own escape plan, here is the blueprint:
- Calculate Your "Key Fee": You don't need as much as you think. For Laurie and me, we needed a $75k key fee for our lives NET. We were making a combined $140k (not what your taking home) , but we didn't need that to live our best life. We were working for the taxman.
- Work from the Net Up: Stop working from the Gross down. Once you realize your TFSA is full of little workers generating tax-free income, the math answers the big questions. Stop listening to people say build it touch it last. It is your diamonds in your backyards. Between the HELOC and TFSA at tax time I was building out Spousals and RRSPs...
- Shift from Speculation to Income: If you can sell smartly and buy income, do it. It is how you transition into true Passive Income Investing (PII). I still keep 8-10% of our 10 portfolios in speculation, but even this month as we get ready for the big move in July downsize monuments to our past successes and expectations of others, I sold off $102k in speculative stocks to bridge two homes without stress. I hated letting go of much of FLT QNC VCU and others, but I need some special worker chickens right now and I gave my wife's spousal a raise to $2k a month come March 2027 when she can touch it but if anyone following numbers 2k a month reinvested into more worker bees or chickens is sweet honey and golden eggs.
The Psychology of Freedom
So many guys stay stuck in a toxic work environment because they think they’ll be bored, or because they feel obligated to fix their owner's or other peoples businesses OR BEST it take 3 people to replace me if I am needed. TRUST Me I left when in my youth where it took 3 people to replace me all over a $1 work world is stupid. Let it go !!!. You cannot help everyone. If you need a little nudge I highly recommend listening | or reading book Mel Robbins' Let Them Theory. It changed everything for us including my wife with me as I am not a normal person (YUP weirdo like most other successful people). You can't save everyone, and no one cares about you more than you or your money. Why sacrifice your inner peace and your body for someone else's bottom line? Retirement is not a death sentence; it is just the beginning of reinventing yourself. A new road travelled and it's fun. I am 613 days into my F.I.R.E. journey, and I would never put my name on another man's building again. When you finally step away, you realize you own nothing but the gift of time and important relationships.
Think about it and I visited a few including my late Father...No one will ever lay on their death bed wishing they could have worked another overtime shift, or made their work station perfect, or tried to change mass minions from being drugged by their toys and AI YouTube videos. The fact that you got this far in my article, you need to start asking yourself everyday, "Am I living my best life?"
So, I ask you today: Are you living your best life in that chaos? Are you stuck holding onto non-ETF stocks and gambling your time away? Keep some it's fun to play but what is the opportunity cost in waiting for the big pay day that may never come.
I now wake up to six Saturdays and one Sunday every single week. It's time for you to get unstuck.
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Are You Stuck? The Power of Letting Go and Screaming "FREEDOM!"
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