Though a little bit of money flowed in here and there via various freelance writing gigs and advertisements, it was by no means equivalent to a full-time salary. Over the past two months my incoming cash flow has increased more and more each day, but there’s still a story to tell from the previous ten months.

Resigning in a Recession

One year ago I resigned from my full-time job as a Senior Tax Administrator at State Street Bank. While my time at State Street was beneficial and lucrative, it simply wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Armed with that knowledge and a hefty savings account I turned in my resignation letter and looked to the future.

A lot has already been written on why starting a company during a recession might be a wise choice, but let me go over a few points briefly [also check out Paul Graham's "Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy" post and this article from the UK Times Business section by Rachel Bridge).

Five reasons to start a business in a poor economy:

1. You might lose your job; a side business provides a safety net.
2. You likely won't earn a big raise, so you'll lose less by quitting in a recession.
3. Prices and thus costs will drop during a recession.
4. If you can succeed in a recession, you'll thrive when we recover.
5. Value will be a priority for everyone, new companies can gain business by pricing low.

Successful Savings

At the time, I had no real plan about how I'd make money but honestly, it did not concern me. Nearly all my friends and family members were shocked by my resignation. After all, every economic indicator was pointing to a long term recession in the United States and global economies. A lot of people thought it was foolish to leave a well paying job to pursue my passions, especially when I did not know exactly what those passions were!

Readers of My Last Name Means Money know my opinion that storing as much money as you can in online savings accounts is vitally important to your success and tolerance for risk. It's an obvious tip, but one I implemented very well. Once my savings account reached a level where it could fund my lifestyle for at least six months, the risk became bearable.

Wise Investments

A big reason my savings account is still supporting me is that I aimed to withdraw money only when necessary. There were many times I failed and made foolish expenditures, but for the most part I stuck with the plan and still have enough cash to ride me through the next six months. Overestimating how much money was needed to survive for six months also gave me plenty of leeway to afford those not so wise spending decisions.

A big use of my savings account went towards investments that led to a simpler lifestyle that was easier to afford. My used bicycle easily paid for itself countless times now through improved health, lowered transportation costs and free entertainment. It also gave me plenty of time to think while pedaling about the city of Boston. Time to think is a very valuable asset.

Another investment was continuing to be a Boston Celtics season ticket holder. Though it was a huge use of my money, most of the tickets ended up getting sold to friends at face value. Sure, that cash didn't earn any interest but I was able to hook up my friends with Celtics tickets and hold a great contest at The 42nd Estate to win a pair of Celtics playoff tickets. It's a product that has maintained it's value and allowed me to get back money throughout the year that otherwise might have been spent on a trip or other use that I could not re-sell.

I also continued to pay down my student loans and am now less than $3,000 away from being completely debt-free! The wisest investment I made by far, however, is the one I did not make. When I resigned from State Street I also elected to not re-invest my 401k into an IRA. Instead, the money has sat in a Citibank account as liquid cash. I would take a hit on cashing out my retirement account early so for now it sits there earning a little interest, which is immensely better than losing half its value in the stock market. Sometimes doing nothing is the best action.

Dow Jones Index for the past year, down 5,000+ points, -41%

A few not so wise expenditures:

• Xbox 360 Console – great release for frustration but no time to play with it.
• Second bike and bike frame – planned to fix up the first one and build a bike from scratch but again, no time.
• Countless domain variations of the42ndesate.com – a few were OK but I went way overboard with this one.

Pinpointing my Passions

Along the way many, many mistakes were made, but these mistakes enabled me to learn about myself and my true passions. Sometime in November/December I realized my passion was right in front of my face the entire time. I love blogging and social media and spent a lot of time learning and growing my knowledge in those fields. It was then that we began an overhaul of The 42nd Estate. We recently pushed out a new design and began publicizing our service offerings:

• Freelance writing
• Blog & social media consulting
• Web hosting

Over the past few years, I picked up a lot of knowledge about blogging, writing and maintaining WordPress installations. I also spent a lot of time researching how to tweak our servers and picking the brains of my buddies who are experts in the field, which has enabled us to begin offering hosting to clients who need it. I am by no means the world’s most authoritative source in any of these fields, but I also realized I don’t need to be. My goal was never to strike it rich, but merely to afford a simple lifestyle while using my knowledge to help other people and organizations become successful.

Over the past few months The 42nd Estate has begun acquiring more and more clients each month and genuinely helping people become successful. It’s a great feeling to finally discover your passion and realize it can be your job too. And that, my friends, is why the word “nearly” is in the title, cash-flow free for nearly a year!

Photo of all that cash is by Tracy O. Thanks Tracy!

A war on terror is a war on a word, a concept, an invisible entity that we can never truly kill. It represents a shift in war mentality. In recent history war has taken an us versus them perspective, where group A loves or needs X and group B hates or has X so A and B fight. Now, we fight words, and as a result we’ve personalized and individualized war. A war on terror is in essence a war of one against a feeling.

For seven years we’ve fought against this word, “terror”, yet people are still terrified. They doubt the resiliency of our economy. They distrust our “elected” leaders. They wonder if they can afford to put food on the table. Seven years have passed and terror is still kicking our butts, and will continue to do so, for we cannot kill a word.

There is only one way to end this war and it starts with you. It starts here. Are you ready to end the world on terror? Gather up your courage, clear your throat, stretch your fingers and shout or type it as loud you can:

I am not terrified!

• I am not terrified of dying.

It is an event that will meet all of us soon. Rich, poor, old, young, athletic, obese, smart, stupid, good and evil, all of us will one day die. I speed through the streets of Greater Boston on my bicycle without fear of death. It makes me a better cyclist, as I do not hesitate to move.

• I am not terrified of Muslims.

They are a people. There are over 1.5 billion Muslims in this world. Some of them are evil; some of them are not. Most of them are average people like you and me.

• I am not terrified of peace.

Without war, how would we keep global population down, technology on the cutting edge and resources flowing? By focusing on these issues rather than killing each other, that’s how.

• I am not terrified of the federal government of these United States of America.

If need be, the fifty states of the union can and will exercise their rights to sovereignty.

• I am not terrified that our elections are either greatly mismanaged or more realistically fraudulent.

My vote will be published on this blog. It may not be counted but it will be recorded.

• I am not terrified that artificial people called corporations roam our lands and rape people’s wallets and health for the pursuit of the lowly dollar.

Consumerism is a dying artificial (d)evolution and is already experiencing the last struggles before its’ ultimate death.

Most importantly, I am simply not terrified.

The only way to end this war on words is with words. Declare you are not terrified and join me in a world without wars on words.

As of now, for me, the war on terror is over!

Wrong!

You are not just one person, you are a whole entire human being! Throughout history we’ve attributed monumental achievements solely to one person. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, Hitler killed millions of people, and Ghandi liberated India. These men did not achieve these huge shifts in society all by themselves, but through a great confidence in themselves and, more importantly, their ideas they were able to lead movements that turned their ideas into results.

The great power that coursed through these people runs through each and everyone one of us. Young or old, male or female, black or white or in between, we all have the potential to change the world. This week, we’ll be taking a look at this potential and how to tap into it. Hopefully you and I utilize it to positively change the world, as Bill Drayton did.

Who is Bill Drayton?

Bill is a social entrepreneur who changed the world by empowering others to change the world. Stay tuned later this week for a paper I wrote on Mr. Drayton and his world-changing ideas and results for the graduate level Perspectives on Leadership course at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. By the end of this week, we’ll turn this potential for change into energy and drastically improve the world!

Here’s a list of 14 15 accomplishments:

• Quit smoking
• Started and finished reading The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (awesome book)
• Finished a graduate class, Small Business Formulation and Development at Umass-Amherst, with an A grade
• Acquired full-time freedom by quitting my full-time paid, voluntary, cubicle entrapment
• Started a business (details to come)
• Lost some weight
• Started reading Smart Start-Ups: How Entrepreneurs and Corporations Can Profit by Starting Online Communities by David Silver
• Bought a bicycle
• By the end of today (if not already), eclipse 100 miles biked in my first week
• Surpassed $20,000 in liquid, financial assets
• Started and fFinished reading Starting From Scratch: Secrets from 21 Ordinary People Who Made the Entrepreneurial Leap by Wes Moss
• Decluttered my e-mail inbox
• By the end of the day, attended my first Boston Celtic playoff game!
• Improved my life by about 1000%
• Edit: (Added this one just before the Celtics game) Just picked up adamp.com at about a $420 savings! (~$40 for a five letter name domain name!)

Have you accomplished any significant goals or done something you’re particularly proud or pleased about in the past 3-4 months? If so, do share below.

Here’s to a great middle and end to the year!

Destination B on the map is the Fruit Center Marketplace at 10 Bassett Street in Milton. If you’re ever in the area (or already live here), I highly recommend checking the place out, it’s got a great selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, a 40 feet salad bar, and meat and fish stores with a large organic selection inside the marketplace. I picked up some very nice looking kiwis, a couple green apples and some organic, free-range, and veggie-fed chicken breasts.

Alright, I’m well tired now and am planning on taking another 12-15 mile ride a bit later today so time to go rest and eat for a bit.

Pretty sweet ride, eh?

I’ll post more (and better quality, non-iPhone) pictures soon but for now I’m off. A heads up, don’t expect a post tomorrow (though you might be surprised) as it’s supposed to be 70+ degrees here!

Then three months later I quit my job at the cube farm and got to living. Whoever said quitters never win, never faced Big Tobacco.

HT: Digg