I remember starting this blog, back in March 26, 2007.
It was a transition time in my career, I had already put in my notice to quit Wall Street (working at 60 Wall Street at Deutsche Bank trading floor).
Was making enough selling on eBay and New York Bar Store to do it, and had been saving as much money as possible (getting made fun of for eating peanut butter sandwiches on the trading floor instead of ordering 10+usd lunch outside). The money was going into the E*Trade 5% money market account (nickname FU fund), and the e-commerce store was paying dividends to not tap into those savings.
This blog was an idea at an Irish pub after work one of those final days – the conversation going something like this:
Coworker saying:
“Man, we are amazed you can quit, we wish we had the balls to quit too, we want to follow your journey – you should start a blog and share the story”.
There was a random discussion about how long it would take before I came crawling back begging for my job back.
I remember being so nervous to even post a text blog on the internet. To put your real name, and share your real story – was still a unique concept.
Here are some early posts:
Sneaking a photo at the office before I go
1 week countdown til I leave NYC
The goodbye NYC apartment post
Well, 18 years later, I’m still trying to share that story.
And I believe the trend is even more real now. With AI and tech coming, the only assets we have are our story and our network.