Con Man Incognito

I’ve been spending a lot of time with a small handful of people the last few weeks. Greetings Everyday Spy, I’ve been spending a lot of time with a small handful of people the last few weeks. It is incredibly productive to reduce outside distractions and focus your time and energy on just a few people. For me, 4 people have dominated my last 15 days: - My wife, Jihi - who is always the center of my universe - My son, Sina - my spirit guide and constant companion - My daughter, Alai - my warrior and inspiration - My mentor, Josh - a kindred spirit on and off the battlefield Having time to connect with my wife and kids has been wonderful. The kisses, cuddles, books, and songs make for memories that are absolutely priceless. But there has been an important secondary benefit also. Our business. Jihi is my partner in life and in EverydaySpy -- neither of which I think she ever expected when she joined CIA! Being self-employed business owners traveling the world while homeschooling two young kids has tested our patience and marriage in awesome ways. And with each new challenge, our vision for EverydaySpy gets clearer. Spending time with Josh and Jihi the last few days has been like a nitro-blast for our business vision! Because even though Jihi and Josh come from completely different backgrounds (Jihi in non-profit work, Josh in global finance), they both recognize the sham that is the typical 9-5 job. Josh has a saying that puts it perfectly: “I don’t believe in exchanging my time for an hourly wage.” The ‘typical job’ is a con people were programmed to believe 280 years ago. To get us through the Industrial Revolution, industry needed a way to get people to do repetitive tasks for hours on end. Unlike the traditional family farm, it was important that early factory workers did one simple task all day rather than choose their own tasks. Simple building and assembly lines made business efficient. To encourage proper employee behavior, the hourly wage was born. Even today, millions of Americans grind every day, hour by hour, in exchange for an hourly wage. Whether you call it a wage, a salary, or a paycheck, it’s all the same; trading hours of your life for a price that someone else chooses. And like those workers from the 1760s, you keep hoping that one day that wage will change. Maybe with time, with patience, with hard work… hopeful, but never sure if, when, or how that change will happen. And that is the great con -- the scam -- the hope that doing the same thing over and over again will somehow bring more pay. That con keeps you going to work in the same job every day. It keeps you grinding without the promise of promotion or pay raise. And it will never pay out… because payout isn't part of the system. But like any con, you can beat it. You just have to see the game for what it is… and then shortcut the system. Godspeed, #EverydaySpy P.S. - [CIA teaches field operators 4 tactics for building influence and power quickly in any professional setting. If you want the secret CIA formula to professional power,]( here to master Everyday Espionage: Winning the Workplace!]( Follow @EverydaySpy on Social Media! [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Andrew Bustamante, Founder of EverydaySpy.com, is a former covert CIA Intelligence officer, decorated US Air Force Combat Veteran, and respected Fortune 500 senior advisor. Learn more from Andrew on his Podcast (The Everyday Espionage Podcast) and by following @EverydaySpy on your favorite social media platform. This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Don't want to receive these emails anymore? [Unsubscribe]( EverydaySpy, 411 Walnut St. #20309, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043