Hustle culture nearly destroyed my health, my marriage, and my ability to be present for my daughters. In this deeply personal episode, I share why I stopped glorifying the grind and learned that working smarter not harder is the real path to sustainable success.

From leaving Deloitte to build BudgetDog while caring for my daughter with Dravet syndrome, to discovering toxic mold that threatened our entire family's health, this is the raw truth about what endless hustle really costs. I'll walk you through the moments that forced me to choose between proving my worth through output and actually being present for what matters.

Episode Timeline & Highlights

[0:00] - Why hustle culture almost broke me

[1:04] - The Big Four grind: Last man standing from my starting class

[2:31] - Building a business from scratch isn't what Instagram tells you

[3:44] - The moment everything changed: Logan's first seizure at 5 months

[6:46] - October 2022: Turning the car around in a Michigan snowstorm

[11:17] - The diagnosis that explained everything: Mold mycotoxins

[14:19] - $300,000 gone in two months—and why we had to leave everything behind

[20:04] - Dallas ice storm: Heart rate of 203 and another house rejection

[23:13] - The health markers that scared us straight

[29:10] - Making $1 million sitting by the pool vs. hundreds of thousands in a cubicle

[32:34] - My new operating model: High-intensity spurts, not endless hustle

[34:56] - Setting boundaries that actually stick

Key Takeaways

1. Seasons of sacrifice are necessary staying there forever is dangerous - There's a time to grind, but knowing when to stop is what separates success from self-destruction

2. Your biggest breakthroughs come from rest, not burnout - The most strategic moves happen when you step back and think, not when you're drowning in details

3. Health markers don't lie - When your cortisol is shot and your testosterone drops, your body is telling you something the hustle bros won't

Quotables

"I made $1 million sitting at a pool. I made a couple hundred thousand sitting in a cubicle at Deloitte."

"You can run on the treadmill to get in shape, but if you run on it forever, you're going to fall off and hurt yourself."

"Sustainable success comes from clarity, not chaos."

"Our disadvantage led to our advantage if my daughter didn't have that seizure, we would've stayed in that toxic house much longer."

Links & Resources

Learn more about BudgetDog Academy: https://budgetdog.com

Connect with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/budgetdog

My book, The Roadmap to Financial Freedom: https://budgetdog.com/book

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs to hear that rest isn't giving up it's gearing up for what's next. And remember to rate, follow, and review the podcast to help others find their way off the hustle hamster wheel.