Kristen Tejada (KT)

A Bit About Me & This Blog

TLDR: Keep an open mind when new perspectives are introduced to you, follow what drives you, and don't be afraid to stray outside of the lines that society has painted if it makes you happy.

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My mission is to actively help others think differently about their career, life, and money choices and carve their path to freedom, whatever that means for them. For me, that means helping others by sharing what I’m insanely passionate about, working 100% remotely so that I can travel (>4 countries + 10 states last year), and knowing that by 2030 I will have enough passive income to support my lifestyle and true freedom to do whatever it is I want to do. That will probably change 10 times from now until then.

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I realized a couple of years ago that although I was outwardly successful based on society's standards (good job, homeowner, saving money), I didn't feel fully satisfied. I had stopped caring about titles and promotions and really just wanted to focus on learning new stuff and doing things I liked at work. But that doesn't really jive with what corporate HR wants to hear when they ask about your career ambitions. I decided to make a lot of career and life changes in 2021, like selling that nice house and going to work for a really small company with a mission I believed in. At the same time, my mind was getting blown by learning there was an alternative life path I could pursue that didn't require me to work a job for the next 40 years and that I could get there through real estate investing. 

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When the opportunity came up for me to start living parts of that alternative life now, I took the leap. I quit my job and closed the chapter on that traditional IT career after about 10 years (hence, the name the 10 year career). I now get to spend my time educating people about financial independence and building their wealth to get there. Yes, it's still a job, but it's also something I'm deeply passionate about, so it feels much more in line with my vision for my life and makes me feel fulfilled.

I decided to start this blog to explore the idea of what we'd do differently if careers were only 10 years, and how it would change our mindset. It doesn't mean you can't be happy taking the traditional path. I just prompt you to ask yourself if what you're doing is truly making you happy, and to stay open to new opportunities. By talking about some of the things I've learned in my journey and choices I made, I hope it might help others take a leap or spark an idea to do something outside of the boundaries of "the norm."