Why the 9–5 Grind is a Scam (And How to Escape It)

A vintage-style illustration of a sad office worker standing in front of a large 9:05 clock, with city buildings in the background and the bold title “Why the 9–5 Grind Is a Scam (And How to Escape It)” displayed above.

“The richest people in the world look for and build networks; everyone else looks for work.” — Robert Kiyosaki

If you’re within reach of my voice, take this to heart.

Retirement hardship is not incidental; rather, it is a matter of choice. And you are currently making that choice unless you listen to this message.

Five years prior, I invested over $150,000 in a Master’s program at RMIT, under the impression that I was making the appropriate decision. 

Thankfully, God came through and the entire fee was paid upfront — no debt.

Had that not been the case, I probably wouldn’t be writing this mindf*cked.

I’d likely be out there, grinding myself into exhaustion for a piece of paper that bears my name and a university crest — nothing more.

Too many people have been seduced by titles without entitlements.

If that wasn’t enough of a wake-up call, I remember something even deeper.

Nearly ten years ago, my dad — who was still an employee at the time — would often lament that no one ever gets rich working for someone else. 

After years of hustle and hardship, something remarkable happened: God intervened. 

He turned his life around by diving headfirst into entrepreneurship and real estate.

That move not only changed his life but also laid the blueprint for mine. That’s how my tuition got paid in full. Hallelujah!!

After university, I went searching for that so-called “white-collar job.” But whether white, blue, or red — I found nothing. 

Just soul-crushing rejection emails that all read the same: Unsuccessful.

To survive, I had to pivot fast.

I stopped chasing theoretical bull-crap and picked up practical skills instead. That’s how I became a certified forklift driver.

The streets were ruthless. 

Cold. 

Unforgiving. 

Nobody cared about you. 

Just God, and it takes a little bit of awareness to realise that he does.

Most of my friends were juggling two or three jobs like professional athletes. 

I didn’t follow that path. 

Instead, I focused on finding ways to make just $1 a day, with leverage.

I’m so in love with the word leverage, and I don't know why.

That was my starting point.

While working all sorts of exhausting jobs, I’d constantly push myself, breaking my back to prove I was a “good worker.”

But deep down, I didn’t care how much I got paid. 

I only cared that I did get paid.

The moment I made even a single dollar, my entrepreneurial mindset kicked in: double it.

Whether it was flipping products, reselling goods, or using overseas currency arbitrage, I was always building. 

Learning. Betting. And hoping.

Going against the grain of society was brutally tough.

But what’s even tougher is pretending everything’s fine when you know the system’s broken.

We see it all around us — people without degrees leading those with prestigious credentials. What the hell is going on?

Just the other day, I watched a job interview clip where this guy was practically begging to be hired:

“Hi, I’m John, Harvard MBA with seven years at McKinsey specialising in fintech…”

Yeah — F**k that, JOHN.**

If you have all that going for you, why not start your own fintech company?

Don’t get me wrong — if you genuinely enjoy your 9 to 5 grind, more power to you, my friend.

But this letter isn’t for the contented. 

It’s for us — the misfits, the entrepreneurial cult.

Seriously, everyone is in business.

So why not you?

Life itself is a serious business. 

That's why we must trade carbon dioxide to get oxygen.

The corporations you apply to? Businesses. 

The government? Business. 

Your university? Also, a business.

So why not YOU?

No one cares about your qualifications until they care about you.

You can still serve in government, or anywhere else for that matter, and live a meaningful life. (The Good Life).

But don’t kid yourself, it’s extremely tough to stay locked in the 9-5 system and still build the life of your dreams. 

It demands ridiculous levels of discipline.

You’ll have to sacrifice the hours you usually waste binge-watching YouTube or scrolling Instagram. 

Use that time to build something meaningful. 

Build something you’ll thank yourself for later.

If you don’t build it, it’ll never exist. 

But if you do, I promise, you’ll be grateful you did.

Building something from scratch skyrockets your confidence.

Creation is part of being human. 

And if you don’t create, entropy will engulf. You already know this.

If your job doesn’t challenge you, walk away. I didn’t mean to say that, but I can’t help it.

Even while working a 9-to-5, entropy can still eat away at you, especially if your role is robotic, repetitive, or mentally numbing.

Now AI has arrived — the new god of computation, rewriting the rules of creation itself.

And with it, every robotic job is under existential threat.

This isn’t a theory, it’s reality.

Just last week, my local Bank of Melbourne shut down one of its branches.

Ironically, I’d had a conversation just days before with a sharply dressed bank rep about how tools like AI are threatening not only jobs, but universities too.

A time will come when self-education becomes the norm.

Let’s be real: if you can’t outwork a forklift, why would anyone hire you to lift 100kg of steel?

You see, AI and automation are redefining how we work, live, and even love.

With that kind of shift underway, I didn’t sit back. 

I used every tool at my disposal and began building. 

I even wrote a popular letter about how I launched my SaaS company using GPTs and automation.

It’s not that I’m lazy, I just love waking up, rolling a joint occasionally with my coffee, and doing absolutely nothing while watching people rush to the train like the world’s on fire.

Whenever I see someone driving like a maniac to work, I tell them, “If you drive like hell, you’ll get there.” That always makes my partner laugh.

So, to create something meaningful and fulfilling, start by solving your problems. 

Once solved, kindly distribute the solution. Either paid or for free.

This is my most explosive letter to date, racking up astonishing numbers on my website while barely making a ripple here.

It’s funny how platforms differ.

To this end, human suffering is eternal: health, wealth, happiness, and relationships. Those are the real pillars.

That’s it for this mindf*cked.

See you in the next one.

— Destiny 

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