Cubicle Renegade Escape Story: Vivek Mayasandra Takes Flight

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This cubicle renegade escape story is by Vivek Mayasandra, founder of the Take Flight Project.

// Seattle, Washington - May, 2011 //

As was usual at 4:30pm, I made my way out of my fluorescent-lit labyrinthine cubicle-filled office floor. I walked out onto a sprawling parking lot, got into my 2008 Honda Civic LX Coupe, and slammed the door in frustration.

The weather featured an unspectacular gray drizzle, Interstate 5 served up its usual snarling traffic jam, and my job had just handed me my roughest day yet.

I was working in a group which counted mindless data entry among its ‘strategic objectives,’ I was closing in on 3 years of neglecting my passions and skills; I was absolutely miserable. But as my mind spun with all the frustration, regret, pain, and disillusionment of my life at the time, a definitive decision churned out: I had to get out quick and start living the life I dreamed of.

But three daunting hurdles stood in my way: I had very little money saved up, was deep in debt, and I had no idea how I’d make a living when I left.

I had read plenty of pieces on following your passions, trusting your gut, and how things fall into place when you’re true to yourself, but I wanted a practical solution. I read sites like Man vs Debt, Pocket Changed and countless others for help, and took a look at the all the resources I had around me - my friends, frequent flier miles, any and all assets, and skills I held.

I quickly created a 3-step plan for myself: 1) Get out of debt, 2) Save $10,000, and 3) get a first paying client for any work at all.

Debt

One thing I struggled with was whether to cut debt and save money simultaneously, or to cut debt first and then save money. In the interest of not half-assing anything and be done-once-and-for-all with debt, I opted for the latter and I’m glad I did.

The day I left my office in frustration, I was over $6,000 in debt. Most of it was the result of compounded irresponsible spending (think bars and restaurants), with a healthy splash of a 9% credit card interest rate. I had to eliminate it. Luckily in my case, I was employed and was making decent paycheck which allowed for about $500 to be put away every month with ample comfort.

But in my case, speed took priority over comfort; I wanted to be debt-free as soon as possible, so I could start building a cash reserve.

I decided to start living paycheck-to-paycheck. I made a list of my defined monthly expenses at the time: rent, car payment, insurance, gas, cell phone bill, gym membership, utilities and food. All of that together added up to approximately $1,800 per month.

Every single cent that fell outside these designated buckets went straight to paying off my debt. Divide those expenses down to the (on average) 2 paychecks I received per month, and voilà - paycheck-to-paycheck living.

I started this plan in July, and was debt-free in December. And the only exception to my rule was the expense incurred on a trip to New York in August (the ticket for which was bought using Delta SkyMiles).

Savings

My goal was to save up $10,000 - a number I arbitrarily chose after speaking to people who’d done what I was aiming to do. I started aggressively saving in December 2011, right after I sent my last credit card payment. I used essentially the same strategy to save as I did for debt-payment: living paycheck-to-paycheck and dumping every last non-defined expense into my savings account. A trip to visit family in India was the only major exception to my rule in this case.

As 2012 rolled around, a few advantages I realized I had was my federal income tax refund (which amounted to about $2,000) and a bonus from my company ($3,000). As soon as I got both of these, I promptly dumped them into my savings account.

Another major resource I had was my ability to leave my apartment (where I was on a month-to-month lease), and move in rent-free into the house of a very close friend of mine for my last two months (February and March) in Seattle. That saved me close to $1700, which went into savings.

In March, I also sold my car to make a profit of $3,000.

All in all, these steps all resulted in me exceeding my savings goal. I can honestly say that it was the result of some basic planning, and an honest assessment of usable resources and relationships around me.

Work

My corporate job was the only real job experience I had after college. And it was in a field I didn’t care much for. This posed the challenge of how I’d create income when I left.

I should say here that literally everyone is good at something. In my case, my assets turned out to be in airline industry knowledge, writing, editing, and strategizing. So I looked to these passions and skills to see where I could add value.

At the height of my debt-cutting in the summer of 2011, I approached the founder of a startup I deeply admired and pointed out some areas where I could help him for free. He agreed to bring me on board to write a few articles for his website (for free). I put forth good effort, honed my writing skills and industry knowledge publicly, and got noticed across the industry. A few months in, I was approached to collaborate on a paid gig doing writing and research in an field I love.

Taking the Leap

On March 22 of this year, I left my corporate job with zero debt, $13,000 in my savings account, a new source of income and big, bright plans for the future. I finally feel totally free and in control of what I’m doing with my life.

I’m working on projects I love, building a new brand (Take Flight Project), figuring out the launch of an online magazine of sorts, and bracing myself for the extended travel I’ve been aching to do my whole life.

Looking back, all of this was made possible with a few simple steps:

• Honestly assessing my current situation, including finances, resources, skills, passions and relationships.
• Creating a basic, flexible plan that looks the results in the eyes.
• Relentless action and execution on that plan.
• Fearlessly reaching out to people I admire, building relationships and constantly being on the lookout for where I can help them.

Life is a lot like science - a grandiose experiment - one which involves highs and lows, constant testing of hypotheses, and a relentless pursuit of truth. There’s absolutely no better time than RIGHT NOW to start that experiment and be bold in your approach. Start now and watch the whole thing unfold before your eyes. It’ll be magical.

- Vivek Mayasandra

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