Breaking the Chains of Helplessness: Asymmetrical Opportunities and Generational Wealth

Watching my Son shake as the nurses placed another IV and struggled to keep his temperature down was agonizing.

I never thought I would be in that scenario as a parent.

I am a Surgeon, and as a parent, that moment caused me to feel helpless.

While in that emergency room, I realized it brought back a familiar feeling from childhood. A hot summer day where I, watched and cried as my Mother had a seizure in the middle of the street.

That was the first time I felt helpless in my life.

That feeling is inescapable. I've been running away from it since that hot summer day.

Who I am is defined by not feeling helpless in any situation. My Son being sick taught me there isn't a skill alive that can fight fate. Nor is there a dollar amount that can treat a viral or bacterial infection.

To add insult to injury, my Son told me it makes him sad that I worked so much.

Can you believe that? While he was sick as a dog, he said those words.

Talk about a gut punch. That's when God sent me a message.

It's time to make some changes.

As I always say, God always has a plan.

I am happy to report that my Son is much better today. He's back to eating, running around, and playing soccer.

As for me? I am making changes look God told me to.

The thing about my wealth-building journey is I approached it as I've done with any other objective. Thus far, I've utilized my ability to outwork others as my alpha (my edge).

My work ethic has been my secret sauce. If I could outwork others, I'll always have a way to make money.

However, that mentality doesn't leave time in your life for the things that matter the most. Additionally, once you've achieved a certain level of success, you'll plateau or burn out if you continue along that path.

Slowly I was starting to learn that lesson over the past year. The experience in the emergency room that night made it very clear.

Now that I've learned that lesson, how do I continue to reach my goal of building wealth to help my family and others?

How do I continue to pursue generational changing wealth?

Well, the first thing to do, is divorce my time from my money. To free my time, I need an asymmetrical opportunity.

Starting a business is an asymmetrical opportunity. As is, owning equity in business ventures, real estate, or private funds like private equity or venture capital.

Asymmetrical opportunities are not without risk. 90% of small businesses fail within the first five years. 30% of venture-backed startups end up failing.

But what if your idea did not fail? What if you were part of the 10% of small business owners who succeeded or built a startup that survived and thrived?

That's what I call asymmetrical opportunity.

That's the lesson God smacked me in the head with.

I will be a builder of businesses and an investor in asymmetrical opportunities. I will reach my goal, and my kids will learn their father was the best dad in the world while changing it for the better.