What does it mean to unsubscribe?
Welcome to issue #001 of Unsubscribe. Each week, I send two essays that help you step off the default path to build a life you love, supported by work you enjoy. If you’d like to participate in the comments below, join our private chat, attend our monthly workshops and private member dinners, then consider becoming a paying member.
Most people sleepwalk through life.
They wake up, check their email, run around getting the kids ready, rush to work, attend meeting after meeting, come home exhausted, scroll through social, and toss and turn until the same day comes again.
They work their way up the career ladder and earn more responsibility but less freedom. They build side hustles and businesses that consume their lives instead of supporting them. They pursue goals that look great on paper and LinkedIn profiles, but never seem to truly feel all that fulfilling.
Rinse and repeat. For decades.
I call this the default path. And it's a life most people don't even realize they've built for themselves until they wake up one morning and say:
Is this it?
To unsubscribe means to consciously question this way of living. To pause long enough to step off the treadmill and start designing a life you actually love living.
This is not about dropping everything and moving to a cabin in the woods. Or having a mid-life crisis and moving to Hollywood to try your hand at stardom.
It's about being significantly more intentional. About defining what success actually means to you, on your terms, not someone else’s.
Maybe that means working four days a week instead of five, so you can spend a full day with your young children. Maybe it means building a business that stays deliberately small so you can travel with your partner without asking permission. Maybe it means optimizing for freedom and flexibility instead of that fancy job title or award plaque at work.
I've been on both sides over my 22-year work career.
I spent years climbing the ladder at work. I became an executive by 33, made lots of money, built valuable companies, and managed teams of 150+ people.
I learned something really interesting during that part of my career: That beyond a certain point, more doesn't equal better. It often equals less.
Less time, less joy, less freedom, less life.
Unsubscribing is not easy. The default path feels comfortable because it's what we've been trained to follow since we were kids. The people around you understand the path. Society rewards your participation. Your friends and family expect you to conform to it.
But even when my career was thriving, I had worries. And so much doubt. Would I wake up one morning at 65 and wonder where the hell my life went? Did I feel OK trading my best years for a retirement I might be too burned out to enjoy?
So, I chose something different. In 2019, I unsubscribed. I stepped down from my executive role and started exploring my creative side. Thinking. Writing. Sharing.
Six years and many creative projects later, my life has completely changed.
I have more freedom. More autonomy. More agency. I have the ability to work 3 hours per day or 8 hours per day. I can work all month or take a full month off. My wife and I can go to lunch on a random Wednesday or spend 90 days in France.
And the strangest thing? This vibe has attracted millions of people from around the world who want to build the same life.
If you’re here, I’ll assume that’s you. So, welcome.
This newsletter and membership are for the people who hear that voice inside their head saying, "There must be more to life than this."
The ones who have achieved things in life that they were told would make them happy. Only to discover they don't.
Inside, we'll explore a totally different way of thinking about success, work, and life.
We'll challenge conventional wisdom. We'll share ideas for building lives that feel meaningful and rich, not just impressive on paper.
Most importantly, we'll do it together. With thousands of thoughtful people who are asking the very same questions that you are.
So welcome to Unsubscribe.
Your first step toward the life you actually want.
Join the Members-Only Discussion Below.
What are you excited to learn about and discuss here in Unsubscribe? Share your insights or ask a question that moves the conversation forward. Let’s make this a space for thoughtful discussion.
Thank you for this community, Justin. I unsubscribed almost three years ago by quitting my highly paid and “important” job. I stayed in that job for six years. For the last five, I thought about leaving, but I couldn’t do it until one of my best friends asked me, “What kind of role model do you want to be for your first daughter? Someone who is highly paid but unhappy, or someone doing what they truly enjoy and living life on their own terms?” That question opened my eyes immediately. I started writing my resignation letter and have never looked back.
However, I’ve noticed that I still carry a lot of old programming. I find myself constantly checking emails and WhatsApp to see if someone needs me, instead of thinking about what I need. I keep accumulating more and more knowledge instead of thinking for myself and taking action. When I feel unfocused or overwhelmed by all the freedom I now have, I procrastinate by watching YouTube. I could work on anything, I could live anywhere, and yet I don’t know where to start at least, not yet.
Oh, and there’s one companion I forgot to mention: my own voice asking how I will eventually make money when my financial backup comes to an end.
This community seems to have appeared at just the right time.
Justin,
You said, "Inside, we'll explore a totally different way of thinking about success, work, and life. We'll challenge conventional wisdom. We'll share ideas for building lives that feel meaningful and rich, not just impressive on paper.
Most importantly, we'll do it together—with thousands of thoughtful people who are asking the same questions that you are."
What resonates with me is exploring different ways of thinking and sharing ideas for building lives together.
NONE OF US IS EVER AS SMART AS ALL OF US.