Greetings!

Just a quick reminder: You're getting this because you downloaded something from The Corporate Escapee at some point (and it could have been months ago).

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I appreciate it! Let's dive in.

— Brett

Almost 6 years ago, corporate quit on me.

At the time, I thought I was doing fine. Good job. Good salary. Checking the boxes.

But I wasn't fine.

I just didn't know how not fine I actually was.

If I'd had this scorecard back then, I would've seen it immediately.

I created this for myself a few years into my escape journey because I realized something:

I had no way to measure if I was actually happier.

Sure, I felt better. But was I actually making progress? Or just trading one set of problems for another?

So I built a simple scorecard to track 5 key areas of my life:

Every few months, I rate myself 1-10 in each area. Current state vs. ideal state.

Here's what shocked me:

When I reverse-engineered what my score would've been while I was still in corporate, it was brutally low.

Like, "how did I not see this?" low.

Most of us don't realize how unhappy we are until we're out.

We're just going through the motions:

And we tell ourselves: "This is just how it is."

But what if you actually measured it?

What if you scored yourself honestly in each of these 5 areas and saw the number staring back at you?

Would you still tell yourself "it's fine"?

Not "how much money do you make."

The question is: Are you financially independent, or are you tied to corporate?

If you lost your job tomorrow, would you be okay? Or would you panic?

Most of us are 100% dependent on that one paycheck. That's not independence. That's dependency.

(And yes, I know that's the reality for most people. But naming it matters.)

How much time are you actually spending with the people who matter?

Not "quality time" while you're checking emails.

Real time. Present. No laptop open.

When I was in corporate, I was there physically, but mentally I was still at work. Always.

I didn't realize how much I was missing until I wasn't missing it anymore.

Are you healthy? Do you have time to be healthy?

When I left corporate, I lost almost 30 pounds in less than two years. Without trying.

Why? Because I wasn't stress-eating. I wasn't sitting in a car 3 hours a day. I wasn't too exhausted to move.

Mentally, I was in a completely different place. I didn't realize how heavy the weight of corporate was until it was gone.

Does your work give you energy or drain you?

I don't buy the "follow your purpose" advice—it's not realistic for most people.

But I do think you should ask: Does this work give me any fulfillment at all?

Because if it doesn't, and you don't have time to do something that does, that's a really tough spot to be in.

Are you having any?

Life is too damn short to go through it without having fun.

Yeah, you have to work hard. You have to pay your dues.

But there's no reason you can't have all of this: financial stability, time with people you love, health, meaningful work, and fun.

We've just been told for so long that you can't. That you have to sacrifice. That you'll have fun "later."

I'm calling BS on that.

Here's what I recommend:

Step 1: Complete the scorecard

Step 2: Rate yourself 1-10 in each area. Be honest. Current state vs. ideal state.

Step 3: Look at the total. Out of 50, where are you?

Step 4: Ask yourself: "If I stay on this path, will this number go up or down in a year?"

That's it.

This isn't about quitting your job tomorrow.

This is about getting honest with yourself about where you actually are.

Because once you see the number, you can't unsee it.

And then you have a choice:

All three are valid.

But you have to know the score first.

While in corporate (estimated): 22/50 (and probably too generous)

Today: 37/50

I'm not perfect. There's still room to grow. But I'm not where I was.

And the crazy part? The shift didn't happen because I made more money or got a better title.

It happened because I took control.

I stopped letting corporate dictate my life. I started building around what I wanted.

And the scorecard keeps me honest. Every few months, I check in. Am I still on track? Or am I slipping back?

It's a tool I still use today.

I built this into a free Starter Kit that walks you through this exercise (plus 6 other steps to get clarity on your path).

No strings. Just a framework to help you see where you actually are.

If you want it, it's on my Linktree or download here: → <Download Here>

I go deeper into the 5Fs (plus the other 6 steps) in this week's episode:

🎙️ New Year, New You: 7 Steps to Take Back Control for Corporate

→ [Listen Here]

Look.

You might score yourself and realize things are better than you thought. Great. Keep going.

Or you might score yourself and realize things are worse than you admitted. That's hard. But at least you know.

And knowing is the first step to changing.

Take the scorecard. See where you land.

Then decide what you want to do about it.

— Brett

P.S. If you take the scorecard and want to share your score (or what you learned), reply to this email. I read every one.