Running My Own Race: Escaping the Rat Race - Or So I Thought

I remember dropping out of college - University of Santo Tomas - after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

That book changed everything for me.

It made me see the world differently.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to be part of the system anymore.

I didn’t want to be stuck studying for a piece of paper that promised “security” when I knew deep down I was meant to create something bigger - to build my own.

Of course, my parents weren’t thrilled.

To them, it was rebellion.

To me, it was revelation.

But here I am, twenty years later - and if I’m being honest - I’m still in that so-called “rat race.” Not in the corporate sense, but in the hustler’s sense.

Still wheeling and dealing.

Still chasing that one big break, that one massive deal that would make me finally say, “I’m good.

I made it.” And yet, that moment never really comes, does it?

Because maybe the race doesn’t end when you hit a number.

Maybe it ends when you redefine what “winning” actually means.

Maybe the real freedom isn’t walking away from the system - but walking away from the need to prove yourself to it.

I used to think escaping the rat race meant never working again.

Now, I see it differently.

It’s about doing what I love, building things that outlive me, and being at peace with the pace - even when the world is sprinting.

I may not have “escaped” the rat race completely, but I’ve built my own track - and that, to me, is freedom.