How to Side-Hustle into No Hustle w/ Doug Cunnington of Mile High FI – Episode 46

Doug Cunnington rewrote his story with side hustles after an unexpected layoff. He lives on the Frontrange of Colorado, where he enjoys beautiful mountain views. He is cohost of the Mile High FI podcast with Carl Jensen.

Listen to hear:

• Doug’s ideal location and beverage for this conversation
• What he means by side-hustle
• What his first side-hustle was
• What led Doug to start side-hustle(s)
• The unexpected gifts of his side-hustles
• The surprising story of his layoff and how he reacted
• What his side-hustles have led to and where he’s at now
• The lifestyle and financial benefits of side-hustles
• How much time/energy it takes to grow and continue a side-hustle
• His advice for how/why you might start one of your own
• Are his side-hustles really passive?
• How his side-hustles helped him “retire” early

Quotes from this episode:

• “We began taking our own decisions instead of taking what life gave us.”

We close with:
Back in Maggie’s episode about fear, I posed the question, “What would you do if you really loved yourself?”

In this episode, essentially about starting something new, letting go, and seeing where it leads, I find it helpful to ask, “What would you do if money was not a factor?” – Like, what would you want to jump out of bed for, if not every morning, at least many mornings of the year?

If you’re like me, and so many others I’ve talked to, by the way, you may not have an answer to that question off-hand.

Doug teaches us in this conversation, that simply by tapping into our curiosities, allowing ourselves to explore them, and holding them and their results loosely, we may just find the answer(s) to that question in unexpected places. We also learn that that question is most likely something to be posed and answered not just once, but many times over a lifetime–one answer leading to another and then another, over time leading to a life freer and more expansive than we could have ever envisioned from our point of view at the start.

What I take away from this conversation, is that the side-hustles, the side-stories of our lives, when listened to, nurtured, and allowed to evolve, can grow into the most fabulous plot lines of all. After all, as so many authors will tell you, sometimes the best stories seem to write themselves. They just need to be given a chance–a little love and care, room and space to breath, grow and develop along the way. In doing so, nurturing your interests, you may find that like Doug, your side-story allows your confidence and self-awareness to grow right along with it when given the space and freedom. By stepping lightly toward your curiosities, you might also find that answering the question, “What would you do if money was not a factor?”, becomes a lot clearer with each new step.

Rebecca Solnit implores you to begin taking your power back in the story-telling of your life in her book The Faraway Nearby. She says:
“We think we tell stories, but stories often tell us, tell us to love or hate, to see or be seen. Often, too often, stories saddle us, ride us, whip us onward, tell us what to do, and we do it without questioning. The task of learning to be free requires learning to hear them, to question them, to pause and hear silence, to name them, and then become a storyteller.”

May you get quiet enough to hear the stories of your life today, friend. May you pause long enough to allow those stories to fade into silence. AND in that silence, may the whispers of your soul begin to take shape in questions, curiosities, interests. In answer, may you become the author of your story, the story-teller, even if only on the side at first, by stepping toward them slowly and holding them loosely enough that they might be free to take shape in new and unexpected ways, allowing you to be free in the process.

Much love to you, today and every day!