No Money, No Job, No Plan—How I Rebuilt My Life in 18 Months

Ground Zero

18 months ago, I was broke, unemployed, and sleeping on a single airbed in my friend's living room.

I had £500 in my bank account. My phone showed missed calls from debt collectors daily. Every morning, I'd wake up to the sound of my friend getting ready for his real job, while I lay there wondering if I'd made the biggest mistake of my life.

I didn't know my next move. I didn't know if I could pay my phone bill. I didn't have a clue how I was going to turn things around.

Today, I'm the Head of Sales for one of the fastest-growing marketing agencies in the world. I live in a place of my own, and for the first time ever, I have absolute clarity on where I'm going and how to get there.

How?

Because I followed a process.

And so can you.

This newsletter is your roadmap. Five phases. Five unavoidable steps you must take if you want to escape the life that isn't serving you and build the one you actually want. Read this carefully—because if you understand this, you'll never feel lost again.

But first, a warning: This isn't another "follow your dreams" story. This isn't about manifesting success or thinking positive thoughts. This is about the raw, unfiltered truth of what it takes to completely rebuild your life from scratch. If you're looking for comfortable advice, stop reading now.

Let's go.

Phase 1: The Itch

It starts as a whisper. A quiet sense that something's off.

You sit at work, disengaged, staring at the clock. You go through the motions, but your mind is elsewhere—spinning with possibilities. Maybe it's business. Maybe it's a new skill. Maybe it's a complete reinvention. Whatever it is, it calls to you.

I know this phase well. I spent months watching business YouTube videos, devouring podcasts, and making endless lists—strategies, goals, options, escape plans. I felt like I was making progress. But I wasn't. I was just circling the edge, too scared to leap.

Let me be specific: I spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos about business. I filled at least three notebooks with business ideas and plans. I told myself I was "researching" and "strategising." But really? I was paralysed.

Here's the truth: thinking isn't doing. Planning isn't progress. If you stay here too long, you'll convince yourself you're "preparing" when really, you're just stalling.

What to do in The Itch phase:

• Set a firm deadline for your transition—write it down and tell someone who'll hold you accountable.

• Start building your emergency fund immediately—aim for six months of bare minimum expenses.

• Develop your skills in parallel with your current job—dedicate two hours every morning before work.

• Test your ideas in micro-experiments—start that side hustle with just one to two hours per day.

• Track your progress weekly—measure both your skill development and savings goals.

Here's what I learned: The Itch never goes away on its own. It grows. It festers. And the longer you ignore it, the more it consumes you, until one day...

Phase 2: The Jump

There's a moment I'll never forget: I was sitting in the kitchen at my family home when I saw the email come in. My stomach dropped. The commission scheme at my current job was being changed—no discussion, no warning, just a decision made for me. I read it twice, feeling the frustration build.

I knew I was already being underpaid, but this? This was the moment I realised I was done. The second I stepped back into work after my trip, I walked straight to my boss's desk and quit. No hesitation. No looking back.

This is the moment everything changes.

The Jump is when you stop thinking and start moving. For me, it was quitting my comfortable job and diving headfirst into uncertainty. It was terrifying. It felt like stepping off a cliff with no parachute. And that's exactly why most people hesitate.

They wait for the perfect plan or the perfect moment.

It doesn't exist.

Before you take The Jump:

• Calculate your runway to the day—know exactly how long your savings will last.

• Create a bare-bones budget and stick to it religiously.

• Set up a daily schedule that maximizes your productive hours.

• Line up three to five potential clients or opportunities before leaving.

• Build a support network of people who've made similar transitions.

If you're looking for a sign, this is it. Whatever you've been putting off—do it. Burn the boats. Commit so hard that failure isn't an option.

The math was simple: I had enough savings to last four months at absolute bare minimum expenses. After that? No safety net. No backup plan. No return ticket to my old life.

Phase 3: The Grind

The Grind was ruthless. I was taking sales calls from 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week. My voice would be hoarse by noon, and by the evening, my brain felt like mush.

I'd squeeze in the gym whenever I could—sometimes between back-to-back calls, sometimes I'd go out for a late-night run despite my exhaustion.

I ate meals in front of my laptop, barely tasting them. Sleep? I made sure this was a priority to make sure I could sustain my efforts and avoid burning out. And I kept going, because stopping meant failure. And failure wasn't an option.

Surviving The Grind requires a system:

• Track every hour of your day in 60-minute blocks.

• Set weekly micro-goals that build toward your larger target.

• Create morning and evening routines that protect your energy.

• Monitor your key performance metrics daily.

• Schedule regular skill-building sessions between client work.

• Build in one complete rest day per week to prevent burnout.

The Grind is where 99% of people quit.

The hype of The Jump fades, and reality punches you in the face. It's brutal. It's exhausting. It's waking up at 6 AM, working 14-hour days, posting content no one sees, sending emails that get ignored. It's questioning yourself every step of the way.

For me, this phase was hell. I had never worked harder or made less money in my life. Some nights, I lay in bed wondering if I'd made the worst mistake possible.

But The Grind is where you're made. It's where you develop the discipline, resilience, and skill set that separate those who succeed from those who fold.

And let me tell you—if you're in this phase right now? Keep going. Every day you survive The Grind, you're one step closer to the next level.

Phase 4: The Ascent

If you survive The Grind, something shifts.

Suddenly, you start seeing traction. You land your first big deal. Your skills sharpen. People start noticing. What once felt impossible now feels inevitable.

Let me show you exactly what The Ascent looked like for me: I had been struggling with sales for months and decided to invest in mentorship from one of the best sales coaches in the industry. This was a game changer. I locked in and within 60 days I went from closing an average of 6% of my sales calls to over 20%.

This tripled my income, which I desperately needed at this point as I'd spent over £7k on courses over the last six months, and most importantly, unlocked unshakeable belief in my ability to level up when I needed to the most.

Maximizing The Ascent:

• Reinvest 30% of every win back into your growth.

• Identify and eliminate your rate-limiting factors.

• Build systems that can scale with your growth.

• Start delegating non-critical tasks.

• Document your processes for future team members.

• Network with people one level above your current position.

But The Ascent brings a new challenge: self-doubt in a different form.

Now, you're not afraid of failure. You're afraid of plateauing. You wonder if you've hit your ceiling. If you've gone as far as you can go.

The answer? No.

The Ascent is where you double down. You refine your strategy, push harder, and set bigger goals. You don't slow down—you shift gears.

Phase 5: The Plateau

Most people fear The Plateau.

They see it as stagnation. A dead end. But in reality, The Plateau is a strategic pause—a moment to fortify your foundation before the next climb.

My Plateau numbers: I was closing at over 20% every single month but my income wasn’t going up. The churn in the business I was closing for was eating into my income and I knew it was time to find a new challenge.

I had cleared all my credit card debt, built up a small reserve of savings, and felt like I could finally breathe.

Using The Plateau strategically:

• Audit your systems and processes for inefficiencies.

• Build your personal brand while you have stability.

• Develop leadership skills for the next phase.

• Create passive income streams.

• Mentor others and build your network.

• Plan your next major move carefully.

But here's what nobody tells you about The Plateau: It's not about the numbers. It's about the shift in your identity.

It's a resting point. It's a moment to breathe, reflect, and recalibrate. You've built something real. You have stability. Now, the question isn't How do I survive? but What's next?

The most successful people don't fear The Plateau. They use it. They step back, reassess, and prepare for the next climb.

That's exactly where I was in December. I had leveled up my sales skills, crushed my goals, and reached a point of stability. And instead of staying comfortable, I made my next move.

The Reality Check

Let me be direct: This path isn't for everyone. Not because of capability, but because of commitment.

People fail at each stage for different reasons:

• The Itch: They stay in research mode forever, never taking action.

• The Jump: They keep one foot in their old life, never fully committing.

• The Grind: They underestimate the mental toughness required.

• The Ascent: They get comfortable with their first taste of success.

• The Plateau: They mistake it for the finish line.

But you've read this far for a reason. Something resonates. Something tells you there's more possible.

Here's where I am now: on track to make over £10k/month in my new sales role, putting content out every week across multiple platforms, building authority within the high ticket sales space. It’s like night and day compared to how things were before.

Your Next Steps

1. Identify your phase—Reflect on where you are in the five stages and be brutally honest with yourself.

2. Plan your next move—Write down one specific action you will take today to push yourself forward.

3. Commit publicly—Tell someone you trust about your plan, or post it somewhere for accountability.

4. Execute relentlessly—Set a deadline and make real progress before you revisit this newsletter.

The framework is proven. The path is clear. Everything you need to succeed is right here.

Let's make it happen.