Is that you?
You’re in your 40s.
You’re still working full-time.
Still showing up.
But deep down?
There’s been this voice in your head for years.
Telling you to start something.
To build something of your own:
- A blog
- A business
- A project that means something because it’s truly yours
You crave what most people in their 40s want.
More options.
More freedom.
More security for your future and your loved ones.
More purpose.
More leverage.
More control — in a life that often feels like it’s being pulled in five directions at once.
You want to feel like you again — confident, clear, grounded.
Not chasing status. Not chasing money.
Just chasing what matters — to you.
You want something real.
Something that fits into your life — without turning everything upside down.
But still…
You haven’t started.
Or you did, but then — for some reason — you stopped.
And now you’re beginning to wonder:
“What if I never follow through with my ideas?”
“What if I waste my shot?”
“What if I just… stay stuck?”
I know that voice.
Because for years — it was mine.
Where I Got It Wrong
I always wanted to build something meaningful.
Something awesome.
Something aligned with my values.
Something that made me proud to work on.
And yes — something that could help me build real security and wealth.
I knew it had to be online.
Digital.
Or at least tech-related.
Because ever since I saw my first computer around age 12, I’ve been obsessed with the internet and tech.
But the truth?
I never really started.
At least not properly.
Not all the way through.
Why?
Because I had it all backwards.
I thought I needed a big idea.
A niche.
A strong angle.
A personal brand.
I thought I had to be qualified.
Passionate.
Original.
But in my eyes?
I wasn’t an expert.
I wasn’t niche enough.
I was just… me.
A jack of all trades:
- Always curious
- Good at learning things fast
- But not specialised in anything
So… I waited.
Researched.
Watched videos.
Read books.
Took courses.
Took notes.
And I told myself I was making progress — by learning.
But I wasn’t building anything.
I wasn’t applying the knowledge.
I was just thinking… in circles.
Until I got overwhelmed.
Stuck in complexities.
And when that happened?
I’d take a break.
Which became a bigger break.
Which turned into full-blown procrastination — what we used to call “doing useless shit” before Netflix gave it a brand.
Then Life Stepped In
Work.
Bills.
Errands.
A pint that turned into five.
And just like that — the spark was gone.
The idea that once felt big…
Now felt distant.
Heavy.
So… I quit.
Then a few weeks later, a new idea would show up.
And the cycle would start again.
The Cycle
For years, I played with my ‘big ideas’ like this.
Unfinished projects I was “just about to go big” on.
But I never did.
Because I never felt ready.
Because I had it all wrong from the beginning.
Looking back now?
It’s batshit crazy.
When It Finally Clicked
It was during the pandemic.
I was 34 years, 4 months, and 2 days old.
My son, Alex, had just been born.
And at that moment — everything changed.
Something clicked.
I finally connected the dots and pushed myself into action.
All those years of tinkering, reading, half-building, and failing?
They weren’t wasted.
Because now, I’ve finally started my own thing:
- Something truly mine
- Something original
- Something authentic
- And yes — online
What’s even better?
- It doesn’t need funding
- It carries almost no risk
- And the competition? Basically obsolete
This Isn’t Just a One-Person Business
This is what I now call a Personal Equity Business.
Not a startup.
Not a hustle.
Not some niche machine.
It’s a second path — one I found later, nearing 40.
Built slowly.
Deliberately.
Around my story, my skills, and my schedule.
A Personal Equity Business is a one-person, online business built around your lived experience — designed to create value, build leverage, and compound over time.
And here’s what makes it so powerful in your 40s:
- It rebuilds your self-trust and confidence
- It gives you something meaningful to grow — on your terms
- It helps you reconnect with curiosity, creativity, and purpose
- It offers structure and momentum — without burning you out
- It gives you emotional stability and future leverage
And it’s permissionless.
No niche.
No big idea.
No fancy credentials.
No money required.
It doesn’t ask for perfection.
It just asks that you show up — and learn in public.
This is a business that fits your life — not the other way around.
What Changes When You Start?
From day one?
You take action.
Not just plan.
Not tweak logos.
Not wait to feel ready.
You build.
You publish.
You test.
One post.
One project.
One experiment at a time.
Each thing gives you feedback.
And that feedback? It compounds.
- If it works — you double down
- If it doesn’t — you tweak, iterate, go again
And every time you loop through that cycle?
You sharpen.
You see clearer.
You grow.
This isn’t theory anymore.
It’s momentum.
Why I’m Betting on This
I don’t see a Personal Equity Business as just a way to make money.
I see it as a way to reclaim agency — at the exact moment most of us start to lose it.
Because here’s what most people in their 40s crave (even if they don’t say it out loud):
- Confidence — the kind that comes from doing something real
- Reinvention — because we’re not done yet
- Growth — but on our own terms
- Stability — not just financial, but emotional
- Freedom — to choose, to build, to protect the people we love
And yeah — something to care about again.
A Personal Equity Business gives you all of that.
In motion.
In public.
And in alignment with who you really are.
It’s not just work.
It’s therapy.
It’s leverage.
It’s clarity.
And over time?
It’s your corner of the internet.
Built from your story.
Shaped by your voice.
Rooted in your values.
Something that grows with you and pays you back later.
What You Learn By Building
When you build something of your own, you develop the kind of skills no one can take away:
- Clear thinking
- Problem solving
- Packaging your experience
- Building digital leverage
These aren’t plug-and-play skills.
They’re creative.
Messy.
And they change your brain.
And here’s the truth:
A Personal Equity Business is a big trial — made up of tiny experiments.
Each one led by your own curiosity.
Your real interests.
Your real pain points.
No made-up personas.
No made-up niches.
Just you solving your own problems in public, and sharing what you find.
That’s the future of work.
And the future of education.
There’s no set timeline.
Because when you follow curiosity, there’s no rush.
Some people will take longer.
Some will build fast.
Some will slowly shape a product based on their learning and feedback from the community they attract — naturally, over time — by being honest, helpful, and real.
Some will make good money.
Some will build long-term wealth.
Some will just feel more awake, more fulfilled, more themselves.
But all of us?
We’ll be moving forward.
One small experiment at a time.
AI can help with parts.
But it can’t replace you.
It can’t generate purpose.
It can’t make you feel proud.
And that’s the bit we forget:
You’re not just building a business.
You’re building you — in public.
And Here’s the Upside
Once you get good at this?
You don’t just build for yourself.
You start to:
- Help real people
- Advise teams
- Clarify messy problems
- Offer hard-won perspective
At that point?
You’re not paid for tasks.
You’re paid for insight.
For perspective.
For your brain.
And with enough leverage?
You could be charging hundreds — or thousands — just to be in the room.
Because the right input, from the right person, at the right time?
Changes everything.
Now It’s Your Turn
Because if you don’t change your approach now?
You’ll stay in the loop.
Keep burying your ideas.
Slide back into routine.
And before you know it?
You’ll be 65.
Or 68.
And your best game will never have started.
You’ll have a pension that doesn’t cover the basics.
A life full of “almosts.”
And a quiet sense that you waited too long.
I don’t know about you…
But that future scares the hell out of me.
Especially now that I’ve got a 5-year-old son watching everything I do.
“Start Walking.”
If you’re in the woods and you don’t know where to go — start walking. You gotta start walking, ’cause the perspective’s not gonna change. You have to start moving forward. Worst case scenario? You figure out you’ve walked the wrong direction. OK, now you can walk the other direction — and that’s gonna be fine too. But standing there lost, and not doing anything, is just waiting to die — waiting to starve to death. Don’t let that happen.
— Jocko Willink (US Navy SEALs)
You don’t need clarity to begin.
You need movement.
Clarity comes after motion.
In the next issue of my newsletter, I’ll show you what I found when I took my first step and launched my first experiment: the starting point of my Personal Equity Business.
Until then — just keep walking.
— Jacek