Currently...

It sounds odd, but I guess I grow people and grow businesses... I knew working on just one thing would be risky in the short term, so I'm helping run a training business (sales, negotiation, presentation, etc.), making and advising small business and start ups, and finally developing apps for iPhone and Android.

I reckon my mates are the most happy about me doing this; it has given them belief that there is more to life than the daily office grind and they've been very happy to help me set up some of my ideas... probably so they can make the jump when its working!

Before I escaped...

10 years of financing Private Equity transactions for various banks in London. It's been a great learning ground and enabled me to understand how businesses and people work, but working 50-70 hours per week on something I did not really enjoy felt increasingly more soul crushing, especially when you're missing out on seeing your baby grow up.

My moment of truth...

I've always been something of a free spirit; someone who hates being put in a box. Being in an office job gave me the money to do some amazing things over the years, but I realised about 3 years ago that working 47 weeks for 5 weeks of fun was not a balanced life.

So I started learning new skills by: setting up a couple of small online businesses, launching a project on http://www.kickstarter.com/" rel="nofollow">Kickstarter - anything that challenged me to get out of my comfort zone.

What was the moment I realised I was going to do this? It was in May. I had learnt a lot about setting up your own business, learnt lots about myself and then the pieces fell together when a family friend approached me to help run a training business.

No promise of money, but you have to back yourself to make a success of things. So after a long chat with my wife, in-laws and parents, we decided now was the time to give this a go.

Planning for it...

Once I had realised that there was more to life than my status quo, and once I had given myself confidence that I could create something, my wife and I had a long chat about what we wanted in life.

We agreed that having a great quality of life day-to-day was more important than earning a lot of money in banking. Plus I would not have to apologise for the banking profession any longer at dinner parties...

So we paid off our final debts, saved a little bit, then cut all costs and moved in with the in-laws! Cheaper life and live-in baby sitters isn't bad!

The worst and best bits...

I think the difficult bit initially is seeing your savings go down, but you have to have faith in yourself. I think that's the key: reassess your life to make it as cheap as possible and work out how long your savings can last you in this new life. If you don't feel you can create something by working solely on it for 6 months then maybe it's not the right thing for you!

But all this is easily compensated with spending lots of time with my wife and being there to see my baby grow up. Clearly being able to work on the things I love when I want and where I want is very cool.

Best advice...

Money does not necessarily lead to happiness, but happiness can definitely lead to money. So focus on what you love and worry about money later.

Useful resources and information...

It's quite basic but the internet has all the answers. When I want to know anything, I simply search the web and next thing you know I have 10 tabs open with different bits of info on my topic. The pieces of the puzzle are all on the web for free, you just have to look for them. 

I'd also say: don't read too many books - there is such a thing as information overload. When you need other people's opinion, seek it, but otherwise just get cracking at doing something. 

I have tended to focus my reading on a few sources only: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz28hG0X1Tu" rel="nofollow">Mark's Daily Apple for eating/ exercise ideas, http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/" rel="nofollow">Tim Ferriss' blog for experiments and thinking outside the box ideas. That's pretty much it now.