It’s 7pm on a Sunday. As your evening begins to wind down and the weekend comes to a close, a familiar feeling of disdain and dread gradually takes over your mind. Another exhausting Monday is fast approaching.

In just a few hours, it will be time to shut off the alarm, jump out of bed, get into the shower, throw some clothes on, and rush out at a frantic pace to spend the majority of your day at a place you hate, or at the very least dislike a great deal, and try to endure whatever your boss throws at you for the next five days.

Here’s to another frustrating week.

This is life for many of us on the 9-5 grind. And it quite literally is a grind. We put in 40 or 50-plus hours weekly, despising every minute of it and grudgingly pushing through until we make it to the weekend. After two days of reprieve, we’re back at it again on Monday morning.

This is the never-ending cycle we find ourselves in.

This is what society means by being trapped in the rat race.

We feel like we have no other choice because we have to make ends meet. We would rather be anywhere in the world living out our wildest dreams, but unfortunately, the cost of living isn’t cheap, and rent is due on the first of the month.

There Is Hope

Our 9-5 isn’t just a way to pay your bills and maintain a particular lifestyle. Think of your job as your investor. Every day you show up to work is an investment you’re making in your dreams. The money you earn from your day job can be used to fund your side hustle and creative endeavors. This mindset shift will literally change the way you see your employer. No longer will your job be just a job. Your job has now become your biggest benefactor.

Besides, how do you expect to fund your dreams without money?

As our parents always told us, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” That money has to come from somewhere. How do you think many startups fund their business? We use our paychecks and invest in ourselves and our company.

This is what you call bootstrapping.

According to Investopedia, bootstrapping is when an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital. When an individual bootstraps, they rely on money other than outside investments. An individual is said to bootstrap when they attempt to establish and build a company from personal finances or the operating revenues of the new company.

This is how many of today’s most influential entrepreneurs funded their businesses by taking their paychecks and putting that money into their businesses. For example, FUBU Co-founder and Shark Tank judge Daymond John worked for several years as a waiter at Red Lobster and used that income to start the legendary streetwear brand FUBU, which he and his co-founders grew into an internationally renowned brand valued at 500 million dollars.

Another example is Tyler, the Creator, who once worked as a barista at Starbucks and invested that income into his music career. He is now one of the most impactful artists of this generation.

Invest In Yourself

A job doesn’t have to be just a job. Use it as a financial tool to fund your creativity and bring your ideas to life. Being an employee provides stability, leverage, benefits, flexibility, and, most importantly, income. It also helps you connect with people and build a network of people who may become future customers. Besides, you and I both know that this entire world revolves around money and unfortunately, we can’t pay our bills with love and hugs (shrug).

So unless you have a rich uncle or trust fund you can tap into, your only choice is to tap into the resources you have at your 9-5 and continue grinding. Trust me, I know it’s hard. I know it’s draining to show up every day to a place you hate—for years—where you feel underappreciated, underpaid, overworked, overwhelmed, and unfulfilled.

I know this feeling all too well. This is my current situation. I don’t completely hate my job, but there are so many other things I would rather be doing with my time.

Personal feelings aside, working a job can be a stepping stone to becoming an entrepreneur. Once you shift your mindset, you start to appreciate more of what your employer offers and even apply many of the skills you’ve learned to build your business. Don’t take these years of development for granted.

Now, imagine how good it would feel 1, 3, or even 5 years from now after you’ve hustled and invested all of the money you had in your dreams and your business finally makes enough income to where you can turn in your two weeks’ notice and quit your job, never looking back.

Isn’t that the ultimate goal? To live a life of creativity that you never need a vacation from? This is the life we were meant to live, and this is the life we should be working towards. How many more years of your life will you waste complaining and dreading about working at a job you hate?

That said, I’m all ears if you know another way to achieve your dreams without this evil.

In the words of the iconic TV producer and author Oprah Winfrey, “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.” Nothing in life is free. Use your job, invest in your dreams, and don’t stop until that dream becomes your reality. You never know. One day, all the blood, sweat, and tears you shed may lead to becoming the next Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams, or Zendaya.

Keep pushing, and let me know when you finally turn in your two weeks. I’m rooting for you and everybody else in the struggle.

See you at the top!