Afford Anything · Friday, July 24, 2026
Cody Berman was motivated to escape his corporate job by observing the dissatisfaction of his superiors. He noted that even his boss and his boss's boss, despite high incomes, seemed unhappy with their work-life balance and personal issues, leading Berman to seek an alternative path to financial independence.
“I don't want to be my boss. I don't want to be my boss's boss. They were both miserable.”
“There was just a Gallup study that came out that said 72% of people don't like what they're doing on a day-to-day basis. And I just saw that so much in my job and I'm like, I don't want this life.”
“And for me, it was like, if I stay on this path and do well, the best case scenario is I take my boss's job. And my boss was complaining about his, you know, he's making a ton of money. He was complaining about his, you know, his third vacation home had issues and he had marital issues and it was just like, your life sounds awful. I don't want to emulate it.”