One of my favorite comic strips of all time is Calvin and Hobbes, the story of a precocious 6-year old kid and his stuffed animal tiger – seen as a stuffed tiger to everyone else, but very much alive when viewed through Calvin’s eyes.
It’s a comic that really spoke to me from the moment I first discovered it as a kid – a combination of funny, heartwarming, meaningful, and just generally good stories. Even though it was just a newspaper comic strip, it was really much deeper than that, with strong storytelling that could rival any book. Looking back, it’s a comic strip that I think a lot of people would benefit from reading today.
In the pantheon of Calvin and Hobbes stories and jokes, perhaps my favorite comes from this collection:
In this particular scene, Hobbes stumbles upon Calvin digging a hole in the ground, looking for buried treasure. When asked if he’s found anything, Calvin tells Hobbes that he’s found “a few dirty rocks, a weird root, and some disgusting grubs.”
“On your first try??” says a surprised Hobbes.
“There’s treasure everywhere!” Calvin proclaims.
It’s a wonderful moment. And Calvin’s proclamation that there’s treasure everywhere is one that I’ve tried to adopt as my own theme in life, especially as I’ve stepped off the traditional path and gone my own way. I think there’s a lot of power in looking at the world in this way, seeing the treasure that is all around us.
A Mindset Shift
When it comes to mindset, I think there’s a natural tendency for many of us to think in worst-case scenarios. We’re often taught to play things safe, and if we do anything out of the ordinary, there’s no shortage of people who will step in to tell us all of the bad stuff that can happen. I think this often makes us forget about all of the opportunities that are out there. We make our decisions, not from a place of abundance and optimism, but rather from a place of fear and scarcity.
I know this because that’s exactly what I did. Back when I graduated from college in 2009, the world was in a tailspin. With no apparent options, I made the decision to study for the LSAT and go to law school. It wasn’t that I wanted to become a lawyer. It was just something that seemed like a safe thing to do and I’d never opened my mind to the idea that there were other ways to make a living beyond just the traditional path of going to school, getting a good job, and working there for 30 years.
When I found myself unhappy with my job and career path, my solution wasn’t to find something else to do. Instead, I decided to aim for financial independence, telling myself that I just needed to grit through my working career until I could quit and do something else.
And even when I decided that waiting wasn’t the right move for me, I still held myself back. A lot of things held me back from making the jump to full-time self-employment, but perhaps the biggest thing was the fear I had of all the worst-case scenarios for me.
And what was my worst-case scenario? I’m not even really sure, but I think somewhere in my head, the thought was that I’d make no money and have no way to get a job to support myself.
When you say it out loud, it’s sort of a ridiculous thing to think. I’d been figuring out ways to make money for a while. Why would I suddenly forget how to do that? And the idea that a healthy 30-something wouldn’t be able to ever get a job again isn’t even realistic.
And yet, this is how a lot of us think – telling ourselves about the worst-case scenarios and forgetting about what is more likely to happen. I think we have a sense that opportunity is out there, but most of us seem to work out of a position of fear, rather than whatever the opposite of fear would be. I know that I’m constantly having to remind myself of the positives that are out there, rather than the negatives.
That’s why I think Calvin’s proclamation that “there’s treasure everywhere” is worth keeping in mind.
There Really Is Treasure Everywhere
It turns out there are so many paths people can take and an infinite number of ways to make money to support yourself. And if you don’t have debt and don’t need a lot of money to support your lifestyle, you can do almost anything you want. There really is treasure everywhere!
Sometimes it’s literal, physical treasure – like the year I found over $1,000 worth of stuff in a dumpster in my apartment building
Other times, it’s just realizing there are creative ways to earn income. Think of things like my scooter charging gigs, food deliveries, or walking dogs. In today’s world, our phones make it possible for us to find treasure all around us. Years ago, if you told me that I could make money from people reading my blog, I’d never have understood how.
And other times, companies are just giving treasure away – think of travel hacking or taking advantage of bank account bonuses. I haven’t paid for a flight in three years thanks to taking advantage of credit card rewards. And as I write this, I literally made $500 just by going into a bank and opening up a checking account.
I’ve had some strange career moves over the years, but none has been more strange than my most recent move of leaving the practice of law completely to try my hand at my own thing. I spent three years in law school and five years as a practicing attorney. From the outside looking in, it looks like I threw all of that away for nothing.
But treasure really can be found everywhere, even in unlikely places. And if we believe that, then we have the power to live life on our terms, rather than the terms other people set for us.
It’s A Magical World
Calvin and Hobbes ended its run on one of the best notes – with a white, snow-covered landscape and Calvin’s line of “It’s a Magical World Hobbes, ol’ buddy. Let’s go exploring.”
There’s so much stuff out there. Things that we can’t even imagine. We really do have to remind ourselves about all of the opportunities out there and that we can grab those opportunities if we really try. I know I’ve found a way to do that right now, doing things that make me happy and that keeps my sense of adventure alive.
The important thing is setting yourself up so that the world is open for you to explore. If you trap yourself, you’ll never have those opportunities. That means doing the basic financial things right – things like saving money and living on less than you earn. Pay off your debt. Put some money away. If you do that, you’ll find the world really opens up to you.
The world is full of opportunity – more than we’ve ever had in history. Calvin’s words are true – there really is treasure everywhere. We just have to be willing to look for it.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($50) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $50 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (1 free stock) – Webull also gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$1,400 if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Yieldstreet ($100) – Yieldstreet is a free investing app that allows users to invest in alternative asset classes. They’re on a push to get new users, so right now they are offering a $100 bonus for each person you refer to Yieldstreet. The person you refer doesn’t have to do anything other than use your link and open a free Yieldstreet account. They don’t have to put any money into the account or do anything with it either for you to earn your bonus – all you have to do is refer them. That makes Yieldstreet worth opening solely to refer people. I go over everything you need to know to earn your Yieldstreet referral bonus in this guide.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- SoFi Money ($25) - SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Brex ($250) – Brex is a free business cash management account that is offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements. It’s an easy bonus to earn and well worth doing. Here is my Brex Card Referral Bonus Step By Step Guide.
- Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Nearside ($90) - Nearside is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 signup bonus and a $50 referral bonus if you open a Nearside business checking account using a referral link. Filling out the application should only take you a few minutes. And the bonus terms are easy to meet. Check out my Nearside signup and referral bonus guide here.
- Lili ($100) – Lili is offering new users a $100 bonus if you open a free Lili account using a referral link and meet certain requirements. I think it’s worthwhile to take advantage of this easy offer, assuming you have a side hustle or some other business activity that makes you eligible for the account. You can read my Lili review if you’re looking for more info. I also have a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Lili referral bonus.
- One Finance ($50) – One Finance is a fintech bank that’s currently offering a $50 signup bonus if you open an account using a One Finance referral link and have a direct deposit of $250 or more. This is a completely free bank account with no minimum balance requirement, so if you can meet the requirements, it’s worth doing. Check out my One Finance referral bonus guide here.
- Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20 + 6% Interest Savings Account) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the sharing economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the sharing economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link.
- Brex. Brex is a free business cash management account that is currently offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $50 for opening an account.
- Lili Account. Lili is a free online business checking account geared towards freelancers and sole proprietors. Lili is currently offering new users a $100 bonus if you open a free Lili account using a referral link.
- Albert. A great free app I use to track my finances and save more money. You can also earn a $150 signup bonus if you open a free Albert cash account.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Thank u so much for your words of encouragement it’s exactly what I needed today. I have been a small business owner since graduating acupuncture college but now want to start a new business. I found a small business mentor but lost my joy for my new idea after meeting with her. There are many ways to fund a vision for the future and I’m back to square one putting my heart and vision out there. Thank you for the encouraging advise to remind myself to come from an attitude of abundance and optimism. Thank you!
Glad my post could impact you! Thank you for reading!
I had a similar realization a few years back when driving across the country. Going through all the small towns and big cities, it was easy to spot opportunity in lots of places along the way. Sometimes we just need a little “windshield time” to find inspiration.
I like that! It’s a big world out there! We don’t even know what we’re missing.
Having the right attitude is everything, I’m stoked when others discover this reality as optimism and positivity becomes so inspiring to those around you. Congrats on the Apex Money feature and glad I found this post over there.
Thanks Chris! Glad you found my post and appreciate the kind words!