Personal Finance: All About Me (How to Start Your Small Business From Anywhere)
By: Patrick Yambrick
Published: Tuesday, Mar 10, 2026
Last Edit: Tuesday, Mar 10, 2026
Happy Tuesday!
My last post was too heavy. Too steeped in religion and religious imagery.
Hope you all don't mind if I focus on lightweight fiction this time around.
Want to skip past the dated pop culture and modern anime and get right to the real lesson? Be My Guest.
Or you can click or tap any header you see from this point on to collapse or expand the relevant section.
Humble Beginnings
I make the references I make here because I know that a segment of my friends will relate to and feel energized by them.
Who is the character in the video?
That is the Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor. We'll get there.
Let's talk about me first.
All About Me
Ready to get Stranger Than Fiction?
Have you ever seen the Will Ferrell movie, The Other Guys, co-starring Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes?
I am a lot like the Will Ferrell character.
Heck, I even drive a Prius.
(Not my background photo and not my Prius - mine just looks similar.)
America!
Humble Beginnings (Take Two)
I mentioned in my last article that my mom ran a small business during and after the 2008 Financial Crisis.
Fortunately for us all, that means we were perfectly poor.
Can you imagine what I'd be like with money?
We did our best to help and guide the people around us through those times. Many were seeking shelter from the storm.
Prior to being poor post-2008, we were poor pre-2008.
A trusted authority figure kept rationalizing his nickel and dime expenditures as something which "isn't going to make us or break us."
For some reason, we were always broke at the end of the month.
System must have been broken.
We received lots of eviction notices. One each month.
One time, our landlord succeeded.
I got to watch the moving men take all of my toys out to the road when I was 8.
From then on, I stopped asking for toys or other gifts from my parents.
I told them that I would prefer to receive money instead.
What did I use the money for?
A 9-year-old boy starts receiving money at every holiday - of course he's going to spend it all on candy and video games.
Or so you'd think.
I had been quietly auditing my parents since I became aware of what an eviction was.
Whenever that authority figure would make an expenditure that he falsely justified, I would keep track, and tuck that amount of money away.
Whenever one or the other would buy a pack of cigarettes, I would warn them about the drawbacks to their health and to our stability.
At the end of the month, when we were inevitably short anyway - suddenly we weren't.
I would lend my parents money so that we could make our bills.
They would pay me back with interest.
Then they would be slightly shorter the next month, and need another loan.
Talk about compounding returns.
Lessons learned.
Time To Grow Up
And lessons taught.
A segment of my audience will remember having benefited from these learnings when I functionally co-taught my own high school accounting class.
A handful of you have recently expressed to me that your financial positions are quite good as a result of your discipline - that makes me proud.
The story doesn't stop there, though it does not continue here.
I even later had a Gator phase.
But that is a story from another time. If you can't bear to wait, check out Vibe Patrol.
It is honestly pretty funny how similar we are.
Rise of the Undefeated Sun
"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
A just weight and balance are the Lord's: all the weights of the bag are his work.
It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.
Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.
The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.
In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."
-Proverbs 16:7-19
Remember Escanor, from before?
He is a member of the Seven Deadly Sins - inspired by, but not to be confused with the Seven Deadly Sins.
Each member has a marking received in a past chapter for crimes they committed (or were framed for) - which are relevant to their respective sin.
These markings correspond, naturally, with the Seven Deadly Sins - Lust, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride, and Wrath.
The Sins fight against a group of demons called the Ten Commandments.
Each also has a Sacred Treasure which amplifies any innate powers, or powers received from their markings - that's what the axe is about in these videos. You don't need to do any further reading on the treasures for this post unless you are curious - this knowledge is enough.
Escanor's sin was being too prideful.
Escanor has a major, unrequited crush on the Boar's Sin of Gluttony, Merlin - an ageless witch.
Not all, but most of his actions are driven by his desire to impress and protect her.
During the night, he is meek, timid, and hopelessly devoted to Merlin.
However, as the sun rises toward its peak at high noon -
- Escanor grows toward his own peak as The One.
When he reaches this state at exactly noon, he becomes the most powerful being in extistence for one minute.
That is typically about all he needs.
Many underestimate him. If only they had read 'The Art of War.'
This results in swift consequences.
(Make no racial superiority inferences based on Escanor's 'pinnacle of all races' comment - he is referring to humans, angels, demons, and faeries - and more importantly, to his own pride and capability).
These consequences are never born of fear or hatred.
But instead out of pity for those unworthy of his sunshine or too weak to fight back in a meaningful way.
Or a desire to protect his friends, and humanity itself.
Though he is not the 'leader' or the face of his group, Escanor is its powerhouse.
As we learned in these videos, Escanor's pride has been turned into a weapon in the fight against evil, to great effect.
And he will only grow more powerful as we approach the inevitable sunshine of summer.
I can't wait - can you?
What Does All This Mean For Your Small Business And You?
Maybe you know an Escanor?
Or maybe you are one and don't know it.
No matter who you start as in this world, you can climb to the highest peaks if you act with courage, loyalty, and righteousness - and never fear the darkness.
If you aren't too proud: drop one piece of that project you've been sitting on this week and watch the water ripple.
Thanks for Reading
Thank you for reading 'Personal Finance: All About Me (How to Start Your Small Business From Anywhere)'! Want to share your story or have your words heard? Reach out to me and let's discuss the possibilities.