this isn't fun anymore 

Have you thought about seeking funding, a loan, a line of credit, etc once everything is cleared up? I imagine your business will look most excellent on paper, not to mention the excellent "grade" you received from your audit with such a low error rate, near perfect tax returns.... You have a fairly large following on various social media platforms, which, I would think, would make any business you own a lower risk investment for a loan or line of credit... or at least appear so and especially so coupled with the performance of your business with absolutely 0 help up to this point. You say that you had to "lose half of your staff" in previous videos, so it would appear that you might just have the staffing ready for a 2nd location or at least enough staff to get things started...Especially if you have at least one person back in NY you could really trust to handle a lot of the startup and day to day of the new location..Of course I don't mean opening your business back up in NY, though that may be an option if you're willing to put it back on the table.... but would it may be be possible to open something somewhere in NJ close to NYC or even CT that's somewhat close by? Just a thought...I'm sure you've probably thought about this, but it just occurred to me while watching your video here and when you started speaking about not looking to the past, it made me think about looking toward your future...You're still plenty young and you still have plenty of time to turn these past "transgressions" in to future prospects if you so desire. At least I believe you could grow your business in all the ways you spoke about (with the possibilities if you weren't jacked by the local moron and clerical error) from here on if you really wanted to do so and if you stay determined....It is obvious to me, to lots of your followers/fans, that you are an extremely capable individual. Anyway....like I said, just a thought if you haven't already had it. Good luck out there. I'm sure you'll be successful in whatever you so choose to pursue. All the while being a great man. Much respect.

The worst part about all this isn’t the business cost, it’s the possible family Louis could’ve been raising all these years. At the very least after all this Louis’s eventual kids will be able to say “I’ve never been to New York in my life.”

This is how a "love-hate" relationship with New York becomes a "hate-hate" relationship. In the last video when you said "if more people were like you I would've stayed" and she said "we operate in Albany." I could sense some heartbreak there.

Hi Louis! You've done great. I own an engineering and manufacturing firm and started in much the same way you did. The best testament to the success of a company is the satisfaction of its customers. I would like to also mention that over the past year, through your influence, I've worked with my engineering team to publish fully accessible schematics and repair instructions for our machinery (we build fire fighting apparatus) to help our customer get the longest life out of our machines. Thank you for your hard work!

A quiet, articulated rage is much scarier than a tantrum. You have more control than I could ever have Mr. Rossman

I found Louis because I was into building Guitar pedals, looking for soldering and general electronics tips. I don't repair circuit boards, I don't own, or even care about Apple products. I stuck around the last 5-6 years because of Louis. Obviously I don't know him personally, but from watching possibly thousands of videos and being a good judge of character I feel like he's a good and honest man, I genuinely feel his pain. Louis, if you see this brother, you are a great force for good. This crappy planet needs you and more folks like you. There's hundreds of thousands of young men, and I bet at least a few young ladies, that look up to you. When you bounce back from this and are stronger from it you will inspire so many young people to be all the more resilient.

Man this video is upsetting. Sorry this happened to you Louis.

It's incredible how much this man has accomplished despite all the setbacks. Truly an inspiration for all

If this appears on any credit reports (there are a bunch of credit agencies that could have this beyond the big three) you can potentially bring suit under the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). This can possibly be brought against the Dept. Of Finance in NY. I’d recommend looking into an attorney as many in this field work on contingency (mine does in CA) Important note is the SOL is two years from the date of last reporting.

Louis, thanks for everything you did throughout the years. Stay strong

New York is a failed state. Many individuals make mistakes but the system failures around this lien are shocking. You are an inspiration to so many people. This is a brutally honest video and shocking to watch. We understand the rage you must be feeling. I think time will heal this and hope it won't take too long. New York owes you answers and this deserves nationwide publicity.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I always appreciate your vulnerability when making these videos. You are an incredibly resilient and intelligent man and I learn so much from you

This kind of thing is made most obvious by people who are wrongly convicted, or in some cases wrongly accused, for a crime. It's very hard to expunge those things, and even if it's a small thing for a short time, it can change a person's whole life.

"This isn't fun anymore" - I agree. I've felt similarly trying to save up to buy a house. I've worked 80+ hour weeks, paid my way through a bachelor's degree, saved and sacrificed short term fun for long term happiness only to have the prices keep going up faster than I can save for a down payment. I kept pushing and pushing until I had a panic attack and could not do it anymore. Now I'm unemployed, half my savings are gone, and I have no idea what my life looks like six months from now. All because too much of the economy is managed by utopian ideological bureaucrats who think they are saving the world, while acting as the stumbling block holding it back. I want to own my own home, and eventually own my own business, but I struggle to see a way forward past all the red tape.

I am so surprised by how calm Louis still talks during this video. I'm sort of livid just hearing this. It's so damn crazy

When that realisation hits you.. Louis take some time off and some deserved rest. Regardless of what happened, those experiences made who you are today (tenacious, you know your limits) and through those experiences you have inspired us all along the way. You have raised so much awareness and continue to make a difference on this planet so just Thank You!

Imagine moving out of state, away from your toxic situation, rebuilding and months later learning this. As inspirational as your story is, I wouldn’t wish these frustrations on many.

One thing I've always appreciated about you is your openness to share your failures and hardships while mixing in funny comments along the way. This kind of reinforces my belief that honest people tend to get screwed over, while the cheats and liars seem to get ahead.

I've been following you for 5 years. Your life story and how you got here despite your past and current hardships is one to be proud of. At least you can reflect and find some shred of value in that.

Louis, you've accomplished so much at this point in your life in spite of all of the shit that has been thrown at you. You are an inspiration to me, we're the same age and when I look at your success it shows me how much I can accomplish with grit and hard dedication. I'm certain that you're a similar inspiration to many others and have literally changed lives with your story that continues to evolve over time. You can't quit, you've done too much and changed too many lives to feel this way. You have succeeded, you beat NY, you left them in the dust, those days are gone. Now, if you really wanted to you could file suit against them for having an actual and measurable negative financial impact on you and your business where NY has openly admitted to doing the wrong thing; this sounds like a clear cut case. If you did file suit then it would be something that could have an actual impact in a positive way for other New Yorkers, because I'm certain that there are many others like you and the bureaucracy doesn't change unless it's financially impacted. This does however mean that you would have to yet again deal with NY..... which is lame. Regardless, your values are model values for others to follow, you have done well and I hope my words of encouragement find you. You are appreciated. Cheers

You said at the beginning of the video that we may not learn from this one. My key takeaway is that, if things are going suspiciously wrong (credits not approved, etc.), I should do a background check on myself to see if there’s anything like this going.

It does sound like a very sneaky sabotage. They created a very mild lean on your business in such a way you were unlikely to discover it. Sending it to a PO box ensured that no one would ever read it and let you know. Being such a small amount of money also ensures that it won't get escalated. If it had been $10k then someone would have come knocking and you would have had the option to address the problem. $1500 and it can just sit there tainting your credit rating.

I don't work in repair or even own Apple products, I've been watching your videos for years purely for the life lessons. It's understandable how you're feeling like this right now but I hope you know the impact you've had on millions of people. You've shared so much with us about technology, property rights, entrepreneurship and just life in general. You're an inspiration. I hope you can get some kind of compensation for this fucked up situation. It's easy for me to just sit here and say "sue the state" but damn if you need to I'd be happy to pitch in a little for legal bills if you were to open a gofundme. Keep your heap up man

The funny thing is a business can submit information about customers with outstanding overdue balances to collections agencies, and these agencies will go full FBI and uncover addresses and facebook profiles just to get you paid for your work. These are just everyday people working at a privately owned collections business doing all the legwork for a cut of the pay. How the hell can a federal agency, like the taxable revenue office or the state office, not bother to get off their ass and do a simple google search on a name and phone number to go "hmm it looks like this is a different address!"?

You have our support, Lious. You've done so well and we thank you for that. Imagining a life where everything could have been better if some idiots could have just done 1 thing correctly is the most painful feeling I could imagine. Please know that we thank you for everything you did.

This one hit deep. I think back to those 'rant' videos of yours (said with all due respect), where you reveal that you were denied credit - and it all makes sense now. It fits the puzzle. They did a check, and "The Computer Said NO!!"... It would take me 'forever' to get over something like this. You need to be strong man, and this is easier for me to say, be bygones be bygones?

Louis. The reason we watch these videos from you is because you show that you are a human and you are honest and genuine. Which is a very rare thing today on RU-vid. We either have people over reacting to nothing burgers of people faking crap and we're sick of it. You're not that way. And I greatly appreciate you sharing your thoughts and feelings with us.

this video really hit hard man.... this is one of those videos where i can really resonate with your anguish. If you ever find what helps to pick you up and stops you looking back on your life and how it could be different with these painful feelings attached then please make a video about that also, i think it will help more people than you think including myself. stay strong and keep true louis, you only inspire us more by showing that you can still defy all odds even if the deck is stacked heavily against you.

It's rough hearing someone be this miserable. I empathize a lot with getting shadowstabbed like this by people, whether intentional or otherwise. If litigation is an option, I would wholeheartedly support that, but I also know that when you get to this kind of point, you really are just too tired to care anymore and you'd rather just lay down and accept your fate. It sucks, man. I hope you find the strength to stand up again and move forward, eventually.

Don't let it go. This is criminal negligence at best, I know we all would love to know what a lawyer thinks of all this. There's no way you don't have a solid case at this point.

Hey Louis, I’m sorry this happened to you. A similar thing happened to my mom when she tried to sell her house. Turns out someone with the same name as her defaulted on loans so random companies/banks put a lien on my moms house, weren’t legally required to tell her and she had to go to court to explain that she was not the same lady who was defaulting on all these loans and to get the lien removed. But she never got an answer for why it was it allowed for random people to put a lien on her house just because she had the same name as some awful person. Or why none of these people weren’t required to tell her which meant this had been going on for years.

You should talk to a lawyer. There are many people responsible for this and you have damages you need to be compensated for. You legitimately have a case that someone needs to pursue for you. Don't brush it off. Hold them liable for their actions. They've done it to you all your life. You have ample documentation, hopefully you have all of your content archived. Champion this and hopefully you can keep it from happening to other people so more small businesses can succeed. *Edit* Don't give up. Don't let them win. You have accomplished so much, you are so strong and you will keep going. You've got this. It's just time to hold some people accountable for their actions.

5 stages of grief, this is hard man. Thinking about the "what ifs", it's hard. Be strong Louis, this sucks but see what you made without it, all that you made vindicates your worth.

Thanks Louis for this: I regularly come to your videos for one thing and that is your honesty and devotion to your skills. I have also burned out at the thing I do best about 10 years ago and decided to throw in the towel then. Today I regret letting those 10 years go by without focusing my energy on my art but I am back in the saddle and have never been happier. I don't know if the hiatus or time spent reflecting on myself and my craft was the ultimate cure but I can say this: everyone knows what feels right to them. Sometimes you gotta listen to yourself (with the guidance of close friends and family) and just stay on track no matter how bullshit all the noise gets. The noise doesn't know you but you know you. You are doing good work and we all love you for it. 💜

Fuck man, this hurts to think about. As a long time fan it is so weird to think about the time and effort that I have just seen from watching your content and thinking about the active sabotage of what could have been more private time, more positive effects on the world. I feel like you genuinely deserve success and happiness and it pains me to understand just the incompetency of a state can and it's employees has had done to you and burnt time that can't be returned to you. Much of your musings on being a good person and more deep talks through the years have guided me to be the person I am today, and it genuinely does pain me to think that your happiness and health has been scarified due to the stupidity of some rando who likely has no clue that his/her incompetence has done so much to make your life harder. I don't mean to dog pile on what seems to be already difficult emotions, but I can't help but be angry on your behalf.

You were the influence I needed to repair my own laptops and phones. Yes, if they would not fuck you up as hard as they did, you'd be better up. But you still made far more good than 99.9% of other influencers

Louis, you essentially went to a doctor and found out the cause for being sick wasn't just a cold but a whole state. And when you surgically removed yourself from that state you found out just how bad it was. The silver lining in all of this. As a result of all their awful treatments of you and all their awful incompetence you are no longer in that place where they can cause you such awful harm. I hope now that it is resolved business will boom for you now even more so.

From one business owner to another, I 100% relate to what you are saying. Give yourself more time to see if your feelings don't change----but ultimately, if it isn't fun on some level---your future is too important to sacrifice on the alter of your past.

Louis I've never met you but I feel a connection to you on this. Back in 2019 I was pursuing a change in industry from IT into financial advisory. I built a portfolio for years, focusing at constructing a small fund in which to jump into that industry. One day errors and misreporting by our parent brokerage smashed us. When we got hit and weren't given much clarification. Information that the regulator received was an impossibility, we were told to reference forms that didn't apply to what were being hit with it led us down a path to collapse. I've spent the past few years wallowing at what I did wrong. I've thought many times how or what I could have done differently to prevent an error that turned out not even to be mine. As well as how it all could have been different. Even when I try build up again, it won't give me back the years that a clerical error took. Or remove my anger and frustration at the inability of an administration to fix an issue they couldn't even describe too me. Though all of that I and my cat Ms. Whitey soldiered on and will continue to do so, as will you Louis & Mr. Clinton.

This is why I hate the "Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps" "Just work hard and you will be successful." When there are so many things beyond your control. Far beyond you as a person.

Despite being a tech (and 'real estate') channel, I watch many of your videos on life lessons and at times where I felt like quitting my dreams and passions due to things getting in the way, these videos helped me persevere. I use it as a reminder that the universe is unfair and will beat you down at any given time period, even at your worst - but you must always overcome these obstacles regardless what this world throws at you. You've faced an insane level of hardships and challenge along your journey, but you always say to concentrate on the things you can control rather than the things you cannot. Please don't dwell on dumb mistakes other people have made, this world is full of stupid people but you can't let them or their actions get to you, especially to the point where you continuously ask yourself "what if?". The past is the past - we cannot change it, but we learn and move. Do not give up Louis! Stay strong, we as a community are always with you.

I'm grateful for this channel. It has made me feel less alone with my experiences owning a business. Most of youtube is filled with polished businesses and often make me feel like a POS. This channel has always kept it real. I'm not proud of the fact I've drank away a problem or two listening to Rossmanns real issues. I hope you find happiness/fun in whatever you do.

I feel you. I was running my own business in an area that's notorious for being incredibly litigious, while running largely on the "good old boy" system. Long story short, I got tired of getting kicked in the nuts too. I wish you good luck and inner peace.

I cannot stand NY. While I was in the military, I was stationed in NY for 3 years. Then I was transfered to CA, and 3 years later I got a notice from NY that I owed them thousands of dollars for state taxes that I didn't pay because I didn't need to being in the military. I apparently didn't file the form that told NY that I didn't owe them anything, which, fine, is my fault sure. It took 2 years to get the paperwork properly filed and the lien removed. Then, months later I tried to buy a car but couldn't finance it because, as it turned out, the state of NY decided to report my lien to the credit agencies the DAY before canceling the lien. Not anytime in the 5 years before that I owed them the day before it was canceled. It took me another year to get the lien removed from my credit report. NY sucks.

No What-Ifs. Sue NYC, get restitution, get a ton of money and do that!

Thank you for talking about this, Louis. I believe you 100% - NYC and other so-called democratic governments are indulging in the 'tyranny of bureaucracy', and they've gotten so good at it that it's hard, if not impossible, to push back and make the world fairer. At least there's kitties, and even doggos (though I hope your friend goes for a rescued doggo if not a rescued kitty).

Thinking about our past mistakes and "what if"s is unavoidable, but what you are doing is very helpful. Like you always say, you can only hope that someone will learn from it. That is another way you are making the world (hopefully) a better place. I hope R2R will happen in your lifetime, because you deserve it. I'm not saying you're old.

You're our menthor Louis. The time you were first starting your work around 2012 I was as well just starting freelancing in computer repair. Still remember having your vids back then in the background as I was too bringing back to life laptops in the middle of the night, barely making cash to pay the bills, uncertain of what life will bring me next. If it wasn't for you and the path your life took (despite the lien stuff) and influencing mine and millions of other lives - If asked "would you change anything" I would probably say "no". Cause the Louis we know today with all the life struggles he had in this reality wouldn't have been the same if things were different.

I hope you recover and things start going more smoothly after this. When I worked at a startup, I had a boss who talked about this. His personal metric was if he woke up 3 days in a row with that feeling, he'd make a change. Sure it's an arbitrary number, but it does remind me that there's a difference between challenging (which for guys like us is fun), truly hard (not fun at all), and "time to rethink".

American state is a regime of ruling oligarchy who are mainly owners of banks and production monopolies (which is mostly domestic weapon manufacturing and foreign semi-s|ave facilities like Apple). It's designed for labourers to be as insignificant as drones in a colony which is why not a single fu

I have no advice, just wanted to say that I am sorry this happened to you. I have been watching since 2016 and I've seen you always picked yourself up after difficulties and I am sure you can overcome this thoughts-not forget, but be able to keep going. Just give it time.

Don't let them demoralize you Louis. These things happen in our lives and seem so consequential but really work out in the end. I know this sounds cliché. But the "what if?" game will eat at you if you let it. Especially when it comes to things like relationships ending. I've been watching you a while and seeing you stand up for what you believe in is inspiring. Systems like NYC are meant to grind you down but you've escaped, cleared your name and you're ready for the next phase of the adventure called Life. Your whole future is in front of you.

What runs through my mind is how many others has this happened to?

Hi Louis. This video made me livid, and it didn't even happen to me. I can't even imagine how angry you must be. But it also leaves me all the more impressed with what you have achieved in spite of all the obstacles you've been saddled with! Mad props! I hope you regain the joy of your work again; few people deserve it more than you. If you can focus on all the achievements you've racked up just long enough to kickstart that joy again, you'll be all set.

Now that you have resources, it's time to sue the crap out of New York.

You are correct. NY inadvertently stabbed you in the back. A good outcome of the NY debacle is that it eventually led you to Texas. I was thrilled when you and your business moved to the Lone Star state. Nowhere is perfect but, IMO, Texas is full of promise.

Watching this felt fucking devastating, I can't imagine how this feels for you... Stay strong mate - the world needs you, we need you, to keep fighting this fight and making a difference for the better! You ARE making a difference - never forget that!

Taxation is theft! Defund the IRS and FJB! Vote for Trump 2024!

I also just found an error in my life that happened more than seven years ago. You have no clue how much I needed to hear this video today. "I take accountability and responsibility for the decisions I have made. I am grateful for where I am."

Damn, this is demoralizing. I am not American, but my wife is from very upstate NY. The level of state phukery her dad encountered while working for the government is still astounding. I've heard stories. I am not really surprised he packed his bags and went to Florida to spend his retirement, not being bothered by the state of NY. Btw, despite my not living in the US, I still have to care about the laws this "special" country puts into effect. It usually takes a few years for some of the dumbest ideas from sides of the aisle to make it to Europe. It's better to be on the lookout.

It's interesting to reflect and pinpoint a moment in history that was pivotal to one's life. I had a corrupt cop impound my car, which led to a license suspension, which led to my inability to get to college, so I've dropped out. Life has taken a completely different course from there.

You should pull an official credit report on yourself and sue them to remove anything relating to this. It's not enough to show that there is no present lean. You also need to show there was never a past lean and get your reputation back.

Louis, you have been an inspiration on how to deal with hard times. I know dealing with the nonsense from the State of NY has been tough, but consider that you have fought through most of it already and now find yourself in a better place. You are a really good guy, and you deserve better. I really do believe things will only get better for you.

Even if it’s not fun anymore, please take pride in knowing that your experience is helping others and that you successfully made sure it was not for naught

People at these municipalities, NOT JUST NYC but all of them, have NO idea how much damage they can do to a person and a business simply by filing something wrong or putting a wrong number or comma in something. The worst part is they have the presumption and assumption of always being right and, thus, assume you are wrong and, thus, are usually unwilling to even give you the time of day to hear out the issue. And the only way to find out they had a problem is locked behind "privacy" for your own information in order to "protect" you. Even for my small business in my relatively small city, during the pandemic some of the treasurers people retired and the new hires didn't know what they were doing and suddenly decided I had been paying business taxes wrong for eight years. They don't assume that they, the new people, could be incorrect, they assume that not only I am wrong, but also their predecessor has been wrong for the better part of a decade. It's infuriating.

Man - I can feel your anger and rightly so - it's so incredible that as singular human beings the people whom did this would be just as outraged this was happening to them, but when employed as mindless drones of the state - it's clear they absolutely do not give a fuck, and would be entirely unrepentant in the face of your anger with the phrase "hey bud I was just doing my job" even with the contemptable irony of that whole phrase. I wish there was a way to sue the shit out of the cleric and the other institutional failings they continued to use. The moral is "be better at your jobs people - do it right because otherwise one day it might be you on the wrong end of shit like this." (as an FYI I'm self employed, the buck stops with me, if I fuck it up, I pay the price.)

Hate to break it to you but finding out who is behind that Maine P.O Box seems kind of important. Hire a PI & see what turns up.

Louis You're a source of inspiration for many people. Even if you stopped all this and just faded away into the background today, you would still have left such a big mark on the lives of all those you've affected by going through this RU-vid journey and sharing so much of yourself with us. We learn more through failure than success, even failure by proxy. You personally may have been better off had you not had the lien, but who knows maybe you weren't ready then, and maybe it would have doomed you to permanent failure. What I do know is that without you having gone through what you've gone through and sharing it with us, we wouldn't be better off. Think about that Louis. Think about how many people's lives you've affected for the better. It's unfortunate that you've had to sacrifice relationships and your personal time, however there's always a cost for altruism. You didn't even set out to be altruistic (based on your description of your motivations), but that's what it turned into. You're a positive example for the rest of us. How many people do you think keep pushing and keeping wanting to live because you share these parts of you? 100's? 1000's? That's real change Louis. Intangible and incalculable change that you can guarantee is there. Yes it's not *your* progress but it's not moot either. Success isn't financial, and it isn't always known. Success is measured by net sum good. I assure you that the cumulative of your experiences have resulted in net sum good for humanity. I've read many comments of people who are inspired by you directly and indirectly. I myself am one of them. We all struggle with our mental health , some more than others. We all struggle with our personal and professional lives, some more than others. We aren't all candid about it and we all don't help others learn from our mistakes. I suppose it's almost as if I'm describing you as a martyr, and that's likely little to no comfort on its face. However I hope you can find the bitter sweet silver lining that although your life could have been better, it would likely mean that others' lives may not have been. I personally gain strength from observing how you handle these situations, and I'm certain many others do to. That to me is your reward. That to me is your success. I hope you can see that you're a force for good in a world where good people and good acts are ever fleeting and few and far between. You make the world brighter Louis. Even if it's because your world may be a bit darker than it should be. Your brighten our lives by sharing that darkness with us and helping us learn and grow from it. Incalculable Louis. You'll never know how many people you've helped, but we know it's too many to count, and more than you'd ever have helped if your life was ever peachy keen. Stay strong, stay safe, and take 'er easy. If you can learn anything from this maybe it's that you're on a new chapter. Being a RU-vid content creator, or a repair person, or spearheading the right to repair movement, those things don't define you Louis. *You* define you. Be whatever you want to be. Just live for yourself, those around you will understand or they don't deserve you. You aren't needy, and you aren't greedy. You're kind, compassionate, and caring. The world eats "yous, don't let it spit you out differet than your started. I wish you nothing but the best in life man. Much love to you and yours. /Jon Bon

Honestly, I wonder if you could try suing the state. They demonstrably caused monetary loss due to the fact that their error preventing you from getting funding you needed. But I wouldn't put the creditors as blameless either, since they refused to tell your own personal information they had on file for why they refused to lend to you.

Hopefully you begin to find the joy in running a business again, being away from a state and city that is incompetent to the point that it's basically malicious and hostile will make things better with time I'm certain. We appreciate the work you do and sharing your experiences and knowledge with all of us, keep being an excellent human being Louis!

Louis, if you ever need a rat trap, try this... Get a metal 5 gallon bucket, cut a 3 inch hole or so in the lid, and put some marshmallow cream in the bottom as bait. They absolutely *love* marshmallow cream and will come out of the walls chasing that smell. They'll find this stuff, and they're too damn stupid to avoid the trap. Then after like a week or so, after the bucket has collected a dozen or two rats, pour some hot sauce in all over them and let them take care of each other... Then wash, rinse, and repeat. Hey, it's a solution. Didn't say it was the best, but at the same time it just might be...

The Maine thing sounds like they just wanted to stack up fees or something. Why would they send those letters to freaking Maine? Illinois use to do that stuff to my family so they could collect the maximum amount from you. Even two years later after we moved to Texas my sister owed $600 to the state, thats after they told here she was owed $100.

Find a lawyer, make a deal with him if he wins the shit he gets half, sue them for all the moneys

I’m sorry this happened as well Louis. One other thought: You can always “what if” yourself to depression but you can also “what if” in the positive direction like “what if I had taken a huge loan and put myself under to the point where I couldn’t pay my employees during the pandemic.” I feel like you have to think of both directions when doing a “what if.” But I could be wrong. Don’t beat yourself up over “what if.”

I wanted to cry for you while listening to your words. Let me tell you: work in general makes you feel that way. I've had the exact same feeling both while being my own boss or working for someone else. Sometimes something just happens that we feel it's too much. I've got overwhelmed so many times working for someone else that I can't even count. Ethics and morals are something that really make your life harder on a job.

Now you have a fresh start Louis. Take your frustration and work harder all over again. Holding on to the 'what ifs' for myself has really just hurt me rather than improved. Stirring in the past and how I felt wronged and what could have been done to make times less hard hasnt moved me forward instead it built up alot of emotions inside that I have to learn how to process and express in the right ways. You went around the monopoly game board and made it back to 'Go' collect the free $200 and restart. Its hard and maybe can't be done idk it depends on your mindset and resources. Time is is short, long and intangible but your actions can help you improve your time. Thanks for the rant bro.

The way you layed that out, it sounds like you have a multimillion dollar lawsuit on your hands 😬

You got fucked over, I've been watching you for a while and it seems that this stuff follows you, as a result you're the most resilient man I've ever known of and to be able go say you've actually helped the world ontop of that is a great achievement

Sue the state of NY

Louis let me say as a young man who is starting his journey I have found your content these last few years always entertaining. But honestly I have watched because of how you are honest and help me understand the concepts that I might otherwise not understand. I know you may not think of yourself in that manner as some one giving wisdom through your experiences but you honestly have. I can't I am happy for you that you got screwed over but I can say you have made an impact in at least my life due to it because you spoke about what happened. I know it doesn't make it better but I wanted to leave a comment expressing the appreciation I have for you and what you have done.

"Life's missed opportunities, at the end, may seem more poignant to us than those we embraced - because in our imagination they have a perfection that reality can never rival" -R. Ebert

I have been following you for years now and you are one of the inspirations for why I started studying electronics engineering, I remember watching your repair videos knowing absolutely nothing about electronics and eventually growing the fundamental knowledge to fully understand and appreciate the work you do. It makes me so sad that people genuinely refuse to believe that you can be punished for someone else's error, be it being unlucky or sabotaged. You've still made incredible progress for right to repair and I don't think it's anything to undermine. We are going to fight for our rights as consumers and human beings and I doubt that I'd see a future with this vision if it wasn't for you and your business.

Oh my goodness of course it’s worth watching. But I get it. I hear what you’re saying. There’s information here that is valuable.

💯 EXACTLY. That's why when the time is right for us, it will be goodbye Australia. Australians made their choices with respect to me. Now, they live with them. You're a very intelligent man. I would work and do business with you as long as the conditions were right.

Oh man , I’m converting a 6 unit town house into a single family home in NYC. The bureaucracy is fucking insane. It’s terrifying, it’s like being right at the event horizon of a black hole and staring into the abyss. Eventually you get so frustrated and scream … NOTHING HAPPENS , the rage is sucked into the black hole of bureaucracy

Honestly Lois I'm glad you are able to get this taken care of but now you will be able to grow your business more and not haft to worry about NewYork! Welcome to Texas where you belong!

It's normal to feel this way. That's not the only hurdle you're facing. It _was_ a lot of pain and a lot of struggle. It _did_ fundamentally change the trajectory of your life. You'll wake up tomorrow, another day, and things will continue. The maybes might haunt you- at least mine do sometimes- or maybe they won't. You keep on keeping on. Side note- this is where people often fall into drinking or other addictions. Cats are a lot better, yes.

There’s probably some firm out there that hates taxes and NYC enough to represent you at low or no cost. Perhaps it’s worth asking around anyway

You need to dog these people into doing their jobs. You should have been provided the exact reason you were denied credit. You had the right to know about anything negative in the report. There is a new trend with all these unhappy TRumpers to blame current government for every problem in their lives. Dont be one of them, be assertive and get the information you need to survive.

The best move you made was leaving that state. They have no incentive to fix their broken bureaucratic mess. Everyone working in that system is trying to preserve their worthless existence. It's sad, but you got to know when to walk away. Nothing short of a complete collapse is going to save it.

Almost like they did it on purpose, how could they not figure it out in 6 years.

This pissed me off so much. I'm sorry this happened to you, Louis. These governments are designed to fuck us over. It sucks. I wish you the best, Louis.

I still want to know where that address came from and how many others are affected by the poor procedures.

No, Louis. Birds are the best. Everything else checks out though! Haha! All of the rules, restrictions, inspections - all of this takes away from the ability to run a business. If we could just focus on doing what's important... i.e. Doing a great job for clients and customers, it would do wonders for small business. Sad truth is all of these regulations aren't even properly enforced by our states and government. We are at their mercy, and even those with perfect integrity get struck because they don't know what they're doing. Sometimes I also wonder if some of the internal flagging has to do with some cranky person's 'last day on the job' type of behavior. Who knows.

It's no wonder that Sinatra sang that "if i can make it there I can make it anywhere", the amount of staggering bullshit they make you go through is a true test of endurance. Stay strong Louis, you're an inspiration for all of us.

On a positive note, now that you have this solved and not in a state that treats you like garbage you might actually get to see those "what ifs" come to fruition. And everyone here will cheer you along the way.

Thank you very much for sharing. I find it worth while listening to, especially because of how long I have been following your RU-vid uploads. For what it's worth, I appreciate how much you care and how much you want to achieve, that is at least something that nobody can take away from you. I am sure that a lot of people feel similarly about you.

Dude this touches my very core. I feel your pain 😞 🥹😭

It's amazing how New York city can suck the life out of absolutely anything.

I understand you. I felt something similar when I discovered for years why I was rejected in my Ph.D. applications when I lived in Poland. How "ultra-smart" (not at all) people were accepted in several programs and were never given a chance. I had to change my path to be who I'm. I don't necessarily dislike my journey, but I still miss that part of my journey that I haven't been able to close. Good luck in your new stage Louis and keep doing the great job that you have inspired many of us.