speedwalking
New Contributor
It was my birthday recently. Instead of celebrating, I decided to take the day off and spend it alone, thinking.
"What have I accomplished? What do I want to accomplish?"
The answer bothered me.
I quickly realized that every goal I have had since childhood is still just that -- a goal. I have accumulated a long list of things to accomplish with very few check boxes. I somehow manage to keep myself busy without making any meaningful progress.
To the outside world, I probably look like I am doing OK. My job lets me travel around the world, it pays well enough that I am able to save $50-60K per year after tax without any effort, etc.
My pockets slowly grow, and my body slowly ages, but that's it. Did I ever learn a new language? Nope. Did I ever write songs? Nope. Did I ever invest my own money? Nope. Did I ever launch my own company? Nope.
I have done an excellent job at faking success.
As much as I'd like to think that realizing this is enough to make me change, I don't know that it is. I have always understood the fastlane mindset -- even preached it. My struggle is in practicing it.
So, I guess I'll finish with a few things that I think have led me to this point:
Fear of Failure
I hold on tightly to my pennies. My net worth has only increased as the result of saving my active income. A good 80-90% of my net worth is cash in the bank. I want to invest passively, but haven't found anything that fits my underwriting criteria (conservative). I have business ideas and find reasons why they won't work before pursuing them.
Lack of Discipline
Enough said.
Lack of Patience
It takes time to be successful. Unfortunately, once the honeymoon wears off, I move on quickly. This applies to my dating life, music taste, job choices, etc. I struggle to stay focused on anything without near-term gratification and constant (visible) progress.
Skill Gap
If I am being honest with myself, I am not that smart. Clever, yes. Logical, usually. Intuitive, maybe. Smart, debatable. Most of my business ideas are pretty basic (i.e. only a step above the "let's start a T-shirt brand). I think this is because I don't have a deep understanding of any industry in particular. I have been a generalist my whole career. The few big ideas I have had are not possible for me to execute (no knowledge). For example, I thought about how wireless electricity could change the world when I was 14 or 15, but I had (and have) no knowledge of electricity or utilities. I didn't care enough to learn, I guess (see points above).
"What have I accomplished? What do I want to accomplish?"
The answer bothered me.
I quickly realized that every goal I have had since childhood is still just that -- a goal. I have accumulated a long list of things to accomplish with very few check boxes. I somehow manage to keep myself busy without making any meaningful progress.
To the outside world, I probably look like I am doing OK. My job lets me travel around the world, it pays well enough that I am able to save $50-60K per year after tax without any effort, etc.
My pockets slowly grow, and my body slowly ages, but that's it. Did I ever learn a new language? Nope. Did I ever write songs? Nope. Did I ever invest my own money? Nope. Did I ever launch my own company? Nope.
I have done an excellent job at faking success.
As much as I'd like to think that realizing this is enough to make me change, I don't know that it is. I have always understood the fastlane mindset -- even preached it. My struggle is in practicing it.
So, I guess I'll finish with a few things that I think have led me to this point:
Fear of Failure
I hold on tightly to my pennies. My net worth has only increased as the result of saving my active income. A good 80-90% of my net worth is cash in the bank. I want to invest passively, but haven't found anything that fits my underwriting criteria (conservative). I have business ideas and find reasons why they won't work before pursuing them.
Lack of Discipline
Enough said.
Lack of Patience
It takes time to be successful. Unfortunately, once the honeymoon wears off, I move on quickly. This applies to my dating life, music taste, job choices, etc. I struggle to stay focused on anything without near-term gratification and constant (visible) progress.
Skill Gap
If I am being honest with myself, I am not that smart. Clever, yes. Logical, usually. Intuitive, maybe. Smart, debatable. Most of my business ideas are pretty basic (i.e. only a step above the "let's start a T-shirt brand). I think this is because I don't have a deep understanding of any industry in particular. I have been a generalist my whole career. The few big ideas I have had are not possible for me to execute (no knowledge). For example, I thought about how wireless electricity could change the world when I was 14 or 15, but I had (and have) no knowledge of electricity or utilities. I didn't care enough to learn, I guess (see points above).
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