“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France
It has never been easier to live a lifeless life. In a blink of an eye, you go from being a kid full of dreams to a penguin working a 9 to 5. Wrinkles, first grey hair, stress, and… dead dreams. When was the last time you dreamed? I’m not talking about taking a few days off in a cool place. I’m talking of a complete U-turn—a different life. I’m talking goosebumps, excitement, and pure happiness.
There have been many surveys and studies conducted on the topic of people giving up on their dreams. Some common factors contributing to someone giving up on their dreams include lack of support, resources, or opportunities, fear of failure, and feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about achieving their goals.
One study found that people who have a clear, specific, and achievable goal are more likely to be successful in achieving it than those who do not. Additionally, studies have shown that people who have a strong support network and a positive outlook are more likely to be successful in achieving their goals.
Ultimately, it’s your call. Do you want better things for yourself and your loved ones, or are you already fulfilled?
In my last two years, I worked with people making a $500k yearly salary as a (successful) penguin. I could tell these people were deeply unhappy despite being highly ‘successful’ by society's standards. This is not a life I would wish for anyone. Because they buy your freedom. You have to have emails on your phone. You have to answer at any time of day, any day, any month. Real holidays don’t exist anymore. There’s always a project. Always a client. Always someone to put pressure on you. This pyramidal system is built to slowly but surely destroy you.
If I had to start all over again, I’d probably flip burgers or something like that. Something with 0 responsibility to be able to focus on my dreams at an earlier age. I had a much happier year even though my salary got significantly reduced. I could make more with my Substack, but I refuse to. Maybe I’m stupid. I received emails from a few of you telling me they’d be happy to pay for a subscription. Even though I was (secretly) honored, I want to push myself more. Because I love that. I’m a risk-taker for life. I’m not saying that I’ll never do that, but I like my first experience as a full-time trader to be without any nets. That’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Because I chose life!
It’s the end of the year, that time again when you might not even pretend anymore to have good resolutions. I challenge you to do better. I challenge you to fight for yourself. Because no one else will.
It’s good to have dreams, but it’s not enough. You have to be specific. You have to be SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely
Here are some goals I achieved this year:
Going full-time with no back-up
Creating and consistently updating this journal/Substack
Develop at least one trading algo
Travel to 2 new countries
Read 3 books
For next year, I have new goals that I briefly discussed in my latest article.
By the way, all the images from this article were generated by the AI ‘Midjourney’. It was a lot of fun to play with, just like I had a lot of fun playing with ChatGPT over the last few weeks. I would never have been able to do that while trading, reading, programming, and cooking when I had a 9 to 5 (more like a 730 to 9, to be fair lol).
I will admit it’s extremely hard to stress your routine to get back on the right track. It’s hard to get that energy back. It’s hard to find the time. But nothing comes easy. It takes time, sacrifice, doubts, and fears, and that’s what makes the journey worth living.
On this note, I wish you a Happy New Year, health, wealth, and happiness to you and your loved ones. Thank you for your continuous support throughout the year. I love writing, trading, reading, and programming, and I’m glad I can share this with you! Excited to see what 2023 brings; whatever it is, I’m ready for it.
Dream bigger.
- Retail
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Twitter: @itsonlymoney12
📩 retailcapital9@gmail.com
I dream of a life with no clocks, watches, calendars or score-keepers...here on earth. What is success? More money, massive acclaim, millions of possessions, more power than the other guy, a trophy wife and kids?
Do you realize that however "successful" you are, there is always more you can do to be even more successful? Who wants to live that kind of life where it never ends? Work forever? Retire and go batty without something to chase after beside a hole-in-one every day?
Success is a human trait that knows no bounds and there is the problem. The success you seek is of a spiritual nature. Think spirit but not from the human view of what it might be. Do not confuse spirit with religion.
This is an incredible article man, very profound, clear, transparent and more importantly, human. I leave you with some quotes:
"He who knows where he goes may not get there. But he who doesn't know where he goes will for sure not get there"
"Aim for the sky because even if you don't get there, you may reach the clouds"