- We work 12 hours/day.
- Suck up to our bosses.
- Drown ourselves in alcohol and smoking.
And, call it partying.
We can't even be straight with people, for the fear of maintaining a public image.
Point is: we have lost our freedom.
Here is what I (am doing). And will teach my kids:
[1] Make money.
[2] Live WAY below your means. If you have 10 Crores. And, live 15 lakhs/year, you have conquered money.
You don't need to compete with billionaires. You simply need to compete with your own sensible desires.
[3] Gain practical knowledge everyday.
(Today, I learned never to buy furniture from a shop which sells polished furniture.
They will charge you 50% more).
[4] Be capable of making liveable income from at least 5 income streams.
[5] Don't trade your freedom for money, unless you have no other option.
Working X hours at the start of your career: fine.
As you grow, become more efficient.
And, make more free time.
[6] Define your principles and live by them.
You are not here to please the world.
The world doesn't care (at all). It is too big and too busy.
[7] If you have no mentor/godfather/godmother, you will take shit in your 20s, 30s: not your fault. But, learn. And progress.
[8] Only a free person who has no favours to ask, can be blunt. Be blunt when you are there.
Before that: get in line, follow rules and make incremental progress each day.
Like it out not, your thought process will define HOW FREE you are (once your basic money is sorted).
3 questions to help determine what is worth giving a fuck about:
1. Can I control the outcome?
2. Does it add good problems to my life?
3. Does it help myself and/or others?
Forget it all. Don't be afraid. Do what you get the most pleasure from.
Develop your talents wherever they may lead. If you have any talent, or any occupation that delights you, do it! Your work doesn't feel like work if you enjoy doing it.
Improving your life is not complicated, you just repeat small, simple behaviors over a long period of time.
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Don’t eat garbage
- Talk to a friend
- Be productive for a few hours
- Repeat every day for years and years
It's simple. Not easy.
If a shirt you buy doesn’t fit, you don’t act like you’ll never wear a shirt again. If a meal you cook tastes bad, you don’t act like you’ll never eat again.
So if your relationship ends badly, don’t act like you’re never going to be loved again. That makes no fucking sense.
Do not use your energy to worry. Life is too short to worry about stupid things. Have fun. Fall in love. Regret nothing, and don't let people bring you down. Study, think, create, and grow. Teach yourself and teach others.
Imagine two stories. Something similar to 1 is of course doing the rounds in Twitter now
Story 1
2017 - Girl breaks up with a guy because he is struggling and running a startup
2023 - Guy runs a mega trillion co now. He employs the girl's husband as his PA. The girl, her husband and her parents are losers forever. (Dhadkan Sunil Shetty vibez)
Story 2
2017 - Guy is struggling with a startup and has a long road of instability ahead. Girl wants to settle down and have family. She understands she cannot do this with the startup guy. Startup guy respects the girl's choices and they separate and go their own way
2023 - The guy's startup is a success. The girl is married with a wonderful life, career, husband, and kids. Both of them are happy for themselves, and happy about each other's life. They remain good friends, and well wishers
---------
Story 2 is what is more realistic, and that is what we should all want in life.
But no one wants to tell or hear story 2. Everyone is cheering for 1.
That is the kind of damage that Bollywood, and idiotic podcast talk shows of YouTube has done to us.
Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for “realistic” goals, paradoxically making them the most time- and energy-consuming.
If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too.
Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.
Unreasonable and unrealistic goals are easier to achieve for yet another reason.
Having an unusually large goal is an adrenaline infusion that provides the endurance to overcome the inevitable trials and tribulations that go along with any goal. Realistic goals, goals restricted to the average ambition level, are uninspiring and will only fuel you through the first or second problem, at which point you throw in the towel.
If the potential payoff is mediocre or average, so is your effort.
The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals.
Nobody figures out what life is all about and it doesn't matter.
Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.