The number one thing we all want in life is to grimly achieve some sort of fulfillment to beat others and prove eachother wrong, not impress ourselves.
Pretty grim but realistic view conducted in countless surveys globally on how we operate.
So how do we achieve the opposite since most of us continue to be ‘average’ by choice becuase it is the easiest route?
By average we mean someone who goes to work to do their task to make a living and not venture out/broaden their curiosity or take on side hustles for true enjoyment and fulfillment of goal setting not the paycheck.
Luckily there is a way to prevent this but it takes some quick thinking.
When I say thinking, I mean the thinking I can do as a 19-year-old.
If you want to be average, do what everyone else does which is work hard but implement it differently.
The bad thing is…we like to be stubborn and not follow it.
It starts with getting your priorities straight with how you live.
Live Frugally By Choice Not On Purpose
I’m fortunate to have a 529C plan already set up since birth with over 400k in there, a free college scholarship to one of the most expensive private institutions in the world for my undergrad, and not even know what to do with all that money since taking it out would be a penalty!
Not a big issue but you see my point here. I’m not here to brag. I want to educate and explain why it is crucial to still act broke when not.
Living frugally in college is my favorite option, not a mandate becuase I see the benefits, and until you start appreciating what your parents have worked for and yourself, you will as well.
We shouldn’t be forced to spend less becuase we always need to support ourselves.
We should spend less otherwise might as well not work in the first place.
The more broke you act now, the better life you will have later.
The more you have doesn’t mean the more you should spend.
It comes with bigger responsibilities and starting with a budget is key.
It is much easier to live penniless when you are younger with no binding health obligations, mortages to pay, children to take care of.
The Older You Get, Life Gets Harder, By Choice.
Yes, live in the present but also make sure that you can live securely when you retire because the last thing you want to happen is regret that Canada Goose jacket for $1k when you are 60 and need that money for Medicare to pay for your surgery.
It also gives your life more fulfillment because you will be happier with less.
Chasing more and more will lead you into burnout because you need to compete for things that will only ride you on the hedonic treadmill through troughs and peaks eventually on a stable decline.
Happiness = Success, not the other way around and you will truly notice that until you have financial independence.
Not away from your parents but independence in knowing you have enough in an emergency, for discretionary items, and occasional splurges.
Buy yourself all of your dreams: that Maserati and ponny.
See how you will feel in a few days once you realize how much maintenance, poop, scratches, and depreciation you’ve tackled.
We all need to live and have fun but please be realistic with how you spend your precious money because, at the end of the day, you are only doing a disservice to yourself.
You work hard and just blow it for other people when showing off becuase you realize you really don’t need all these things to be happy.
In middle school, my father told me this analogy that has helped me become a minimalist and appreciate the basic things in life.
Pretend you were the richest guy in the world. You had all the islands, mansions, cars you wanted, and bought it to show off because there would be no other reason not to impress others.
One day, it all depreciates in value (becuase it eventually will due to inflation and tangible buying sprees for goods tendency) and you go into debt.
No one, I repeat, no one will care about how much you spent, and when you are begging for money at that point when you blew it, no one will want to help you at all because they were just jealous of you.
It Starts With The Heart.
Make sure you are loyal and sympathetic to people, especially the wealthy.
The wealthy and upper-income brackets take on more risk, spend more on taxes, vacations, and as a result, can surprisingly loose it all much faster.
Not to say that happens all the time, but it certainly is the case for a lot of multi-billionaires more than expected!
Becuase you own a lot doesn’t mean you can use it properly.
If you ever need help when you are rich, make sure people will assist you with service when you are in deep liquidity trouble before you hit rock bottom.
A way to test that is to see who admires and spends time with you for who you are, not with what you have.
How To Test A Money Licking Friend:
-Start acting differently, more casual or less fancy-do an experiment: don’t show off for a week.
Does their personality change? If so, they aren’t for you for the right reason.
-If I ask them to pay for something for me
-Lie about how much you have and keep it low key
All of this will test if the person respects you for who you are, not the bling you wear.
I asked my closest 5 friends when writing for this piece, “Why are you my bud?” and these are their accumulated answers:
-You are relatable and personable
-Chill personality
-Comfortable to speak and hang around
-Not fancy
-Realistic and sensible
No matter how rich or poor you are, you can accumulate the best type of wealth which is social wealth through inheriting these chill characteristics.
Live Like You Are Broke:
Make sure you have no big regrets.
It’s okay to order pizza for the room for one night but every week… that’s a serious no-no.
Being too generous won’t be generous back to you and instead, haunt you.
People don’t remember what you gave them they simply recall how you made them feel.
Let them feel special and positive during this one in a while pizza night that doesn’t have to be recurring because your bank account will feel the heat from the extra spicy Papa John’s pepperoni soon.
There is Abundance No Scarcity
HOARDERS!
Toilet paper is not going way folks, anymore.
You have all your life to enjoy Friday and Staurday nights (a.k.a. The worst nights to break out the meditative session).
College is fast and not a huge part of your life so make sure you are realistic and accurate how you are spending your time.
It is a great time to begin and explore becuase later it is much harder to do that.
By later, we mean 1 week after graduation.
Time = Money
The younger you are, the more jealous I’m of you.
Not because you get to sleep and eat tacos all day but because you have more time!
Something no one, no matter how rich can buyback.
Use it wisely folks, especially my student colleagues!
Take advantage of learning more.
We don’t learn as much as you think we do during school.
Becuase we are enrolled for all year classes, doesn’t mean we still learn during our obnoxiously long winter and spring breaks.
We have 7+ months break total per year and only 2 semesters.
You can probably learn more if you put your mind to it during that time frame.
Design your own job becuase you will be the change-maker into creating a whole new industry that way and there are new ones designed daily.
Be Jealous!
We all want to be the best and although the comparison is not the key to success or financial success, it doesn’t hurt to look at your idols and see what they have. Not the amount of Gucci bags they own but rather what they have in terms of intangible assets such as family time, resources, time off, and heavenly skills that can help you rejuvenate and get ahead of your past self.
Financial Literacy is Your Life’s Core
That term is tossed around but frankly not taught at school.
Our finances and health are the most important things we have in our life.
Nothing else controls us more and unfortunately, we don’t want to learn.
We would rather stay comfortable and lazy than putting in a few extra hours of Netflix than hopping on Youtube to learn the basics.
It starts with reading Boiled Not Fried, Morning Brew, sign up to free LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, EdX, Udemy, etc. courses to find great resources!
The worst day to start is tomorrow because that’s already too late.
Don’t be like 75% of Americans with less than $1k in their savings account, less than 50% with a 529C, no knowledge of what a 401k, ROTH IRA, compounding interest, High Yield-Savings Account, or a Will/ Trust is.
This isn’t taught in school so teach yourself!
This will be better than an internship so you can start to budget and allocate the expenses that you’ve made from your internship so you will be able to actually keep it rather than blow it all.
Might as well not have a job if you don’t know how to utilize that money and invest it efficently.
Explore and Don’t Do Normal Things
Side gigs are especially popular during COVID.
Don’t be boring.
Pass the Shopify and turn to explore because that is also something we cannot usually do at school unless we are in Kindergarten.
Don’t do something for money.
Fellow peers, I know you do it temporarily but don’t waste your time copying millionaire fake gurus making millions a month on China dropshipping.
I don’t see how that could make you happy besides the deposit in your bank account.
Test and Fail.
I dare you to fail!
Learn from your mistakes because that is the best way to learn.
Follow the rules in school and explore outside of it
I was able to learn so much from the most challenging courses that made me paranoid and frustrated.
I was able to let go of the grade and focus on the mental and physical results of getting through a challenge.
These are some tips I’ve accumulated in my mind over the years and I thought it was worth sharing becuase many students and even adults struggle with the meaning of success and what goes into finding the right career path.
Those who haven’t achieved their goals consider success to be a monetary gain.
Once you discover and look back to our pre-historic ancestors: apes, they didn’t need much.
They will happier with hugs and food.
We are trying too hard to get back to that normalcy and simplicity.
Downloading apps, mediation sessions, $100 yoga sessions may work, but it comes down to you to understand yourself.
You are the guide in your life and need to dictate what success means.
It doesn’t take work it takes excited grit.
Sure, there will always be those drop shippers and YouTube stars but they come and go.
How long can you be a star for and will shipping goods directly to consumers with no conversation or personal connection really make you happy forever? The few vacations might but not when you snap back into reality.
It doesn’t take much effort becuase all you have to do is start looking and exploring.
So ‘just do it’ instead of wait.
Listen instead of talk.
Run instead of walk.
And go forward instead of back.