➼ Don't be discouraged about your initial setbacks— you will find better opportunities again.
➼ Always play the long-term game— maybe short-term success is fun, but it will trap you in a loop.
➼You are never too late to learn skills, start life from a different angle, or become a different version of yourself. It may be hard in the beginning(usually the first year), but if you persist, you will enjoy the rewards for the next 20–30 years.
When I was 22–23, I would spend hours dreaming about my life and planning the businesses I would build. I would daydream about the heaps of money I would make.
I wrote goals on the whiteboard, made elaborate plans, and dreamt about big things.
But planning is one thing; executing is another.
Things didn't go as planned because I was lazy. I only worked when I was at peak motivation. Other times, I enjoyed watching series, playing video games and scrolling endlessly on social media.
A few years ago, when I finally realized that I had wasted so much of my time, it made me sad.
Eventually, I worked on myself to become more disciplined.
I don't regret my failures. I am happy that I got to try many different things in my life. What I regret is the time I wasted thinking I was a failure. I lowered my self-esteem, thinking I was lost and everyone else had figured their life out.
You may not like the initial version of your life.
Maybe you have always dreamt about travelling full time. It may happen that when you travel for six months, you will get bored of travelling, and would want a stable life.
Maybe you want to become a solopreneur. But when you try it, the loneliness and stress of managing everything yourself will make you hate the idea of being a solopreneur.
When your initial plans fail, make new plans. The important thing is to keep the momentum. If you fail in one thing, there are dozens of other things to try. There are dozens of versions of life you can create.
Don't be fazed when you face a tough situation.
When you face a difficult situation, things appear a lot more complicated than they are.
Don't panic. Think, what's the tiniest step you can take to move forward?
For example, what's the tiniest thing you could do if you want to do 1,000 pushups and if you cannot do ten at once?
There are only two options. Quit or start at one.
If you can do one, that's better than zero. It's better than quitting.
With time and consistency, you can do 5, 10, 25, 50 and one day, 100 in one set.
It doesn't matter if you can reach 1,000. What matters is that you have grown 100x your initial potential. That's a lot better than quitting at zero and staying there.
Always Play The Long Term Game.
When I was young, I was after money. I would often think, 'What's the best way to earn money with the least possible effort?'
And I was successful in hustling my way to earn money multiple times. For example, investing early in crypto and buying some shitcoins before insane pumps. etc.
It wasn't sustainable. I would get lucky sometimes and make good returns. But I was stuck. It was luck or loss.
If I had focused on something that I could do for the next 10-20 years of my life and got good at it, my life would be much more sustainable.
Lesson: Do things you are comfortable doing for the next 5–10 years.
Think long-term.
Another example is: I read my first book in 2017. It was— How To Win Friends And Influence People. After reading it once, I believed I had all the answers.
Reading a book doesn't mean you upgrade your software. You are still the same person, with some new ideas. But I thought different. I started consuming self-development content like a crazy person, thinking it would make me the smartest person.
Whatever amount of self-development/motivation/philosophy you consume is useless if you don't practice it!
Now, I listen to audiobooks only once in a while. I focus more on practising the lessons I learn.
Sometimes, you may enjoy short-term gratification from things, thinking it's good for you. But you are only wasting your time!
You Are Never Too Late To Start Something— If You Start Today.
I started writing in 2017. After writing for a couple of days, I quit. I thought it would take too long to build writing skills.
If I had stayed consistent, I would have written around 1800 articles. And I would be a better writer and better thinker.
Then, I tried again in 2019, and after writing 100+ articles, I got the taste of what it feels like to be consistent. Every time I publish content, it increases my confidence to write the next post.
The same thing happened to me when I wanted to learn web development. I thought I was too late in 2020. It would take years to learn, maybe a decade.
But I started again in 2022. Six months later, I only wonder if I had started in 2020, I could have learnt so much in two years.
Lesson: If you are going to start something, start today. Maybe not at a big scale but with 10–30 mins slots daily.
It's better to do something at the age of 30 than at the age of 50.
Start today!
Always have a positive attitude.
When you think positive, you get positive results— is it true? Don't know!
But you can focus on solutions when you keep a positive attitude in a tough situation.
Imagine if you lose your business/job and all of your assets. Your total worth is zero now.
Can you build your life again? It depends on your attitude!
If you think you have to start from zero, your chances become low. It would take years to go through all the struggles again.
But if you think that you know what you have to do. You have all the knowledge and skills—your chances increase. You will build back your life somehow.
If you have a positive attitude, you will keep going even if you grow 1% in a year.
If you have a negative attitude, you will quit even if you grow 10%. It won't be enough for you to push further!
What life lesson have you learnt from making mistakes again and again?