One of the biggest lessons I learned in life about growth is understanding that it can be tough, hard, tedious and 80% of people give up, not because they're weak but because growth can take time no matter how hard or how long you work hard for.
It's been 8 years in crypto for me, yet I'm still hustling to own a real-time business not to talk of being at least financially safe. I've seen a few people who has spent less time and are currently financially stable (Not free).
I beat myself everyday, check myself, try to better and of course, make tht right changes and keep working hard.
One thing we tend to underestimate is the importance of networking.
Most of the time people try to network with those who are way out of their league, hoping they can quickly climb the ladder of success, forgetting the importance of those who are hungry, in their level, and willing to connect with them.
Connection is a value-based effort to truly network, get the regular support you need to grow, but sometimes we try to do it with those who aren't on the same wavelength as we are.
For example, when an older man is trying to marry a younger girl, we we immediately try to see that hidden motives, that's because they're not on the same age range, so there has to be a different driving factor.
This is the same with networking.
When the motive is displaced, growth and genuineness is hardly established. While disparity is networking classes is not impossible, it's always rare.
The reason why people will easily want to mingle with those better than them is because they want to skip the networking at the grassroot level which is a misguided attempted to follow a shortcut.
The people who do not care about your level in a networking process are very few, and they're a massive blessing as well, however there's nothing wrong with knowing and choosing people who are at your level in life.
Relationship like this are no based on ulterior intentions. Also external motivation is very important. Sometimes we cannot motivate ourselves enough. Our attempts to change our lives or make money is not enough. We need some external push.
We all need help, but we cannot jump the line.
For someone who has been hustling for over 14 years I understand the concept of growth and relevance and why growth can not be replaced with something else.
Life is a hard place filled with a lot of unfairness, but it's either you push hard or you are left behind. For me, I've lived the past four years without much acquaintances who could push life-changing motivation into my life.
However I've mostly been out of touch, mourning, dealing with depression, loss and pain. However bills and responsibilities of life do not care, it's either you pay or you sleep under the bridge. When you're sick, no one will pay your hospital bills, and life does not care, it's either you deal with it or move on. Life is cruel, but crueler for some others .