Should We Be More Direct?
Most young folks at the start of their careers want to take up as much as they can. Time isn’t a concern at all. Well, why not? We are taught to “learn and work hard” and everything will fall in place by itself. It has to … Twitter gurus preach to prioritise long term over short term without telling you what long term means.
However, what if there’s an alternative approach? By focusing on short-term objectives, we might be able to find our long-term objectives. Most individuals do not know what they want out of their lives in the long term. Figuring it out takes multiple iteration. It is a continuous exercise which easily takes a few years. Meanwhile, we spend countless hours working on things that realistically, won’t drastically change our lives. Then why do most people grind on their first jobs? They primarily want enough to pay their bills while at the same time convincing themselves that whatever they are working on is their long term goal. This usually isn’t the case. I’m excluding the very few who genuinely love their work and pursue it passionately for its own sake.
Imagine if young professionals prioritized earning money above all else to buy the freedom in order to explore their long-term aspirations. Indeed, pursuing higher salaries and promotions is one way to achieve this, but it’s crucial for the accumulated wealth to grow, which doesn’t happen automatically. There are 22-year-olds with net worths of $2 million, achieved by early investments in meme coins, running nodes, receiving airdrops, and trading stocks. They don’t have money problems anymore and have enough time to think what they want next in life. Contrast this with the average hard worker who has been grinding for years with an average pay, most deposits in FD and who is anxious about being replaced by AI. Effective portfolio management and seizing high-return opportunities require time and connections that is very difficult to achieve with a relentless work schedule.
Cryptocurrencies (not crypto) have made enough millionaires who did not graduate from elite colleges. In fact, the correlation between your ability to make money and your university reputation is only decreasing by the day. Additionally, there’s no shame in trading, aping into memecoins anymore. Betting has been normalised since years. If you can master these skills and proactively seek financial gains instead of passively waiting for wealth accumulation, you will be able to find the space you need to figure out your life’s direction.
Being more direct and truthful to yourself in the short term may in fact be the best answer to all you worries. Gurus will keep saying “long term” and they already have $ millions in their bank. The real question is, are you ready to be more direct in the short term?