$2 million to buy sobriety: a serial entrepreneur's journey to disenchantment from wealth

"True financial freedom is not the magnitude of assets, but the confidence to switch survival mode at any time".

Author: TIGER

It's been almost a month, it's time to review and sort out the ideas.

The goal in the past few years has been very clear: to maintain stability while aiming for an early jump from A8 to A9.

With this clear goal, the action plan becomes much simpler. My previous strategy can be summarized in two points:

First, give up all the fuss that doesn't help A8 to upgrade to A9. For example, I found some minor opportunities that might earn A7 after the build was completed, but I decisively gave up these trivial gains.

Next, steadily and continuously seek opportunities with positive EV (positive expected value), place multiple bets, and minimize the impact of luck. For example, throughout the 23 years, I devoted a lot of effort to 'lurking' (claiming various airdrop benefits). Even if I lost some gas fees, I still felt it was worth it because at that time, it was a typical 'limited loss, unlimited gain' opportunity.

Everything is progressing as planned, and assets are steadily accumulating. Until January this year, I encountered a major drawdown in the account, and the original plan was instantly disrupted. (The specific process has been recorded in my previous articles.)

Reflection after a major retracement

Went back to the country, took a break for myself, and also let myself wake up and reflect.

After returning to the country, I found that all my friends were living colorful lives. Whether they were working in the system or starting their own businesses, whether they were well-off or financially constrained, none of them were as gloomy and pessimistic as I was. The fact proves that living happily does not require spending a lot of money. However, I sank to the bottom emotionally because of the financial losses on the books, living more painfully than anyone else.

They made me rethink the phrase from the "Tao Te Ching": "Wealth and honor lead to arrogance, and this brings its own misfortune."

I slowly realized that the pain I endured far exceeded the sense of achievement brought by making money and project success. This huge retracement actually had no substantial impact on my daily life - life goes on as usual, eat, play, and the quality of life has not declined. In plain terms, this paper loss is not worth tormenting myself like this.

Maybe it's because I've been smooth sailing all the way from childhood to adulthood: being admitted to university with outstanding results in the Olympiad, and the several projects I started after graduation also had good responses. Suddenly encountering this intense blow, I started to doubt myself for a while.

Fortunately, I took a month off to get out of the shadow and realize one fact: whether doing projects or investments, the most important thing is to achieve a sense of accomplishment. For me, the numbers in the account are not important, continuous positive feedback is the indispensable motivation.

Having realized this, my view on wealth has also become much more indifferent. In the end, when wealth reaches a certain level, its impact on the quality of life is actually quite limited—at most, it means a few more good cars, a few more luxury homes. As my life is already worry-free in terms of clothing and food, and I am not keen on supercars and luxury homes, what else is there to be tangled up about?

My biggest cognitive trap is mistaking the scale of assets for the progress bar of life.

Start Anew: A New Plan

After adjusting my mindset, I decided to implement 'dynamic programming' and re-plan how to proceed with the next steps. Given the current financial situation and market environment, it is crucial to re-explore the direction worth continuously building. Specifically, I have set the following new plans for myself:

1. Adjust the goal: I have always wanted to challenge A9 in the past few years, but now I am more pragmatic and have changed the goal to return to the asset level before the major retracement.

2. Due to changes in goals, opportunities that were previously considered not cost-effective and not worth pursuing can now be reconsidered. For example, paths like SEO and traffic arbitrage, which I used to look down on as ways to make 'small money,' can now be attempted as well.

3. Always stay focused on investment and look for the ultimate arbitrage opportunities. Only by staying at the table all the time, can you seize the opportunity as soon as it comes. In other words, never leave the field, so that I can wait for my next good hand.

4. Keep an eye on the AI track. I'm not talking about the 'AI projects' that are hyped in the Web3 world, but truly delving into the AI industry itself. The world is paying attention to the AI revolution - whether I can benefit from this trend in the future or not, being at the forefront means being able to use the latest and most powerful AI tools for the first time, and the most advanced tools are often the most powerful productivity multipliers.

5. The blockchain continues to deepen its exploration in the on-chain field. The public chain world is like an open 'dark forest', full of dangers, but with transparent rules. I want to hone my skills in this real battlefield and face opportunities with true strength.

6. Work hard to increase your cash cows. Simply put, it means creating more products that can continue to generate income besides your main business, and establishing several stable income streams for yourself.

7. Remember that "money does not enter the door in a hurry". Thinking back to the previous losses, the biggest enemy is being too impatient, when the heart is in a hurry, actions become distorted. I have fallen on this twice, once and twice, there must not be a third time.

After this adjustment, I feel much more relaxed. The road of growth inevitably has its ups and downs, but every setback is a valuable nutrient, allowing me to be clearer about what I truly want. Letting go of burdens and going into battle lightly, I am ready to face the challenges of the next stage - as long as I move forward solidly according to these plans, I believe that wealth or growth will come in the future unexpectedly.

The real financial freedom is not the size of the assets, but the confidence to switch survival mode at any time.