Takeaways from Hard Work

Last year upon the insistence of my family and my poor cashflow situation I decided to return to work. I explored a myriad of different options. I looked into working as a photographer, train driver, engineer, teacher, nurse, flight attendant, security guard, traffic controller, and considered mining, renting out property, renovation, travel events, cruises, aged care, selling options, tax preparation among other pursuits.

After the ecstacy of landing a job that I really wanted, reality set in after returning to the workforce for a few months.

I learnt some important lessons. I learnt what hard work is. I saw how hard people work for the money. I jumped into a high paying FIFO job where I worked a 84 hour week all for 65-70k + super after tax. A 100k job where you only earn 75k after tax and 35k after mortgage.

I learnt about behaviours to keep and avoid

• I learnt how quickly time flies. I overhead two guys saying that they were turning 50 and it wasn't long ago that they were 21-30
• I learnt about the importance of safety practices
• I saw my manager swearing at the computer and I don't want to be like that
• I saw how work is not living and how people struggle to get by on a high wage. One manager lives paycheck to paycheck and says it is difficult just paying bills. Another manager says going to his home country is too expensive so he hasn't seen his parents for two years
• I learnt that I am not happy sitting in front of computer all day socially isolated as I did at home because before I knew it the day was gone
• Life is gone when you are working. I wanted to end it after two shifts. You waste most of your life for work. Most people work until they retire at 67, following which they only have 7 healthy years without disability (AIHW, Healthy life expectancy). Health and happiness are more important than making money
• I have more important goals to accomplish than work. I have my precious life to live. I want a girl to love
• However, I recommend working in mining to earn, save and live frugally for those who are hungry to save some money
• I prefer working 1-2 days every two weeks, but there are almost no jobs like this except some low paying jobs. Later, I realised I prefer not to work at all as I want to travel for 3 months at a time and it is huge amount of time and energy leaving and returning to Australia
• My rentals are just as important as work as I lose 1k per week when one of them is empty
• I notice that people happy when you buy them something small and unexpected, like a tea or snack (I saw this generosity from a traveller and from customers at work)

I wrote some pros and cons for work

Pros

• Provides money so there is less financial stress (now I have a buffer so not so stressed, but my money was blown trading a few months later)
• Less time focused on markets and removes the desire to revenge trade (but I can fill my time with long term goal related activities instead; giving the login credentials to my trader has helped reduce the tedency to overtrade too)
• Social aspects - practice communication, nice when have you good people around (but I can satisfy this by actively participating in social activities, there are no long term benefits from socialising at work unless you meet a good friend, additionally most people there were not nice)
• It provided a temporary relief for me. I was feeling down thinking about markets at home. I was worried about coming winter. I had the opportunity to experience what it was like in north west WA which I wanted to see

Cons

• Not going for long term goals (marriage, building granny flat)
• Time is most important but two weeks pass by (same with every job)
• Already did many short term jobs after retirement and none provided lasting satisfaction
• Not fulfilling work (but almost noone's work is fulfilling)
• Not happy at work. Runs counter to my desire for happiness
• Don't like the work
• Only save 8k in 3 months. Can only save 30k in a year or 300k in 10 years
• Blew all money saved on trading
• Social - don't like most people, noone welcomed me when I started, only one person cares about me
• No people to have fun with
• Damage to hands, skin
• Aging
• Tires me out, draining
• Heat and flies in summer
• One week not enough to travel (this is the same with every job)
• Not enough time for travel on week off and rushing around too much, especially since most places I want to go require two flights to get to and another two flights to return
• Flights changed, delayed and cancelled - 3x
• Blowing a lot of money travelling for a week (2k in a week - 3x my usual spend)
• Not happy travelling
• Feeling of dread. Heart tighten before work
• Feel stressed at work
• Told off at work 5 times in a week and received a performance warning. Realise that no job cared about me and I hated all jobs I worked
• Night shift for many people
• Expansion of work duties - more area for tavern so more bins to clean, shutdown so more staff on site, drinks with food delivery, early 4am shifts
• Surrounded by people who I don't want to be (most colleagues were unhealthy, had damaged skin, and not smart. To accomplish my goals I need to surround myself with people who I want to be) 

I am grateful for the opportunity. It was the job I wanted and it was not easy to achieve it. I was able to save and travel for a week - almost no other job offers this flexibility. I would have otherwise been wishing I was working in FIFO, freezing in my home town, and wasted my time being angry from the trading losses.

When I travel I see people around the world living their own lives and they don't need to make a lot to live. Even if I run out of money can find some work for a day a week. For example, an Uber eats quest earns $150 for 3 hours.

There is no point working if you can lose it trading. For me, it all got gambled away. Trading did not go the way I thought it would. I lost everything I earned. Income is bottomless pit if used for trading. Even if I earn 300k I could lose all.

I accept I sacrified my career and $8-10 million of forgone personal wealth, making many mistakes in the past decade.

I feel sad that I wasn't able to recoup the $10 million forgone. I feel internal pressure to make it butit didn't happen this year. It started so promisingly, going from 5k to 150k in the space of two months before realising the strategies I had didn't work and blowing the funds saved from working. I must reflect on the positive too. I was able to do a muscle up, 30 pull ups and break my Murph Challenge PB, travel to so many cities, limit my trading losses, and land the job I wanted.

I reflect on the work I did in the past and the fact that working does not bring me happiness.

I already met retirement money although I admit that cashflow is tight and I could have had $10 million if I continued working. The only reason for work is if there is something I want to buy (such as a trip to Antarctica or building a granny flat) or if my cash flow situation is dire. I'd rather just fucking live. Working one year to save 30k isn't going to make any difference to my life. To save 10k after 3-4 months work (or 1 year for other people). I need to save 80k+ per year to save 1m in 10 years. I can instead borrow 15k to build a granny flat, but I am working so hard for that. What is the purpose of work when I can't achieve this basic figure?

I lost myself for the money that wasn't there. Selling my precious time and my soul for nothing.

Life passes by so quickly while working. I imagine working until 65-70 and reflecting on my life spent not living. Every day doing something I don't like. Every day not doing something I enjoy. Every day blurring into the next. It is not worth working the rest of 30 years of my life. At work I was told you 'work to live' but most of my life was spent working in an unsatisfying job. My goals become more and more distant as I inch closer and closer to death.

Your life is over quickly. Like everyone else in history. How do you feel about that if all you did was work? All the present eras sporting greats careers are limited. I look at my contemporaries - Ronaldo, Federer, Nadal. Soon Messi and Djokovic too.

At the same time, it is easy to become complacent and lack urgency when there is no work. Home is too comfortable. My time gets filled with lots of errands and distractions like taking mum somewhere, meeting friends, cooking breakfast, and going out for the weekend. It is not bad to do these things but I also need to focus on my long term goals.

Takeaways:

- With the same mindset, I can apply time and energy to another endeavour / goal in life I want to succeed at. I can schedule my days the same way and put actvities in a structured timetable similar to university or work. I can allocate full time hours to finding a wife
- A job can't make you rich unless you earn a significant amount more than average
- 12 years of my life until age 50 is worth 150k passive after tax or 200k before tax / 0.04 = 5m. I need to save 400k per year to achieve 5m, which is 650k+ gross wage

- Focus on trading as the result is much greater than a job

Getting older

I still feel young at heart and look relatively young. Feeling young is good for health. I was called 'young fella' at work. 

But deep down I know I am halfway to the average life expectancy. The big 4-0. I am looking into skin treatments to make myself look younger. Trying to pause father time but the stark reality is:

In 10 years time I will be 50. 

I saw man who used to live in the flat I grew up in and he has aged. I heard about the people who passed away in the flat. It is a sombre message about the brevity of life.

I will be past my prime at 50. My mum may not be here. I have to put in the effort to find a good partner now.

In 2024 I made the mistake of travelling too much just like I did in 2018.

Be dominant. Stand up for my own values. 'I want to go there. You want to come'

Neglecting Happiness

The title of this blog is Happy No Matter What

However, if I am being honest with myself I have completely neglected my happiness.

I keep pursuing other goals and at the same time my happiness levels are dire. How did I go through 2020-21 experiencing the least happy to sad faced days ever? It is primarily from neglecting happiness.

I read a psychology study which said 'while happiness can indeed be learned, the key to sustaining its benefits lies in continuous practice'.

I know a great deal of theory about happiness, but I am not happy. It is as if I read a book or watch a movie and I forget about it as time passes.

The study suggests that evidence informed habits only work if they are maintained over time

• gratitude (gratitude scan for something I am grateful for or celebrate today, external scan appreciating what is around us such as smells and laughter, while not dwelling on negative thoughts)
• mindfulness/meditation (internal body scan focusing on all of my senses, hara then below naval and out of body feeling love, deep breathes) with affirmation (I am worthy, I am enough as I am, and I can do it while visualising being calm and grounded)
• exercise
• journalling
• generosity (helping others, performing acts of kindness, being with friends)
• anticipation (schedule a joyful activity to look forward to, such as a regular nice meal, singing, or a holiday, or do something spontaneous such as going on a swing)

An uplift from performing these "happiness hacks" is not inherently lasting. Only those who actively continued to practice the “happiness hacks” managed to maintain the improved levels of wellbeing over the long term.

I regularly exercise and journal but I don't set time aside to practice gratitude and meditation. Moving forward, I will implement gratitude and mindfulness alongside my exercise routine and perform an act of kindness each week.

I must regularly reflect on what makes people happy and what makes me happy.

I know that two thirds of my happiness is dervied from fun and social activities and travel. I will make an effort to implement these activities 3 or more times each week.

I must focus on happiness goals instead of money goals. To do this, I must make happiness a habit.

I know that working doesn't make me happy. I have worked over 30 jobs. I feel down from all my jobs in the past (VPS, CVS, QS). I was given performance warnings and was treated like shit in most of my jobs. None of them were satisfying nor provided a long term social aspect. Working is not what I really want. Why the fuck I am forcing myself to do something I don't want to do? It's not how I want to spend my limited time on this planet. I'd rather spend my precious time pursuing my goals or what makes me happy.

The only reason for work is to provide a little extra money. However, I already met my retirement goal and that money is not going to make any meaningful difference to my life. A job does provides a social aspect to it and is a way to keep busy, however, there are many other means to satisfy my social needs and keep busy too.

A job would make me less inclined to go after my goals as I spend all my time working. I already worked many jobs after retirement and none provided satisfaction. In fact, working was the second highest contributor to my unhappiness during my years studying and working, which is competely opposite from my main goal of being happy.

How can I value a precious day gone? Or a whole day applying for job? The job is only temporary anyway. A job is not lasting.

A business or career means nothing to me. Many extended family members and people in general are too materialistic. Rich, selfish, and focused on money. Is driving a Porsche all there is to life?

Money is not so important. It doesn't give me joy. I have enough money but continually think about money. I don't need more money than one really needs. Material things are not important. I already can live a basic lifestyle and be satisfied travelling overseas.

The desire to have material things and competing in world is useless. I don't need money to be happy. Money is not going to bring back people. 

Money is an endless pursuit that leads nowhere. Goals never make you happy long term. I have to be satisfied with what I have.

I am wasting my life. Each day passes by. I have trauma from the past

• trauma with God for never answering prayers, leading to pent up pain with religion
• trauma from the past with financial hurt and gambling, where 70% of my unhappiness was the result of trading
• being consumed by the news, for example anger from the Gaza war and jealousy from stories of others making it rich, which leads to comparison and feels of inadequacy (I attempted to remove news however I keep succombing when I am bored)
• a recent desire to find a partner and thinking that it is too late

I want to start afresh and stop living in the past.

I recently recalled a family friend who died with $3 million cash. No-one even cares. You spend your whole life building wealth. For what?

How much money would I need to give up in the next 12 years of my life, such that I am 50 years old now? For me it is $10 million ($1 million saved per year). This is the value of time.

A huge message is that if I am not doing anything at age 38 I am not living - or equivalent to being dead.

I watched a video where old people were giving advice on life. Their take home messages were clear. Life is about living and enjoying it. You never know when life's going to end. Enjoy the years as eventually they go by. Life is about quality relationships, loving every moment, health, exercise, being at peace, having someone to talk to and love. They suggested to live on a boat, follow your dreams earlier, have a few more adventures, tell people you love them. Be positive. Be honest. Close to mum and dad. Do what is in your heart.

'The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.' - Jack London

'All those days that came and went and little did you know, they were your life' - Stig Johansson

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Some useful tips from books I read

The Untethered Soul

I spent all day doing things I enjoy but I am not happy. My mind was constantly distracted with checking the latest news. Your inner growth is completely dependent upon the realisation that the only way to find peace and contentment is to stop thinking about yourself. The 'I' or inner voice who is always talking inside will never be content. It always has a problem with something.

Open my heart at all times. If I open my heart, I get for free what everybody is struggling for: love, enthusiasm, excitement, and energy (and healing from the energy). Nothing is that important for me to close my heart over it. If I feel I want to close it, say 'No, I'm not going to close, I'm going to relax and let this situation take place and be there with it. Embrace life with all my heart and soul.

On reflection, I took to heart wrongs I perceived my sister and close friends did to me, the envy I feel from other people who lived the life I wanted and friends earning what I perceived I was worth, the pain from the continual losses from trading, the reality not meeting expectations. I closed my heart. I have to let go of these old energies or Samskaras. I have to be open, relax my heart and forgive.

Evil

The pure evil commited by Israel shows there is no such thing as morality on this planet. 

The complete disregard by Western countries shows that human life does not matter.

1k Israelis were killed since the Hamas attacks on 7 October.

27k Palestinians have been killed from 7 October to 7 February, with a further 60k injured. Over 70% of Palestinian deaths have been women and children. A further 8k are missing presumed dead. The deaths amount to close to 2% of the entire Gazan population.

More than 8k Palestinians are in Israeli jails, 80% of whom are held without charge since 7 October 

More than 50% of Gaza City has been turned into rubble as retaliation, including more than 200 buildings of cultural and historical significance.

More than 90% of Gazan residents have been displaced.

66% of hospitals are inoperable.

7% of the existing water supply is in operation.

This is domicile.

Some statistics from January have been updated to account for the most recent data.

Two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel, some anti-Zionist Jews pinned an op-ed calling for Israel to stop its unfolding genocide. Since then, the number of Palestinians killed has increased 10-fold while the initial condemnation to the genocide has largely faded from public attention.

The outrage sparked by the Hamas attack pales in significance to the atrocities commited by Israel in the preceding years. 

Between 2000 and the recent wave of violence, more than 10,600 Palestinians were killed by Israelis, according to human rights group B’Tselem, compared to 1,329 Israelis by Palestinians – an eight-fold difference. The decades between 1948 and 2000 are filled with tens of thousands more dead – largely Palestinians. 

The story of this conflict, the numbers clearly show, has been the story of overwhelming Palestinian death and displacement.

While there are many wars going on, this one stands out for the unprecedented scale of death and destruction committed relative to other conflicts and the complicity of Western governments for an evil akin to a modern day Holocaust.