Decision

At age 29 I had two paths.

One path was to crack the BRW Young Rich List and become one of the 200 richest Australians aged 40 or under. All I needed was a net worth of 20m by age 40. It looked likely that I would achieve this.

The other path was to retire with the aim of living life to the fullest. This is what I chose.

We are always faced with tough choices in life and there are no easy answers.

When I was reading the recently released 2016 Young Rich List, I calculated that I am still well on the trajectory to joining the list if I maintain my net worth growth rates over the past ten plus years. At the same time, I know how pointless the race for never ending wealth is. Yet, I still feel a sense of melancholy as I ponder over my decision to retire and live.

To retire is not the easiest choice. I am giving up enormous wealth. I have to put in effort every single day to be happy and make my life the best it can be. I know how easy it is to slip into mundane activities and routines that don't make me happy. I still have goals I want to achieve and I know in my heart that they will take hard work. Great achievement rarely comes without effort.

Despite no longer working, I still have the option to build more wealth and create more businesses if I choose to do so. While I sometimes flirt with this idea, I know that living a happy life and exploring the world are higher priorities for me.

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On a related note, I sometimes wonder whether I could have retired earlier. Under the most optimistic scenario, I would have retired at 27 and then taking 0.8 years to invest the proceeds of say a 10m sale with 30% ownership (around 2 years earlier than when I did retire) as I would have only started to look for jobs at 24, then work 1 year in banking and then 2 years in a startup and its sale finalisation. However, I retired at 29 and took 0.8 years to invest the proceeds.

As I retired 2 years later than my most optimistic scenario, I need to make the most of the time I have now. I generally wasn't happy during my last 2 years at work, but I cannot dwell on that any more as now is the only time I have. On the plus side, I learnt that there is no such thing as a dream job and I don't envy anyone's job (particularly so after having tried a few different jobs post retirement in technology and other sectors). 

Sectarian Movements

Throughout history there have been movements formed that push an agenda. Sometimes these movements become the dominant localised way of thought and action.

Although society is conforming to similar ideologies due to increasing global interconnectedness, there exists latent possibility to build disciples for a cause. Movements can spring up anywhere, although it is more difficult to form movements counter to existing values in developed countries where there is a strong rule of law.

A strong leadership or group philosophy is generally required to form a movement. It is much more powerful to have a sizable dedicated following than for an individual to go it alone, case in point being WikiLeaks. In the case where there is a leader, there are some traits which can be advantageous. A firm leader with clear cut viewpoints and strong beliefs will likely bring more followers as such a leader generates polarising opinion where some people will love them and others hate them. A leader is best suited to use emotion to convince people and persuade them of their message. Almost all behaviour and action can be normalised and almost all humans can be convinced to do something against their wishes.

Popularising a movement or ideology requires some form of devotion. Usually this starts with a small group of followers and then grows to become an army of people who are willing to live for a higher cause and willing to sacrifice their lives. Sometimes movements perpetuate an us versus them mentality. Movements are difficult to scale to a stage where they have significant impact, for example Anonymous, Sea Shepherd, Falun Gong, WikiLeaks are all of insufficient size to make an impact.

There are a myriad types of movements, with varying degrees of difficulty to form:

• Countries with its own laws, although a country is geography limiting
• Remote tribes with their own versions of status, autonomy or government, bodies based on limited interaction with modern life
• Societies and organisations with a common interest free from constraint, in some cases underground (Somali pirates, mafia, armies)
• Movements based around a religion or a cult, where there may be no definable region (Islamic state) 
• Movements based around a media following with strong support from the media (Nazis)
• Activist collective interest groups
• Companies and not for profits can also initiate or be part of a movement

Unintended Consideration

I had planned to work in the UK and then retire and travel the world one year ago.

I got sidetracked with the ensnaring motive to increase my net worth. Now that I have purged my desires to keep increasing net worth, I am going to the UK again, in part due to necessity to finalise my construction and refinancing projects.

While my original intention was to have already begun my travelling adventures, working in the UK is not as bad as I had supposited. In fact, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I have the opportunity to attend to unfinished business, in the name of winning a football championship, which I see as my highest priority, and also to position myself and learn from great minds in the technology sector where I do see myself having involvement with in the future.

I was dreading the prospect of returning to work. While there is no job that I look forward to doing any longer, technology is better out of the lot and can still get me excited. The thought of returning to finance and running spreadsheets is demoralising.

I have to know my objective for working in the UK. I want to work for 6 months or so and then travel. I don't need to work to sustain my lifestyle as I have income from my investments, although I will still need to find a job to finance my projects. I believe I have a contribution to make and I have previous founding experience. I am interested about recruitment startups and I enjoy keeping active in retirement. However, at the same time, I know how time intensive startups are so I am not interested on taking a founding role, and would rather provide guidance.

Coupled with the fact that I will outsource parts of my relationship life, have a group of friends already living in the UK, and work towards my goal of championship glory, it is looking brighter than the bleak predicament that I had envisaged.

I guess how you view your exact same situation can make profound difference to your perception and interpretation of reality.

After living in the UK for a few months, I realise that it is not for me. I still intend to get this one project out of the way and leave it at that, but it's proving much tougher than I thought. This project is taking time. At the same time, I am only getting older. There is no turning back time. I am not getting the girls I am after. I cannot keep chasing the money.

The Rise and Rise of Cities

Cities today are capturing an increasing share of the world's activity.

Big name 'tier 1' cities are continuing to diverge from smaller cities. Population growth, both from interstate and overseas migration are increasingly attracted to tier 1 cities. Immigration, which once accounted for a small fraction of a country's population, is set to become a global tidal wave unleashed by lower barriers to migrate and availability of information.

Today over 50% of the world's population lives in urbanised areas, a trend which shows no signs of abating. However, whereas in the past people moved from regional locations to cities, the future will see greater movement from smaller cities to larger cities that have greater name recognition and growth prospects. This is being played out globally from the United States to China.

Success begets success. Employment growth and investment opportunities are growing in tier 1 cities at the expense of their regional counterparts. Tier 1 cities benefit from their global recognition and attract talented individuals worldwide lured by high paying knowledge jobs and a cosmopolitan lifestyle. Tourism and education is increasingly focused on tier 1 cities. Entertainment and dining options are also more available and accessible.

It is no wonder property price growth in tier 1 cities is outstripping the rest, particularly in suburbs located close to hubs and activity centres. Within cities themselves, there are large scale differences too. We are witnessing a rise in neighbourhoods within cities, where different suburbs have their own distinctive flavour.

On the whole, country statistics are becoming obsolete. Metrics to measure the wellbeing of a country are no longer applicable as there is significant divergence between cities and even within cities.

The movement towards cities is in turn leading to the demise of country towns. This is particularly evident in the low to middle class living in the the city fringes and rural areas. These people are getting by on a low salary and seeing their blue collar jobs disappear due to technological disruption. Concurrently, males in these regions feel as if their influence in society is being diminished with the uprising of females and minorities, an increasingly difficult dating market, and eroding of social prejudices.

However, the continued growth of cities is by no means certain. Government intervention such as through protectionism and tightening of immigration, security issues and war, technological advancements such as through telecommuting, and the spread of disease amongst other things could restrict or even reverse the growth of cities.  

An Obsession with Wealth

Regardless of whatever wealth we attain, it is never enough. There is always a craving for more.

It is never enough

Wealth has never left me satisfied. When I had $300,000 I was thinking about how to turn it into $1 million. When I had $750,000, I was thinking about turning it into $1.5 million. When I had $1.5 million, I was thinking about turning it into $3 million.

I have a decent passive income and I can live comfortably without additional passive income, but I keep thinking about how to make more. I am continually thinking about how do I make an extra $x per year. It never stops.

I took a moment to ask myself: what if I continue doing what I am doing? I can see myself at 40, not satisfied with where I am and thinking about how I can make the next million. I won't be happy as I have the same 'striving for more' mindset. When will I stop? Never. I can see myself with $15 million thinking about how to turn it into $20 million. I can picture myself on my deathbed crying wishing I had lived and not have lived solely for the endless pursuit of money. The bitter reality is that I am living a tolerable and comfortable existence doing something that is unfulfilling (i.e. making money), which is the worst possible outcome. /This is the cost of inaction/

Many millionaires feel the same way. A profile article on millionaires with a net worth of $1.5 million to $10 million talked about the pressure to keep up with the Joneses, which drives them to work as hard as ever. Nearly all the millionaires in Silicon Valley still work in all-consuming jobs.  Everyone looks at the people above them. It becomes a marathon with no finish line, where the top 1 percent chases the top one-tenth of 1 percent, and the top one-tenth of 1 percent chases the top one-hundredth of 1 percent. You try not to get caught up in it, but it’s hard not to [1].

Most people work until death because they say 'I'll just work until I have $x and then do what I want', but if you don't define the 'what I want' the x figure will increase indefinitely to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of this void. We become convinced that just a bit more money will make things right, but these goals are arbitrary moving targets that never end. There is no x amount of dollars in the bank that feels satisfying and we never feel like we have made it as someone else will always have more [2]. According to Financial Samurai, no matter how much you make or have your steady state of happiness won't really change. Sam said that his steady state of happiness has remained the same regardless of the level of wealth he has, there's always another dollar to make, and financial targets will always continue moving. The desire for money is a never ending process until you decide how much is enough. Don’t just make money for money’s sake. Have a clear purpose.

Ulysses Grant couldn't decide what was important to him. He wanted to have more than everyone else and this made him lose sight of his priorities after achieving his goals. The ego sways us and leads us to envy. We waste precious life doing what we don't like and get things we don't want. The more success you have, the more successful people you meet and you pick up the pace.

Only you know what your own path is. You must have a sense of own path without being distracted. Be what you are. Ask 'what's truly important to you' and 'why do you do what you do'. If you don’t, the default becomes more money.

It is common to be a success in business and a failure in life.

I know I must take action now. I can keep doing what I am doing, building wealth, and miss out on life or I can live the life I want. I can keep watching the traveller live the way I want to live or I can do it myself.

What do I want for my youth? Building some apartments or experiencing the world? What do I want to say I have done before I die? How do I want to have lived? What would I be proud of? I want to grasp life and live great experiences and meet fantastic girls and be as fit as Djokovic (Only Young Once). I want to spend half my time gaming and half my time exploring. I have to step up now or the dream just fades away. I have to remember this every day I wake up. This is the last chance I have to hit the level I want as it becomes more physically difficult when I am older. I know I need to find something to keep me active when I am retired (Retirement). The traveller has shown me that I won't ever run out of places to travel. /These are the rewards for action/

After my third townhouse project, I could have said that's it and lived on a basic level of income. However, I said that I will do another project to have a comfortable level of income. Now I get tempted with thoughts of just one more, one more, and it never ends. I am addicted because my mind keeps thinking about it and running scenarios, motivated by greed. For example, the numbers for a project I am considering at present don't even stack up. I don't have enough for a deposit let alone the capital outlay of over $300,000 unless I sell other projects and incur costs, the risk is increased as the LVR is increased and the market cycle has moved on from the bottom, and return on investment is significantly lower than other potential projects.

Meaningless chasing a billion

I won't get really rich ($1 billion or more) before 40 if I continue in property. There is no-one who has achieved this despite all the developments or projects they have undertaken. There are no examples that I know of to follow. Sure, I might make it to $100 million, but I won't be really rich. More importantly, I won't have made a difference on a global scale.

It is pointless chasing $1 billion. Jeff Bezos is worth around $100 billion as of November 2017. With $1 billion, you still have 100 times less wealth than Bezos and you will be affected by the competitive pressure to build more wealth. It is pointless trading or working as it is highly unlikely to make $1 million per year, let alone $10 million [it is possible to make $1 million or more trading per year - 2023]. Precious metals, resources, and alternatives won't make $10 million either as I am not prepared to commit a significant amount into something that is volatile and has no quantifiable downside risk. Shares and property have already had their run and they are both not what I want to be known for. I am over property, especially lower priced property where there are too many issues and low absolute returns. The best chance to achieve $10 million or more is with business and additionally it also can produce the most impact. However, $1 billion is still pointless in the grand scheme of things.

If I wanted to be really rich, I would move into technology, where over 80% of self-made billionaires under 40 made their fortune [3] [4] [5]. However, one must ask, what is the point of being a billionaire as an end in itself? The main reason I can think of is to be able to afford pretty much everything you want for the duration of your lifetime. Many people already can afford what they want without the need to become a billionaire, myself included. I can already live the lifestyle I want so there is no point going for more. Besides, a 'billion' is an arbitrary number and having this as a goal is simply an egotistical pursuit. There are thousands of billionaires on this planet so becoming a billionaire is no longer anything special and does not mean you have accomplished anything of significance. In fact, there are over 300 people with over $5 billion [6] and over 1,500 people with $1 billion. Becoming a billionaire as a side effect of one's mission or using the money for philanthropy can be meaningful and Mark Zuckerberg provides a good example of this through his recent pledge to dedicate almost his entire wealth to noble goals.

Further, there will always be revolt against the wealthy. Growing inequality breeds discontent. In recent times, this has taken the form of campaigns such as the Occupy movement. As Paul Tudor Jones said "Now here’s a macro forecast that’s easy to make and that’s that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed. History always does it. It typically happens in one of three ways — either through revolution, higher taxes or wars." As history has proven time and time again, inequality has and will always be curbed, and catastrophe is the only means to achieve it [7].

No happiness

The biggest problem is that building net worth has never brought me happiness. Yet, due to the motivations that caused me to build wealth in the first place, it is easy for me to fall into the trap of continually building more wealth.

The obsession with building wealth is in part attributed to my interest in finance and growth as well as my frugality. I have always been interested in growing net worth. It was what helped me win an online strategy game focused on building net worth when I was younger. I am also influenced by my friends and peers who are building their wealth. Whenever I go on LinkedIn, I feel a competitive spirit, envy, and jealousy that fuels a striving for higher job status and the corresponding financial rewards that come with it. Another motivation for building wealth is the thought that I should have a career or financial goal at 30. Most people at my age are getting started on the road to building a career and getting their finances in order. I have always had financial and career goals, so it feels foreign to me to not have such goals and not follow the crowd, even though I have pretty much accomplished everything I had intended on accomplishing.

Money isn't giving me the true satisfaction in life. It's prudent to have had a goal to establish myself, but I can't get lost in it. Chasing money is making me feel burnt out and leads to bouts of sadness, which will likely lead to depression if I continue down this path. Building a property portfolio doesn't make me happy. Building a startup doesn't make me happy. These thoughts came to me after saying I want to connect to Jesus.

I realise that I am not truly happy and need to take a step back to enjoy life, but I need to find the courage to take action and change course. We only live once. I have one chance, one opportunity, to live before it's too late. I have lost track of what the purpose of life is. Even though I have made money, I realise that I haven't achieved anything significant in life. I haven't really lived the way I like to live. I need to spend time, an year for starters, focused on myself  and appreciate every little thing I have. 

Having wealth also serves to alienate myself from people around me. I feel disconnected from friends who are working. I personally don't know of any self-made friends who have retired by 30 who deliberately choose not to work. There are few people I can relate to and those I know who are in a similar position to me are still striving for even greater wealth.

At the same time while I have focused on building wealth, I have lost touch with community, become more selfish and closed off.

Jeff Haden wrote that it seems that no one he meets, no matter how much money or success they've achieved, is actually rich [8]. They don't feel rich and neither are they happy.

A retired lawyer said that the wealthy partners he worked for were some of the most miserable people he met. Most were on wife number two or three and their wives were constantly worried about being traded-in. Many were estranged from their children and step-children. They really didn't even have any friends. Even their partners at work didn't like them [9]. Similarly in finance, a retired banker said that he met plenty of wealthy, but lonely folks who had let their desire for wealth consume them. Every single one of them regretted working so much in their 20s and 30s, and not working more at finding someone they could come home to [10].

A Princeton study showed that a permanent increase in an individual's income has a transitory effect on well being, even though relative standing would increase. This is because new peers increasingly serve as a reference point and individuals adapt to material goods that yield little joy. Moreover, people's aspirations adapt to their possibilities and the income that people say they need to get along rises with income [11].

Speaking from experience, I have not felt happy working in property and finance and accumulating wealth, no matter what level of wealth I have achieved. The past few years have seen relatively few number of happy days. I feel lucky to have bought property at the bottom of the cycle to set myself up financially rather than spending a few years travelling at that time. I appreciate that I was wise to save money to provide for my basic lifestyle needs, but I don't feel happy. 

In other words, having money provides options for myself to choose the way I wish to live and reduces the worry that arises from a lack of money, but it does not fill the hole I feel within.

Eckhart Tolle wrote that people strive after possessions, money, success, power, recognition, or a special relationship, basically so that they can feel better about themselves, feel more complete. But even when they attain all these things, they soon find that the hole is still there, that it is bottomless.

Says Epicurus: "The acquisition of riches has been for many men, not an end, but a change, of troubles."

Time is most precious

A Chinese proverb says: 'An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.'

Buddha said: "Life is swept along, next-to-nothing its span. For one swept to old age no shelters exist. Perceiving this danger in death, one should drop the world’s bait and look for peace."

Seneca in his letters wrote: away then, with all excuses like: "I have not yet enough; when I have gained the desired amount, then I shall devote myself wholly to philosophy." And yet this ideal, which you are putting off and placing second to other interests, should be secured first of all; you should begin with it. Your plan should be this: be a philosopher now, whether you have anything or not,— for if you have anything, how do you know that you have not too much already?— but if you have nothing, seek understanding first, before anything else. Why of your own accord postpone your real life to the distant future... when you can be rich here and now?

In the end, time is the only thing we have. Everything else, including money and health, for the most part, can be recovered, whereas time can never be recovered. No matter how much money you have, you can't buy time. The pursuit of wealth is in effect perpetual delayed gratification, where I forever delay life, until death arrives. Remember that the worst thing is regret (A Reflection and Regrets). Project yourself to when you are 80 and seek to minimise regret. We regret more the things we don’t do than the things we do end up doing. Ultimately, it is foolish to waste your finite time on this planet to continually chase money, a goal that is infinite and can never be truly satisfied.

The Latin phrase momento mori, 'remember you must die', serves as a stark reminder of the vanity of earthly riches. It provides a reflection on mortality, considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits.

I need to ask myself: would I do something if there were no money? Yes -> then do it. No -> then reconsider how important it is.

One day we will all pass away and the wealth we have accumulated will be meaningless. We cannot take the wealth away with us and we will not know what will happen to it after we are gone (The System). So why should we concentrate all our efforts on building wealth?

Moving Out

I am struggling. My mental state is weak and I succumb to addiction and despair.

I moved out of home for the first time six weeks ago and it is more difficult than I had envisaged.

I wasted a lot of time on mundane matters, which I should have been more decisive on. It took me over 15 property inspections to find a place to live and many days searching online for properties to rent, when I should have picked a place to live sooner. I spent days looking for other guys to go out with before I could find a few who go out on a regular basis, even though I know that it's not my goal to make new friends that would be difficult to keep in contact with due to location. I have built a small social circle and had a few dates, but overall it has been disappointing as I expected to easily find a crew of friends to go out with and have heaps of girls. I spent days contacting teams and sports centres about joining a football team, when I should have allocated times of the week to this task. I have found a few football teams, but I am not sure how they will go. I also went away for two weeks, which broke the momentum that I had.

I was sucked into working after I moved out. When I did the math, I couldn't believe that I am contemplating working for another ten weeks and only earning $3,500 when it makes such a small difference to me. My friends are earning on average $150,000 per year and I am considering working for so little. Granted, I did learn some lessons in my job and my time at work has not been bad. However, the part time sales role I am doing makes me neither happy nor sad and it is not my goal. This aspect is critical for me because working will take away time from my goals, which are so important to me. Now is the most important time I have. I am not here to make $3,500. I am here for a reason.

I have no career goals. Even if I were working a full time job earning an average wage, I would only make around $13,000 net after tax after 3 months, which is less than 1% of my net worth. Even with a $1,000,000 salary, I would only make the same money after tax as a project. As such, I don't see a point to working a job that I do temporarily. I have no fitness goals as I achieved everything I wanted. I also cannot get sidetracked by looking at what others are doing and their goals and just pursuing that for the sake of it, without considering what I want (Updated March 2017).

Even though I am wealthy, I don't feel rich at all. I am living a fairly cheap lifestyle and carefully watching my spending patterns. Having a few properties vacant adds to the torture. I am losing money every week and it is painful.

I tried some techniques such as making my bed in the morning and meditating for ten days but it didn't help. The guided meditation relaxed my mind and made me calmer for a while, but I didn't see other benefits afterwards. Lots of everyday activities take more time than expected, such as cooking, cleaning up, washing the clothes, and shopping. I am also distracted by news, email, and websites.

Complications have arisen that make my goals more difficult to achieve. I injured my shin this week and it is debilitating. Winning a football tournament is my ultimate goal, but now it may be put on hold while I await news about the severity of the injury. I want to learn intimacy, to be comfortable with touch. I want to really love myself, which I am not doing enough of right now. I want to learn to love everyone and accept others, regardless of whether they are good to me or not.

I know that time is ticking. This is the biggest motivator that will help me achieve my goals. I know that I have around ten weeks to go before I leave. I need to be continuously learning and keeping the goals I have front and centre of my mind.

I don't set goals because they are easy. My goals are what I want to achieve. I know there will be ups and downs. There will be many struggles. To get there I have to struggle, learn and get better quickly.

I know deep down I can achieve my goals. I've done it before and I'll do it again.

Death

Everyone is dying. It is happening right now. Each day you live takes you one step closer to death.

Dying is not necessarily a bad thing. Death is not to be feared. Illness is not a failure.

Death education does not receive much coverage at present. However, it is a more important discussion than euthanasia, which is centred around fear. A death counsellor said that she had never seen a person die badly or in pain after counselling them.

The dying express feelings, such as fear or perhaps a desire to extend their life further. It is important to give the dying dignity and advise them that they can still make choices. Find out what the dying person wants to do. Do not judge them but love them. Denial by friends and family can create terror and loneliness. Giving the dying permission to die is more loving.

Generally people die the same way unless death comes suddenly. Initially, there is a loss of energy (setting sun). Then the person does not need food or water (tide goes out), and the heat goes out of the body and feet, and the body dries out (dry desert). Finally there is the loss of breath, where the fear is greatest and dying is imminent.

Death is better when the dying stay in control of the process and accept. Raw honesty from medical professionals is preferable. The dying need to be empowered, not in denial.

Have conversations about dying before you die. These conversations can be fun, not morbid. Some steps to take are a detailed will, funeral plan, or writing a letter for your children and family. Ask how you want to be remembered.

Life after death is a mystery. Some people have experienced near death experiences. Among these experiences are witnessing your body on the operating theatre, a white light, and flashes of past memories that cannot be explained by modern science. These occurrences show that no-one really knows what lies beyond this life.

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The important lesson for the living is to live your life to the fullest. Don't have a single moment of regret. Live well because of death.

There's no time. The time is now. Around 20% of people in the developed world die before 65. You have to do it now. Travel the world if you so desire. You don't know if you have tomorrow.

Live as if there is no tomorrow. Wrote a eulogy with a list. Do not put it off. Live with integrity, life with compassion and kindness. Work well in the pond you are in. Don't care about how people behave or act.

The regrets of the dying are relevant. People have things they didn't get to say or things they didn't get to do.