My Eudaimonia

There are a few things I believe in, in this twisted world.

1. Staying afloat is hard.

These are hard times. The deal our parents grew up with was a degree, a job, a house and a pension. For most of us that deal is gone. Many people who never had to live without it can't see how hard it is now.

2. Freedom is a need, not a luxury.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against work. I like work. BUT the 9-to-5 feels outdated to a lot of people. Job security was the whole promise of a job, and it failed a tonne of skilled professionals. Many people are fine with what they do, and that's great. Many others hit their 30s, look up and ask: is that it? And then: am I getting fired now?

3. Independence is possible. It's also a huge risk.

The internet is full of gurus selling it as easy. They prey on the people who most want to believe it. Most of those people have no skill to sell yet, and that's a recipe for disaster. Making money on your own is not easy. Anyone who says it is, is selling you something.

4. We're lost, and the internet is part of why.

We don't know who we are, what we're worth, or who to be. The thing that promised us freedom now hands us ready-made thoughts and identities every day. So we pick a tribe and defend it. Nobody taught us how to read what we see online, and that cages our minds. It makes us too easy on the people who speak for us. Slowly, our democracies and our freedoms get weaker.

I live in this system putting freedom first.

I earn money, and I'm building more ways to earn it. In a way, I made it. I also pay the price.

I'm not always financially safe, and I'm pushing 40. I couldn't support a family right now. Luckily that was never the plan (for now, at least).

Yes, I travel the world. But a life on the move takes a toll on relationships. And in the best periods it gives you so much dopamine that the most beautiful day, in the most beautiful place, can feel flat.

Great problem to have, no doubt. Still, it's a problem you have to deal with in your head. And it shows you what really matters.

For the past few years I've done two things:

1️⃣ Figured out how to make a living.
2️⃣ Looked for a meaning in all this, and for a way to make someone's life better from the place I spend most of my time: the internet.

I don't have the answer to either. I'm winging it, and it's a hell of a journey.

One thing I did learn about myself: freedom over money. I want a lot of both. Freedom comes first.

I'm no woo-woo guy. But I did my share of looking inward to get here.

So here's what I do about it:

• I show what works and what doesn't, with real numbers, my own mistakes included.
• I never tell you it's easy.
• I help you read what you see online, so the feed doesn't do your thinking for you.
• I share how I'm building my own way, while I'm still building it.

The ancient Greeks had a word for a good life: eudaimonia. It doesn't mean happiness. It means a life worth living, on your own terms.

I don't have the recipe for mine. I'm writing it as I go.