Am I heading the actual right direction?

I am almost 21 y/o man and I'm a student (Foreign Languages Faculty). I'm born in a poor middle-class being affected by all the middle-class thinking and all that mediocrity. However, most of the time I consider myself as a smart guy with a higher consciousness. There's one thing bothering me and that is: being poor financially. I know that I can't expect from life to give me all the wealth and richess at the age of 21, and I am aware of the fact that I have to be patient for the results to come.

The reason why I'm writing this is because I'm wondering whether I am on the REAL way towards success and wealth or am I just fooling myself and this is just some young-aged phase that won't last. The thing is, I'm not just saying to myself that I want to be rich and not do anything about it. There's actually many things I do on daily basis: I read money/business/success books daily (minimum 30mins a day). I've resently read a book "How Rich People Think" and I actually realised how all the middleclass is affected by the beliefs of others in the middleclass about money, success and prosperity. I watch youtube videos from self-help "gurus" and I try to learn as much as I can about what It takes and what I am missing on daily basis. Currently I am really impressed by the guy called Jordan Belford, the real wolf of the Wall street and I follow his thinking throughout his presentations and speeches. I also started listening to inspiring success subliminals, visualization and similar stuff. I cut out social media.

I've stopped doing things for entertainment such as: playing videogames, watching tv series, chatting on facebook, watching pointless YT videos, jacking off, I even limited the amount of time I spend with my friends drastically because they have no ambitions whatsoever and they see my wishes and my desires as something ridiculous, unreachable and pretty much, they think I'm full of .

Pretty much anything I see as a pointless thing/action or as a waste of time: I feel bad doing it.

Even though I do all this stuff and absorb every given tip and strategy I still feel like being rich is something that's so, so, so far away from me and It almost seems completely impossible. And sometimes I even find myself thinking how this is all a delusion and how I'll never get there where a very small amount of people who figured it out are.

I could use some tips on this, 'cause I want to improve even more. And I know the things I do daily and the habits I'm trying to install is something I will rarely see anyone that's my age will be doing.

Firstly, it's great to have ambition at 21. It is not common for people your age, most (not all) Millennials like gaming, social media and spending time very leisurely.

Now is a great time for you to go after your dreams. Much harder if you wait until you have a family to support and house to maintain.

To achieve wealth is an ambition shared by many. Having a mentor is said to have real benefits (above and beyond reading).

Having said that, you need to have some work/life balance too. Some are so focussed on their own pursuits that they could reach real wealth but end up very lonely and suspicious of people.

Enjoy your time and stick to your goals and work towards building assets and keep the liabilities low.

Firstly, it's great to have ambition at 21. It is not common for people your age, most (not all) Millennials like gaming, social media and spending time very leisurely.

Now is a great time for you to go after your dreams. Much harder if you wait until you have a family to support and house to maintain.

 

To achieve wealth is an ambition shared by many. Having a mentor is said to have real benefits (above and beyond reading).

 

Having said that, you need to have some work/life balance too. Some are so focussed on their own pursuits that they could reach real wealth but end up very lonely and suspicious of people.

Enjoy your time and stick to your goals and work towards building assets and keep the liabilities low.

Thank you so much for an advice and your reply. I know that I am supposed to surround myself with people who made it to absorb their mindsets and their way of thinking. I can't find people like that in my environment right now, so I find them on youtube through videos and I find them in books.

Well....so what's your actual plan for making money?

Well....so what's your actual plan for making money?

That's something I'm trying to find out on this journey. I want to first focus on my inside (beliefs, mindset, motivation) so that then I can focus on the outside of money making

That's something I'm trying to find out on this journey. I want to first focus on my inside (beliefs, mindset, motivation) so that then I can focus on the outside of money making

Be careful with that. Sounds to me like you are almost a bit obsessed with studying what you perceive will lead you to success. Except, that when you start looking down your nose at things and people as "waste of time" or "mediocre and unambitious" you are heading in the wrong direction. I guess careful with how you interpret what you read or hear. Limiting time spend on social media because your studies are suffering is good. Removing social or leisure activities because "it's a waste of time" will turn you into a judgmental, disconnected from reality bitter angry person who can't understand why he isn't successful.

Your friends don't believe you? Well.....successful people are great at selling their vision to others, getting people fired up and supporting that vision. If you can't even get your friends to buy into what you want.....you are on the wrong track. You shouldn't be dismissing them, you should be using your failure to get their buy in as a learning tool for yourself. What are you doing wrong?

DancingFool, you are always a voice of reason for me on this forum. Thanks for making me aware of this stuff. I will think about everything in general. So far, I think I'm doing fine. And when talking about my friends, individually I can get them interested in the things I'm saying and believing in. But the fact is, I do know a lot of people but I only consider 2 guys as my true friends and they are far from interested in self-development. For them the only thing that's possible is: school > University > Work.

DancingFool, you are always a voice of reason for me on this forum. Thanks for making me aware of this stuff. I will think about everything in general. So far, I think I'm doing fine. And when talking about my friends, individually I can get them interested in the things I'm saying and believing in. But the fact is, I do know a lot of people but I only consider 2 guys as my true friends and they are far from interested in self-development. For them the only thing that's possible is: school > University > Work.

Self development isn't the same thing as "hey Bob, I'm going to do x, y, z to make money and here is how you'll benefit if you join me." Don't alienate your friends by pushing your ideas of self development on them. Being well rounded and well grounded is actually important for success. When you come across challenges, you can sit all day researching solutions and come up with nothing. Your brain is tired, bored, and fried. You go play golf and on the drive home - blinding clarity hits you that the solution is x and it's simple, elegant and easy to implement.

Bottom line is don't OD on self development and all those gurus out there. Comes a point where you do have to get pragmatic and have a concrete plan on what you actually want to try and do. I say try, because if you want to succeed, you'll have to learn to love failure. Graduation is approaching - so start thinking about what is YOUR plan to pay bills.

The thing is I'm still trying to find out what It is I mostly want to do in my life. I'm kind of confused at the moment even though I look like I know what I'm doing and any source of positivity and motivation is useful to me

The thing is I'm still trying to find out what It is I mostly want to do in my life. I'm kind of confused at the moment even though I look like I know what I'm doing and any source of positivity and motivation is useful to me

It's good you are ambitious and I used to think the same way when I was 20. Thing is, reality is much different from what "gurus" say. They only describe the positive outcomes of the whole process of "being successful". They never say about being ruthlessly practical, the decades they needed to achieve something and the unnumerable failures. You cannot imitate them. Everyone is different and the only way of getting better is by trial and error. Good luck :)

I am almost 21 y/o man and I'm a student (Foreign Languages Faculty). I'm born in a poor middle-class being affected by all the middle-class thinking and all that mediocrity. However, most of the time I consider myself as a smart guy with a higher consciousness. There's one thing bothering me and that is: being poor financially. I know that I can't expect from life to give me all the wealth and richess at the age of 21, and I am aware of the fact that I have to be patient for the results to come.

 

The reason why I'm writing this is because I'm wondering whether I am on the REAL way towards success and wealth or am I just fooling myself and this is just some young-aged phase that won't last. The thing is, I'm not just saying to myself that I want to be rich and not do anything about it. There's actually many things I do on daily basis: I read money/business/success books daily (minimum 30mins a day). I've resently read a book "How Rich People Think" and I actually realised how all the middleclass is affected by the beliefs of others in the middleclass about money, success and prosperity. I watch youtube videos from self-help "gurus" and I try to learn as much as I can about what It takes and what I am missing on daily basis. Currently I am really impressed by the guy called Jordan Belford, the real wolf of the Wall street and I follow his thinking throughout his presentations and speeches. I also started listening to inspiring success subliminals, visualization and similar stuff. I cut out social media.

 

I've stopped doing things for entertainment such as: playing videogames, watching tv series, chatting on facebook, watching pointless YT videos, jacking off, I even limited the amount of time I spend with my friends drastically because they have no ambitions whatsoever and they see my wishes and my desires as something ridiculous, unreachable and pretty much, they think I'm full of .

 

Pretty much anything I see as a pointless thing/action or as a waste of time: I feel bad doing it.

 

Even though I do all this stuff and absorb every given tip and strategy I still feel like being rich is something that's so, so, so far away from me and It almost seems completely impossible. And sometimes I even find myself thinking how this is all a delusion and how I'll never get there where a very small amount of people who figured it out are.

I could use some tips on this, 'cause I want to improve even more. And I know the things I do daily and the habits I'm trying to install is something I will rarely see anyone that's my age will be doing.

I really want to say something. I feel like I'm exactly like you. It's just that I belong to a bit privileged background. Other than that, I've been doing exactly the same stuff. EXACTLY! I'm not kidding! No Facebook, drastically reduced social life, watching all that good stuff and reading stuff that matters, feeling bad after wasting time...It's all ME. You just need a good mentor and you can be a success story. Trust me! You have got it in you.

It's good you are ambitious and I used to think the same way when I was 20. Thing is, reality is much different from what "gurus" say. They only describe the positive outcomes of the whole process of "being successful". They never say about being ruthlessly practical, the decades they needed to achieve something and the unnumerable failures. You cannot imitate them. Everyone is different and the only way of getting better is by trial and error. Good luck :)

So persistance is what you would suggest? And thanks for replying !

So persistance is what you would suggest? And thanks for replying !

Persistence is a personality streak. Trial and error=actions. Successful actions=achievements, Failures=lessons to find the way you can achieve things. There are no guidelines. I am not saying I am successful but what I personally do is: action->failure->different action->failure->.....->"success". No matter how many advices you get/books you read you will be in the same position unless you start doing things. Listen to DancingFool, she is a smart person.

Totally right! Agreed.

Persistence is a personality streak. Trial and error=actions. Successful actions=achievements, Failures=lessons to find the way you can achieve things. There are no guidelines. I am not saying I am successful but what I personally do is: action->failure->different action->failure->.....->"success". No matter how many advices you get/books you read you will be in the same position unless you start doing things. Listen to DancingFool, she is a smart person.

Right. So what I should do is start asking my self: What I must do to achieve [insert goal here]?

Right. So what I should do is start asking my self: What I must do to achieve [insert goal here]?

I guess it's more like doing something than asking yourself how. Usually we find out the how through failures.

I guess it's more like doing something than asking yourself how. Usually we find out the how through failures.

Right. I will really consider yours and DancingFool's advice on this 'cause you are obviously wiser on this than me. I'm just barely scratching the surface. I will take actions, however those actions will be ''small steps''.

Is your goal making money or doing something you enjoy? You absolutely can have both. But you have to decide what your priority is. I have a friend who for over 30 years has done every multi level marketing scheme in existence and right now does what seems to be a potentially sketchy ticket arbitrage thing. He is all about making money. He didn't graduate college. He and his wife live comfortably. I really have no helpful input if your main focus is making money but if your focus is finding something you enjoy that is potentially lucrative I can give input.

Since the Olympics are on, I'm going to use a sports analogy.

You can sit all day and watch the top athletes compete and feel inspired. However, unless you strap those skis on and actually get up on the slope and ski, you will never ever learn how to ski....or even know if you have any talent for it or maybe you should skate instead. The only way you are going to learn that you have a natural talent for skating is if you strap on those skates, get on the ice and do it. NO amount of thinking about it, visualizing, contemplating is going to help you learn how to skate or ski. BUT once you've put in thousands of hours into training, then visualizing that perfect jump works because you are focusing your mind, banishing fears and doubt, and allowing the muscle memory, the thousands of hours you've put into this to take hold and do the job. Visualizing isn't something that functions in a vacuum.

Correlating to business, I learned that I'm good at stock trading by simply doing it. Like way back in undergrad I took an interest in it, took $500 I had to spare from my part time job and started trading just because, just to learn. I looked at that money as funds I can afford to lose in order to learn if I can or cannot make money on this. It was pitifully minimal, but it worked and multiplied for me. You just do it. So instead of watching videos about some wolf on Wallstreet, go and trade and see what you can learn from that by getting your hands dirty. All these successful people did exactly that at some point in their live and things grew for them from that. You don't have the funds, then go find a job. Get pragmatic.

You can sit all day and watch the top athletes compete and feel inspired. However, unless you strap those skis on and actually get up on the slope and ski, you will never ever learn how to ski....or even know if you have any talent for it or maybe you should skate instead. The only way you are going to learn that you have a natural talent for skating is if you strap on those skates, get on the ice and do it. NO amount of thinking about it, visualizing, contemplating is going to help you learn how to skate or ski.

I am in cheering very loudly over here to that comment DancingFool!

Narrow down your interests and strap on those proverbial skis and DO IT!

And as mentioned already, be comfortable with failure. It's all part of the process. You won't know if you are good on skis or bad until you try it.

Speaking of failure, Edison's pursuit provides some insight....

As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

The best way to become wealthy is pick a lucrative field to get a degree in, work your butt off and steadily save money. There's no "secret" or anything. The secret is hard work, making good decisions (good career, no debt) and patience. That's it.