Okay. I’m screwed. Those thoughts flashed through my mind as I...
Benjamin Chan@ItsMeBenChan
8 views
Dec 02, 2024
~3 min read
1
Okay. I’m screwed.
Those thoughts flashed through my mind as I stared outside, completely lost.
This was just 10 months ago.
We had moved to a new country, and everyone was settling into their new lives.
Except me. I realized my life was ruined…and it was my fault.
Family was making new connections.
Brothers were top in their classes.
Friends were getting promoted.
But for me?
All I had to show for it was an unimpressive 300 followers on a platform owned by some eccentric billionaire.
(sorry, Elon)
My life was slipping lower and lower into a hell I had created for myself.
Nothing seemed to work, so I went out for a walk to process everything.
“What the heck do I want to do with my life?”
As crazy as it sounded,
I honestly just wanted to quit work and go in on this X thing.
Wow. Basic, boring answer.
Haven’t heard that one before.
Another 20something year old, throwing everything away to pursue his “passions.”
Disappointing my Asian parents.
I could see the headlines already.
“Useless 21 year old gets kicked out from home after chasing pixels on a screen.”
Statistically, only 1 in 5 businesses survive.
The odds were stacked against me, no matter how I looked at it.
It sounded like an excuse to quit work and waste life away.
But these thoughts had been running through my head for weeks now.
I was pretty much at rock bottom already, why not just…
…go for it?
So I quit.
Said goodbye to everything to go all in.
And holy crap was it difficult.
Not the physical work — that I could handle.
But more of the thoughts that kept pushing through.
Thoughts telling me I’d never make it.
Thoughts reminding me of my past failures.
Thoughts nudging me about my numerous faults.
Sometimes, I’d wake up to my alarm at 5AM and wonder why the heck I was even trying.
But I remembered that so many people who succeeded always said one thing:
“If I could do it, anyone can.”
And I wanted to join their ranks. Do what they did. To be able to inspire people like myself, and tell them,
“If I could do it, anyone can.”
And that kept me going.
If Colonel Sanders founded KFC at 66,
I could get to work.
If Edison failed 10,000 times to invent the lightbulb,
I could afford to not see success today.
If James Dyson took 5,127 prototypes to start the Dyson brand,
I could write 1000 more ideas that flopped.
And eventually, I saw success.
Found a direction to pursue. Found a niche I liked.
Eventually built a 5-figure business from the ground up.
I’m living the life of my dreams now.
But looking back, sometimes I wonder,
What made this different from every other time?
➼ God?
➼ Hard work?
➼ No other choice?
All 3 had huge parts to play in it.
But don’t worry — I’m not gonna have you sit through my long story just for the ending to be “don’t give up haha”
(Neither am I going to sell you some program or course, believe it or not)
There’s more to it.
You see, when working hard, I noticed one common theme among the greats of the past.
(I’m not calling myself great…or old for that matter)
They made it a point to never stop learning, no matter how busy they were.
And while watching a Dan Koe video a while back, I noticed he said the same thing.
So that’s what I’ve permanently added to my schedule.
No matter how much work I have, to invest time into knowledge.
Whether it’s reading books, watching videos, or learning from courses,
It all adds up in the end.
You’re literally paying for someone else’s life experience.
That was what helped me succeed.
Maybe you’re grinding hard right now.
Haven’t seen the success you want.
But once again, remember.
You got this.
Your big win could be just one day away.
If I could do it, anyone can.
Those thoughts flashed through my mind as I stared outside, completely lost.
This was just 10 months ago.
We had moved to a new country, and everyone was settling into their new lives.
Except me. I realized my life was ruined…and it was my fault.
Family was making new connections.
Brothers were top in their classes.
Friends were getting promoted.
But for me?
All I had to show for it was an unimpressive 300 followers on a platform owned by some eccentric billionaire.
(sorry, Elon)
My life was slipping lower and lower into a hell I had created for myself.
Nothing seemed to work, so I went out for a walk to process everything.
“What the heck do I want to do with my life?”
As crazy as it sounded,
I honestly just wanted to quit work and go in on this X thing.
Wow. Basic, boring answer.
Haven’t heard that one before.
Another 20something year old, throwing everything away to pursue his “passions.”
Disappointing my Asian parents.
I could see the headlines already.
“Useless 21 year old gets kicked out from home after chasing pixels on a screen.”
Statistically, only 1 in 5 businesses survive.
The odds were stacked against me, no matter how I looked at it.
It sounded like an excuse to quit work and waste life away.
But these thoughts had been running through my head for weeks now.
I was pretty much at rock bottom already, why not just…
…go for it?
So I quit.
Said goodbye to everything to go all in.
And holy crap was it difficult.
Not the physical work — that I could handle.
But more of the thoughts that kept pushing through.
Thoughts telling me I’d never make it.
Thoughts reminding me of my past failures.
Thoughts nudging me about my numerous faults.
Sometimes, I’d wake up to my alarm at 5AM and wonder why the heck I was even trying.
But I remembered that so many people who succeeded always said one thing:
“If I could do it, anyone can.”
And I wanted to join their ranks. Do what they did. To be able to inspire people like myself, and tell them,
“If I could do it, anyone can.”
And that kept me going.
If Colonel Sanders founded KFC at 66,
I could get to work.
If Edison failed 10,000 times to invent the lightbulb,
I could afford to not see success today.
If James Dyson took 5,127 prototypes to start the Dyson brand,
I could write 1000 more ideas that flopped.
And eventually, I saw success.
Found a direction to pursue. Found a niche I liked.
Eventually built a 5-figure business from the ground up.
I’m living the life of my dreams now.
But looking back, sometimes I wonder,
What made this different from every other time?
➼ God?
➼ Hard work?
➼ No other choice?
All 3 had huge parts to play in it.
But don’t worry — I’m not gonna have you sit through my long story just for the ending to be “don’t give up haha”
(Neither am I going to sell you some program or course, believe it or not)
There’s more to it.
You see, when working hard, I noticed one common theme among the greats of the past.
(I’m not calling myself great…or old for that matter)
They made it a point to never stop learning, no matter how busy they were.
And while watching a Dan Koe video a while back, I noticed he said the same thing.
So that’s what I’ve permanently added to my schedule.
No matter how much work I have, to invest time into knowledge.
Whether it’s reading books, watching videos, or learning from courses,
It all adds up in the end.
You’re literally paying for someone else’s life experience.
That was what helped me succeed.
Maybe you’re grinding hard right now.
Haven’t seen the success you want.
But once again, remember.
You got this.
Your big win could be just one day away.
If I could do it, anyone can.