5 Lessons from my first $100k

First of all, writing that subject line kinda felt surreal.
 

Never in all the Doctor Strange's multiverse had I seen any vision of this.
 

Just 3 years ago, I was in law school, on a traditional path –– earning this money would've taken me at least 15 years (and that's the best-case scenario).
 

But building a high-quality personal brand has completely flipped my life.
 

You see, I don't come from money.

My family of 4 lived in a single rented room until I was 7.

My father struggled to make ends meet as he started his business.

My school fees were always late all the way to high school.

So I don't take this money lightly at all.

5 money lessons I learned:

1. 'Having enough' is a skill

I've seen my friends upgrade their lifestyle with their paychecks.
 

Like:
 

• Party at expensive clubs

• Enjoying la-vie-chère vacation trips

• Cover their backs with branded clothes

And they never think it's enough. 

Now, I don't want to sound like a Buddha here, but I've maintained the same lifestyle as I did as a broke college student.

Apart from buying some cool tech and my first car, I never spend more than 5-10% of what I make.

As Naval says:

2. I'm the best stock

Here's my little ignorant take:

In your 20s, only invest in upskilling and networking.

No S&P 500, crypto, or real estate will give me the ROI these 2 can.

The network effect is real. I've had big clients fall into my lap simply because I had connections.

And I retained those clients simply because I had skills.

I do the same for people who are close to me.

3. You can't save your way to wealth

It took me some beating to kick out my scarcity mindset.

I used to save money like I would never earn it again, and it kept me from using it to my advantage.

But from last year, I've embraced an abundance mindset like I:

• trade my money to save my time

• pamper my close ones with gifts

• don't cheap out on basic essentials

• delegate almost everything I don't enjoy doing

This is one of the best mental software upgrades I've made.
 

As John Ruskin says, "A cheap man always pays twice."

4. Made me a macro-thinker

Money doesn't come alone. It brings confidence with her.

Nowadays, I feel a lot more secure.

This gives me enough space to avoid everything that's only beneficial in the short term. Like I can identify when something is just a quick-rich scheme.

Or when someone's pretending to like me.

I'm very quick to hand out my NO-Bueno text.

5. It's just a pixel on a screen

Early on, whenever a client's payment hit my bank, I stared at it.

In every hour or so, I would open the app again. And smile to myself quietly. But after a while, the dopamine isn't that strong. Now, it's just a number on an app.

It doesn't give me the same joy.

But my work still does.

And that's all it matters.

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