Escape Velocity
I’ve been feeling the stress of day-to-day life recently, specifically on the business front. I’m struggling with responding to tasks as they arise, pushing them off instead. This of course just adds more stress because I just lament about the things I still need to do.
Hard to say why this happens, but it’s a pattern. Sort of like how my weight fluctuates between a certain range, my productivity (or procrastination) fluctuates as well. I’ve been feeling a little too high on procrastination lately.
At the same time, I’ve been discovering multiple posts/articles from people/accounts I respect that have started getting my ears perked up. Why these posts? To put it simply, they’re about the things on my mind most frequently: personal stability and the broader market.
I’m working on a follow-up post that will explain more, but for now, just know that I’m starting to feel similar vibes to late 2019 — certain alarm bells are starting to ring. This time has less to do with a virus and more to do with Fed chairs and the energy sector. Odd bedfellows, but hopefully it’ll make more sense in the next post.
Anyway… That isn’t really relevant to what I’m talking about today. No… Today is about something much more fundamental. It is about how to become the person I want to be tomorrow, rather than try to stretch myself between multiple roles.
Internalizing this is possibly the only way (best way I’ve found so far) to get my head out of the clouds and into the work I need to do right now. And getting my head out of the clouds is absolutely necessary if I’m going to reach my personal ambition.
Escape Velocity
First things first, perhaps I should define my personal ambition…
A key turning point in my life occurred when I trained myself to look inward for acclaim. If you learn to cherish yourself for who you are, what you’ve overcome, and the art you produce – essentially, to accept your own love – you can begin to spin the wheel of despair in the opposite direction.
-Doomberg, The Work of My Life: Sept 2021 Report
This is the ultimate goal, the ultimate ambition. To not need outside validation for the work and art that I produce.
But at the same time, I need a certain amount of external validation. We all do. At the very least I need people willing to pay me money for the work I do, whether that be getting a job or providing some good/service to the market.
Also, I want at least a small community to discuss some big issues with. I see guys like Demetri Kofinas, Radigan Carter, and Doomberg (among others) having incredible conversations with incredible people. I want to be in on those! OR at least cultivate my own community of interesting people to talk with.
But I’m not there yet. I don’t have anywhere near the experience of any of those guys. So how do I get there?
I must achieve escape velocity
In physics, escape velocity is the minimum speed needed for a free, non-propelled object to escape from the gravitational influence of a massive body, thus reaching an infinite distance from it.
No, I’m not talking about building a Bezos style dick rocket and blasting off to space. Instead, the massive body I need to escape from is the middle of the bell curve.
I need some combination of wealth and experience to go from above average investor/thinker to one of the best. Why do I need these? Well… Without a sufficient amount of wealth I’ll forever be stuck in wage slave territory. Even if I stay self-employed, I’ll always be chasing a paycheck.
But at the same time, wealth is not just about money. As I quoted in What Is Wealth and How Does It Work…
Wealth is not the same thing as money. Wealth is as old as human history. Far older, in fact; ants have wealth. Money is a comparatively recent invention.
Wealth is what you want, not money. You can have wealth without having money.
This is where experience ties in. I don’t need to be the richest guy in the room to be worth talking to. In fact, many rich guys are probably not worth listening to. Without a solid foundation of experience, what is my opinion worth?
This is the common theme that keeps coming up, ever since I started this project. I’m trying to run too fast to be in with this crowd — the guys/gals who have already achieved escape velocity.
If I concentrated most of my effort on getting into conversation with that group, I could probably make it happen in a relatively short amount of time. But I’ve still got the problem of needing money today. I might be able to live off rice and beans for a year in order to grind at a passion, but my wife and kid wouldn’t be as psyched.
Also, I have trouble putting in huge effort when the payout is uncertain. Having confidence you can do something and actually going out and doing it are two very different things.
I’ve got work to do before I’ve earned anyone’s ear. The longer I wait to get that work done, the longer it’ll take before I’m worth listening to on any kind of scale.
I’ve already got some people (very local) who are interested in what I have to say. Most of that comes in the real estate group I’m in. I’ve built a certain expertise in that realm. I’ve now gotta figure out the next step.
Do I need to become a bigger player locally? Or can I get there with a small team and not worrying about the local scene as much? This is what I have to ponder…
How can I most efficiently achieve excape velocity? And how can I do it knowing my own habits and temperment? No sense coming up with a plan if it’ll work for someone else but not me.
I think I’m on the right track with the e-book and mentorship route I mentioned previously. But perhaps more/modification is needed.
Lots to think about…
Before posting today I went back and read through everything. I’m realizing the real pattern… Constantly questioning myself. That’s kinda the whole point of this project, but I think I’m doing it to a detriment.
By constantly questioning my plans and where I’m headed, I give myself the illusion that I’m making progress. There is a line between adusting the plan accordingly and adjusting because one can’t stand still.
I’ve known this about myself. I like flipping houses because it is a new project that I then get rid of. I don’t like rentals, in part, because I’m left to manage day-to-day operations that are boring and mundane. I look for reasons to create action.
So… I’ve got two personality traits that tug and pull at one another… I like action, something new to keep my attention. But I also like defense over offense — risk mitigation vs risk seeking.
At some point I have to commit to a path and just work that path. That is how I can achieve escape velocity. But my need for action wants me to jump from thing to thing, convincing me the new thing is what’ll do it. And risk mitigation keeps me looking at all the things that could go wrong with the current plan, or all the hurdles I’ll have to jump, which helps reinforce the arguments for action.
This brings me back to the question, “what kind of life do I want?” By asking that I take some of the power away from the competing forces within me. When things are not well defined these forces are able to swirl around and compete for the dominant narrative. When there is a well defined picture of what I want then they must compete to fit the picture.
My goal for the better part of a decade has been to hit financial freedom by 35. As such, my goals have concentrated on building wealth through money. I’ve still got a ways to go for financial freedom, but it’s possible that goal isn’t actually serving me anymore.
Plus, I’ve been neglecting the wealth I’ve built along the way. It isn’t all about money. I’ve got a wealth of knowledge in residential real estate. How can I continue to make use of that while achieving escape velocity?
Whether I call it financial freedom, escape velocity, or some other term, it all really comes down to a position of fuck you. What am I talking about here? I’ll let John Goodman explain…
I’m 1.5 years out from turning 35. I’m far from financial freedom. Yet, I feel like I’m very close to a position of fuck you. In fact, I might already be there. But my wife isn’t, and the goal is not just for me. It’s for us.
Ok… I think I’ve got a good idea of what my homework needs to be. I need to solidify my image of what life after fuck you actually looks like. The goal was never to sit back and retire on a pile of cash. The idea of cash was just to provide freedom to pursue whatever I felt like pursuing.
But that’s what I’m already doing. I don’t have the pile of cash Goodman talks about, but I do have a high degree of freedom. So what’s the next step? Is my current route indeed the right one? It feels right. But will it feel as right once I’ve decided what I want for the next stage of life?
We’ll see…