Don't leave your fortune to your memory.
Start writing.
All the greats you admire had a mentor.
& you only know them because they shared with you what they learned from their greats.
Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali through a spiritual mentor Elijah Muhammad. Ben Horowitz founded a16z influenced by Bill Campbell. Peter Thiel became obsessed with monopolistic business models because of Rene Girard. Socrates mentored Plato who mentored Aristotle living in mid 300s BCE. The Hellenistic philosopher Zeno Citium born 336BCE provided us with Stoicism that later influenced Ancient Roman thought shaping the work of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
Who is your mentor & what have you learned?
The lesson is this. Life’s work that is not documented WILL be forgotten. You can spend your entire life discovering, influencing, and providing only to be forgotten. In the context of a “life’s work” it makes us realize our own significance. Will we even achieve a life’s work if we must remember it?
“Never leave your fortune with your memory.” In the context, it was to not delude myself that I can retain every detail of what has gotten me to where I am today or where I am bound to be. Not even the important details.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
Humans are motivated by incentive. It is our strength and our flaw. Why can’t I do this? Incentive. Why did I do this? Incentive. If you want something bad enough give yourself pain to get it and pleasure as the reward.
You don’t have the motivation? You don’t understand the incentive. You did something good? You recognized the incentive. Generational wealth persists because its heirs understand incentives. The prodigal offspring squandering their legacy doesn’t grasp the sting of poverty or the incentive to avoid it. Their drive lies in fleeting pleasures until the inevitable introduces a new incentive. Visualization and self-reflection work because they help clarify these incentives. Many of us aren’t stern enough with ourselves to pursue the right incentives. It's about sacrifice, not punishment. I didn’t give myself a TV until I made 50k. You shouldn’t be rewarded or distracted until you can afford to do so. Even then it is a dangerous game that gets even the most successful. They just hopefully have safeguards to protect themselves and developed enough skill from falling back. Think wealth management, health insurance - incentive protection programs for when we become lazy and let our investments or physical health take wayside.
Seek therapy. Everyone experiences trauma. Everyone’s trauma is the worst because they had to live it.
Seek therapy if only for selfish reasons such as accumulating more wealth, better relationship with a partner, navigating social norms / hierarchies. Some people dedicate their whole life to listening to your trauma so you can let it go and move forward. Not all therapists are equal but good ones are helpful. Here’s what you will learn: Keep it simple and let go of what does not serve you. Be yourself.
Allow good things to happen for you.
If you can do one thing right in life, pick this. This is the least complicated concept you will learn but it starts with the most difficult practice: self-love. You never have to worry about comparison to others if you seek knowledge, skills, and opportunity with the mindset of allowing good things to happen for you. You will always win. Even when you lose you win. The knowledge from loss is invaluable when utilized to win. A financial loss is an understanding, a broken relationship isn’t the right time or person, a missed career is the wrong path.
Once you understand humans, yourself, and goodness, you must create. Whatever you want in this world you have to create.
There is no other way. Creating is challenging because it relies on the value others find in it. But if you understand humans and yourself you will have a pretty good time at figuring that out. To what degree or scale you take this is up to you. There are theories of determinism that our destiny is chosen for us through neurobiological pre-determined drives. So who cares anyways because whatever was going to happen will always happen. Or you make it happen.
Go for what you want absolutely.
If you cannot receive it then become worthy of it. Then the time will come when you lose desire of obtainment. You start thinking about your real purpose and impact. You will have gotten a mentor, direction, seen all the good that has come about in your life. You’ll have written for years, achieved success relevant to you and want to give it away.
Giving value to others amplifies your own gains.
The more you contribute, the more you receive. You’ll have the incentive to scale your contribution and impact. The desire subsides and the giving increases along with security, health, reputation, and fortune. So figure out what that looks like for you and share it with others or keep learning until it is your turn. Just don’t leave your fortune to your memory.