What are you chasing?

What are you chasing?

Why do you want the things that you want?

Was having a conversation with my dad about some of my goals in life.

I’ve been privileged to live in a household where he’s been able to achieve far more than he could’ve ever imagined.

He gave my siblings and me a life that constantly feels like a dream.

Being able to travel the world, get an education abroad and work in multiple countries is not how most people grow up.

That’s been my life.

So he asked me what I wanted out of life.

My answer was to take what he’s done and surpass it.

That’s very big shoes to fill and a lot of pressure on myself because how do you surpass someone who has done everything and more for his family?

I don’t really know.

What I do know is because of the opportunity that my parents have given me, it would be a waste to not try and achieve my full potential.

Do I believe I can achieve my crazy financial goal in my lifetime?

Absolutely.

I wouldn’t be doing this without that belief.

Am I definitely going to get there?

Not a chance.

The future is so uncertain. Everything could change tomorrow.

But I can control the effort I put in to try and get there.

I can look for opportunities.

I can take risks.

I can do things that may seem crazy in the moment but that could have payoff years from now.

Reading was one of those things.

I set a reading goal for myself 3 years ago and since then have read more books than people read in a lifetime.

Yet it’s only been 3 years and I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I want to learn.

When I started reading, I had no idea what the results would be years from then but it’s been far more than I could have imagined.

That’s what writing feels like right now for me.

Today it doesn’t feel like much.

So what I’ve written 500 blog posts in a year?

Congratulations to me. Nobody cares.

But if I keep this up for years, maybe I’ll see a payoff years from now that could change my life forever.

Control what you can and let’s see what the outcome is.

But going back to this question, what am I really chasing?

Am I chasing this desire to be better than my dad?

Why?

Am I chasing this desire to be the most successful kid in his high school or university?

Why?

Am I chasing this desire to be someone people look up to?

Why?

Why am I chasing these silly goals?

I don’t know to be honest.

There’s just something deep within me telling me I can achieve what I want and I might as well spend my life trying to get there.

I know though that the journey is the most important part, not the destination.

If and when I hit that goal, it’ll come and pass. Then it’ll be onto the next one.

But if you forget to enjoy the moments and struggles along the way, then what was it all for?

Nothing.

When you’re on your deathbed, no one’s going to remember how much money you made or how many nice things you had. They’re only going to remember the moments and experiences you shared with them.

They’ll remember how you made them feel.

Maybe one of the good things that could come out of my life is to inspire people to pursue their own dreams and be the best versions of themselves they can be.

Two of my friends told me that this year.

One decided to invest a lot of money behind the same trade I did but also got his life together and started investing in his own education. Now he has a business idea that could generate significant passive income. That’s amazing.

The other is a super talented musician who’s just started creating his own stuff and finally sharing it publicly with the world. It’s inspiring to watch him at the beginning of his journey continue to refine his work and get a little better every day.

Both of these guys told me multiple times this year how much I changed their life. By seeing me invest in myself and my own education the last few years pushed them to do it for themselves. Now they’re set on their paths to accomplish great things.

That’s what I hope in the end matters. Pushing people to be the best version of themselves possible. If my life and writing have any positive effect on pushing people to do that, then I’ve accomplished my job.

A lot of these monetary and materialistic goals I’ve written for myself (here) are just that, monetary and materialistic.

If I get them, great. If I don’t, great.

The important thing is to have a purpose, make an effort, do good work and enjoy the moments along the way.

So what are you chasing?

Figure it out for yourself but don’t let materialistic goals get in the way of living a happy and fulfilled life.