Chapter 20. I'm leaving this hell!
What do people usually dream about?
"To make a lot of money, so as not to work anymore, to not have to rush anywhere, to rest somewhere on the beach, with a cocktail in your hand."
You have all seen this beautiful picture in books about achievements and financial successes. Imagine yourself with a glass in your tanned hand, against the backdrop of the endless ocean. Somewhere behind the palm trees you have a luxury villa, a yacht on the pier, a Ferrari parked in the parking lot, the best delicacies in the kitchen, expensive wines in the bar, a favorite movie in a home theater and the former hated boss from your office opens your doors and polishes your shoes...
I will jump a bit forward to say that the picture in which this charming paradise is painted, is in fact a real hell.
Once the money stopped being a problem for me, the first thing I did - I fulfilled my entire wish list.
Apologies in advance, but to describe the problem I've gotten to, I need to show off a little.
It's a wonderful feeling when you walk into any store and allow yourself to buy whatever you want, regardless of the price. When you buy yourself a Versace T-shirt for $1,200, when you fly to Paris to go to the best restaurant in town and eat foie gras for $700, or fly to Moscow to buy a pound of black caviar for $2,700, which is specially prepared for you the day before and which in 20 minutes I ate with a silver spoon, returning home in the evening satisfied.
I felt the real taste of money when I walked into the Cartier store, on the Champs Elysees in Paris, in shorts and a simple T-shirt. The guard looked at me compassionately, as if to say
"What have you lost here, dude, this place is not for people like you."
I went to the storefront with the new collection of Cartier sunglasses and said to the saleswoman,
"Pack me this whole line." Each pair cost 3,500 euros and there were 7 units in the window. I bought them all. Nothing to do - I love Cartier glasses - this is the only piece of jewelry I put on myself. You should have seen the guard's eyes when I took out of my pocket 25,000 euros in cash and paid for the purchase :)
No matter what people say - money is good :)
but...
Key 62 to Success
The entire wish list ends sometime. There comes a moment when you no longer need it. You're already satiated. All your intense desires have already been satisfied.
At some point, you realize that there is no big difference between a $20 shirt and a $1,200 shirt. You realize that labels and prices are just for the show. But to live only to show off becomes very boring.
I even got tired of traveling. Do you believe me?
I traveled the world as if I had just been freed from handcuffs - every week I flew to a different place. I could start a trip to Moscow, do an amazing Thai massage there, fly to Istanbul in the evening, walk in a Taksim square, eat kebab, fly to Israel the next morning, to meet with my students, from there to Berlin, from Berlin to Hong Kong for some exhibition and a few weeks later, hop on Amsterdam.
I lived for two years in this format. You could say - I lived on a plane. Hotels around the world have become my home.
I got pretty tired and exhausted.
The insight came suddenly. I was walking the streets of Paris, soaking up the endless Parisian beauty and noticing that I could no longer see anything - everything merged into one big rock. Yes, everything was built very nicely and elegantly, but by and large, it was all the same piece of concrete and iron. It had decorations of one kind or another, but you no longer notice the difference. Everything became a monotonous gray lump.
Here I was, "detached" from Paris :)
Key 63 to Success
No matter where you go, whether to Paris, Hong Kong, or Moscow - Everywhere has a unique collection of concrete and iron. People speak different languages, but they all have the same desires and thoughts. The French, Chinese, Israelis and Russians are also in a hurry to work, dreaming of making money, to break free from the whirlpool of life, reach a beautiful beach and sit there with a cocktail in hand.
I was tired of traveling the world. Now, if I have to fly somewhere, I think 10 times, do I really need to? Or maybe it's better to stay home and not go anywhere?
I stopped buying things for "Pose". The very feeling that you can buy anything you want, is already quite enjoyable. Buying for fictional luxury, for someone to say "wow" and explode with jealousy - was no longer interesting.
One day I wanted to buy a Ferrari. I took a suitcase with cash, I came to the dealer, sat down in the car and said to him:
"Sit in the car. I want to transfer the car to my name."
We almost got to the licensing office. Suddenly I turned the wheel and drove back. The dealer asked:
"What happened?! Is something wrong with the vehicle?" I replied: "I regret it."
I regretted that a Ferrari is nothing special in itself. It is a completely normal car and its vehicle interior is even simpler than a Mercedes.
While driving I asked myself,
"So what do you need it for? To show off? To show everyone how cool you are? Damn! I no longer have to prove anything to anyone. I've already proven everything to myself."
Key 64 for success
When everything is available to you, you do not want anything. 99% of human desires are only because they are difficult to fulfill. You want a Ferrari, not because you need it, but because you have no option to buy it. When you can afford a Ferrari, like bread at a shop, it turns out you don’t need it at all.
Money ceased to delight me. I no longer wanted to buy anything. I do not want to fly anywhere. I did not want to start a business. I could see no reason to add another zero to the bank account. The quality of life would not change. There was a lot of free time, but it wasn't clear what to do with it.
I went into a depression. Severe and deep depression...
It turned out that this depression was even more severe than the one that I had when I was in the pit. In the pit I had an excellent motivation - to get out of there, as soon as possible. But now I had no motivation.
Everything I wanted - I got. Before the finish line. Same pit, but from the other side. There was nowhere left to climb. No taste. You can not wear 10 pairs of pants together, you do not eat 5 jars of caviar at once.
I realized that the financial ladder that 99% of the world's population climbs is not the ladder worth climbing.
"We received our body not only to sleep, eat and f..ck.
For this a body of a rabbit is enough ".
There is no point in earning just to make a profit. Of course, someone would say that there are millions of people who would give their lives just for more zeros in the bank account, but I personally do not like this way.
Key 65 to Success
Unrestrained earning, based only on meaningless mechanical action - it's like sex with a prostitute. You seem to enjoy it, but it does not add joy to your heart.
Of course, money is required. I won't argue that. But the amount of money needed for a comfortable life is limited. For you to fulfill all your wishes and desires, $25,000 a month is definitely enough.
I have traveled almost all over the world and with full responsibility I tell you that $25,000 a month is enough for almost anything, in any country in the world - whether it is in Hong Kong, Tel Aviv or Moscow.
With this money you can eat every day in the best restaurants, spend the nights in the best hotels and drive with a private driver in any vehicle you like.
Of course, sometimes you feel like drinking a bottle of wine for $2,000 or renting a yacht for a week, but these are extraordinary desires. You do not sail on a yacht every day, do you? So that means no need to buy it and maintain it for a year.
Key 66 to Success
One should not strive for maximum profit, as many people think, but should reach a very definite amount, which will allow you to live as a free person and fulfill all your desires. $25,000 per month of clean and steady profit - solves this question forever.
A terrible depression of idleness and a pointless life lasted for almost a year, until I happened to watch the "Doctor House" series (I suggest you watch the series!) And wondered one important question:
"What motivates him? Why does he treat people even when he is expelled from the hospital? Even when his patients hate him?"
I found the answer:
Passion. He is driven by passion. Driven by his boundless love for what he is doing.
He does not care what people say about him, what they think of him, whether he is paid for his work or not, no matter how he feels, whether he is sick or healthy. Nothing is important to him, but one thing - to solve unsolvable medical problems. This is his passion. This is his life.
Key 67 to Success
Steve Jobs, Napoleon, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Osho, Leonardo da Vinci, Julio Iglesias, Adriano Chelantano - all loved what they did. That was their passion. They did their job for the rest of their lives.
After watching the "Doctor House" series and coming to these conclusions, suddenly my life was seen in a different light. Shopping, travel, cars were not my passion, but symbols of success imposed by the system. But there comes a day when you are tired of chasing the dreams of others.
What I did and what I managed to do with great success - was to teach people, to help them get out of the pit. This was my passion.
I do it every day, without rest, without a break, I answer my students' questions, even when I indulge in a hot tub! Even when I wake up at five in the morning, the first thing I check is if there are any new questions from my students! To give answers, to streamline their lives and make them stronger - that's my passion.
I apologize for the exaggerated comparison, but for clarification, I could not find a better example - I'm like Dr. House, but in business :) I know how to recognize pain, I know how to treat it.
When I realized that, everything changed.
I kept doing what I was doing, but with 10 times more energy. I understood why I invested in my students and did not sleep at night. I realized that what I do was needed not only by my students, but also by me! And if I stop doing my job - I'll just fade.
In one of the meetings with my students. Tel Aviv.
There is no time to be depressed when you have to grow 100 new entrepreneurs every month!
I realized that nothing else appeals to me, like teaching people. No investment, no business for the money - it's all dust compared to the eager eyes of my students, who suddenly realized a new insight.
Contrary to the idea of the chapter - to dedicate yourself to your favorite activity - I still wish for you, dear reader, that you will first feel the real taste of big money and only then decide to abandon what you do not need.
Key 68 for Success
You can only give up what you have. You can not give up what you do not have. Go earn, indulge, go crazy, enjoy the power of money and then decide what to give up, to concentrate on the most important things in life.