The Cost of Success

Some thoughts about being successful

Ever since I graduated high school, I have thought about every aspect of being successful and most of it revolves around money. Starting a business, having an unlimited potential of earning, and a free schedule. I have thought about this so much over the last ten years. I have tried so many different avenues of business, I have tried digital projects, digital entertainment, arbitrage, and many more. Mostly, I have been focused on the digital world as I see it as easier and cheaper to start. Also, I love the idea of freedom of work environment. I just haven’t been able to find success in it. I haven’t worked too hard on any certain project. Being distracted or just having too many items on my plate. But, mostly distractions. When I first started creating these blogs, creating tiktoks, I told myself that I needed to put about two hours a day dedicated to this. Just to get started. I do a weekly check in to see how that is going.

I have claimed repeatedly that I want this I want that, but have I made the sacrifices to get these gifts in my life? Have I been laser focused on achieving one goal for an extended amount of time? The easy answer is no. Not even close. I have been very wishy washy about what I want to do. It has taken me a long time to notice what I am good at and to try to market that. I have found mostly distractions.

These distractions range from positive to negative but are still distractions. Some negative distractions that come to mind are doom scrolling, playing video games, and watching unlimited TV. These distractions are bad because they have affected mostly my school life. It has gotten in the way of my work life as well, and especially my side hustle focus.

My phone use has been especially bad lately. I can say that it is my biggest vice at the moment. Scrolling on Facebook, scrolling on Instagram, scrolling on Tiktok, playing fantasy football, it is just taking my brain to another place. Making it not have to think for a while. It affects my school, my work, and this side hustle. It’s a bad habit that my brain just does. Easy. I sometimes get cognitive during it and I truly watch the content and all I can think about is what have I gained in the last 30 minutes? I saw a funny dog video which made me happy but most of it was crap. Unnecessary. It takes me off the path of my goals. Just this week I have almost a FULL DAY of phone usage. And it is Wednesday. Eight hours of day wasted. Staring at a screen. Some of this screentime is from podcasts on Youtube that I listen to in the background so it is a bit inflated but this doesn’t include my TV watching either. Looking at screen time on your phone is a scary thing to do but it is a good way to inventory how you are living your life. Currently, I am doing that from social media. This will not be just a whining session; I want to put in some good habits. I want to limit my screentime to four hours a day, which might sound like a lot but it is striking it in half. I just put my phone on do not disturb so hopefully it will manage my usage. I also put it in a drawer the furthest way from me at my desk to limit it. A bad habit is hard to break.

As soon as I get home, I will rot on the couch for a while. If I don’t have a date planned that night, or activity, or have to do chores. I will stay there all night. It is just so easy to do. It also is a reason that I gained quite a few pounds. I probably did this routine for a year. Maybe more? It is very comfortable to just watch TV and play video games the rest of the night. Those are two large distractions. When I get home, I am able to do schoolwork, do this work, and exercise all in one night. Instead, I sit on the couch and don’t get up unless I need to refill my water bottle or eat dinner. Lately, I have decided to exercise every day when it gets dark and cooler. This has been a daily event for a few months. It started as marathon training but has continued in my routine. A positive routine change. I still could do more but I just… don’t. It is easy to be lazy.

I would like to think those are the most negative distractions. Mostly the doom scrolling. At least when I am playing video games or watching TV I am typically surrounded by my friends or girlfriend. When I am doom scrolling, this is an activity I do alone, and it is probably my worst habit. My mom was right, it really is that darn phone.

There are also positive distractions that have gotten in the way of my success in business. Which probably don’t seem like distractions but are in a crazy way. I listened to a podcast that dropped this. “They got successful, and then they started doing side quests.” Unfortunately, this ruined a lot of marriages, relationships with others, and even weight gain. I am more in tune with a balanced lifestyle. Possibly that this is a reason why I am not successful in the business world. Some distractions are helpful.

Like my job. It is a distraction, it definitely takes my attention away from this business for at least 40 hours a week, not counting commute. This commute is also going to be getting longer. I can also use commuting as a way to learn more things. I am just locked in for forty hours. If I didn’t have it, I could focus my efforts elsewhere but this job will definitely not make me successful in business.

School is also a positive distraction. It takes my attention away from my business, but it is a nice backup plan to have. These two have battled for years now. Which one is more important to me. Like last week I have had to focus on final assignments. Wrapping up a positive semester. This is a positive distraction for bettering myself but if I didn’t have this, I could have more time to spend elsewhere.

Getting even more crazy, exercise is a distraction. Now, every night I do about 30 minutes of moderate exercise plus about an hour of walking. When I was training for a marathon, sometimes I would be exercising for several hours on the weekend. I also play golf from time to time, pickleball from time to time and those take more hours out of my week. This is a positive distraction and honestly for me, it is needed. I feel much more positive after I do some exercise, and walks have been just phenomenal for my mental health. This is a positive distraction that I will keep. I have cut this portion out of my life for a year or two and gained 40 pounds, became more anxious than ever, and just lived a terrible life of working and sitting at home watching TV over and over again. It was not an optimal way to live. I had time to accomplish some goals if I used that time exclusively for trying to make this grow but I didn’t, I sat at home and watched TV.

Other positive distractions are any home maintenance. This was brought up to me during one of my Rabbit hole searches on how to be successful and once again it is so extreme to me. Never cook food. Cooking food takes time away from your goals, so just buy drive-thru. Nothing else matters other than the goals. It is an extreme measure.

The last extreme measure I see is focusing on business goals instead of being a good spouse, or a good person in your relationships. It is clear what you care about, and it doesn’t take long until these relationships decline. I would never be in that camp. I would choose a successful relationship over a successful business any day. If that is the cost for success in business, it is too steep of a cost. I will choose the time investment in the relationship over the business.

There are opportunity costs for all things. Creating a business is one of the most mentally draining activities you can do. Especially during the time when you are just starting and have all your responsibilities hanging around it. One thing that I can comfortably cut is doom scrolling at all hours. It is the easiest cut, and it is one of the biggest portions of time I spend. I’m not looking to creating the next Tesla, the next Apple. None of that. I want to create a modest business with a modest income that can allow me to experience balance in my life.

This blog was sparked by a YouTube video of how to get rich. The answer, become obsessed with money. Sacrifice all other aspects of your life to get it. Quit your job, don’t be in a relationship, drop out of school, burn the boats, put in all waking hours, then you will be successful. Once successful, you can start your side quests of starting a family, running a marathon, other goals other than business. Respectfully, I want a balanced life.