When I was at the ripe age of 17, lost and anxious about the future, I fell deep into the rabbit hole of self improvement and entrepreneurship. It became like this drug, the more I stepped into this world, the better I felt about myself, which alleviated some of the anxiety I was carrying on my back.

However, it greatly impacted my little teenage mind, and it developed this subconscious belief that my entire worth was dependant on how much financial success I can attain at a young age. I also developed this subconscious belief that there was no room for messing up and learning things the hard way, there was no space to be human, I needed to be perfect.

And during the last 3 years, I have been really humbled, to say the least. I've tried starting multiple random but popular businesses because I thought I needed to "get rich fast" in order to feel worthy. I never spent a second thinking about what I actually enjoy doing, even in the realm of business, or whether or not I was actually passionate about that business model.

Your Timeline isn't Negotiable

The idea of reaching a destination by a certain age in order to be successful or "on track" was always lingering in the back of my mind for as long as I can remember. I've always had so much anxiety around growing older and this fear of being behind in life which led me to always ponder on things I could do to ensure that I was indeed wise and mature for my age. My driving force was this insecurity of being behind in life or being unsuccessful, and it would eat me alive and affect the way I perceive the whole trajectory of my life.

Long story short, I just ended up backtracking in life rather than being ahead of people.

Because I will never go far in a path that isn't meant for me. Instead of experimenting with what I like, I was just trying to rush towards the end result. But no matter how hard I tried to not be "behind in life", I always felt disappointed or felt like I wasn't doing enough no matter what.

It's because I can't outrun the path I am supposed to be on.

There are lessons I need to learn, and that will take time no matter what. My ego was what was birthing this extreme fear, and I will always be punished for my ego. I'm here to be a human, not to derive my self-worth from being ahead of others.Instead of focusing on the time it takes, I should've focused on how much I was truly learning as a person.

Eudaimonia

The ancient Greeks had a concept called eudaimonia - often translated as 'human flourishing' rather than mere happiness or achievement.

The eudaimonic perspective reveals why 'get rich quick' schemes feel so hollow. True flourishing requires what Aristotle called 'a complete life' - you can't achieve it in a moment or shortcut your way there. It's about the quality of how you live, not just what you accumulate.

Regardless of having ambitions, we are not a perfect picture to be curated, but rather a soul that needs to experience all dimensions of the human experience. Trying to discard that truth is causing people to live their lives unfulfilled.

People think that they've made it once they achieve success, but if they don't ever pursue their true calling and purpose in life, then a part of their soul will always feel depleted.

The idea that everybody can and should get rich young and solely focus on making money is harmful.

We all have a purpose on earth and passion for things. But the subliminal messages that are being spread by a lot of the mainstream gurus make it seem as if we should only focus on pursuits that will allow us to get rich young, as if that is the only thing that matters.

It spreads this message that your worth is based on conventional success, even if you don't necessarily want that.

For a human that wants to live a meaningful, purposeful life, it might take time to figure out what you want, and it's better to find your meaning rather than rush to make money and turn a blind eye to your true purpose on earth. There's no shame at all in learning lessons and taking your time to build a meaningful life.

And being rich or successful at an early age does not reflect your worth as a person. If I'm being honest, the people that profit from that sentiment are people that are trying to sell their courses to anxious youngsters who want to be successful.

Although coaching people on how to make money is an undeniably helpful and virtuous thing to do, it's worth noting that not everybody who sells a course has the best intentions. Some people just target young, untampered people for the sake of making sales.

Ambition Without Arbitrary Deadlines

But yes, I hear you. Becoming financially stable at a young age obviously has its benefits. And for ambitious people, there is no point in trying to take it slow and live like everybody else if you want a life grander than everybody else.

It's also worth noting that you may not know what you want when you're young because you barely even know yourself. So if you don't know what you want but you definitely know that you want to be financially stable or somewhat successful in the future, you might as well strive for that.

But regardless, I would say if you don't know what to do, focus on getting to the next level or your life. If that means making money, that's perfectly fine. But don't always try to take the short route out. Don't just strive for monetary or performative success. Follow your interests and passions, and try to build a life out of those, even if it takes longer.

I soon realised that doing more than the average person wasn't all that fulfilling, and no matter how much I try to be better than others, I have to learn lessons the hard way sometimes.

I've made mistakes over the years that I was ashamed of, but that's just life. And I have been humbled by realising that everybody has their own struggles on their own path and I am never better than anybody for whatever reason. It led me to the realisation that my worth cannot be tied to achievements or success, because that is egotistical and unsustainable. I'm here to achieve things but not be defined by them.