200 million dollars bought sobriety: the wealth exorcism journey of a serial entrepreneur

Author: TIGER Source: X, @tiger_web3

It's been nearly a month, it's time to review and sort out ideas.

The goals of the past few years have been very clear: steady growth, striving to jump from A8 to A9 as soon as possible.

With this clear goal, the action plan becomes much simpler. My previous strategy can be summarized in two points:

• First, give up all the fuss that doesn't help A8 to upgrade to A9. For example, I found some small chances after the build was completed that might earn A7. I decisively gave up such trivial small gains.
• Secondly, steadily and continuously seek opportunities with a positive EV (positive expected value), place multiple bets, and minimize the influence of luck as much as possible. For example, throughout the year 23, I invested a lot of effort in 'plucking fur' (taking advantage of various airdrop benefits). Even if I lost some gas fees, I still felt it was worth it because at that time, it was a typical 'limited loss, unlimited gain' opportunity.

Everything is progressing steadily as planned, and assets are steadily accumulating. Until I encountered a major drawdown in the account in January this year, the original plan was instantly disrupted. (The specific process has been recorded in my previous articles.)

Reflection after the big drawdown

I went back to the country, took a break for myself, and also allowed myself to sober up and reflect.

After returning to the country, I found that all my friends are living colorful lives. Whether working in the system or starting their own business, whether well-off or financially tight, everyone is not as gloomy and pessimistic as I am. The fact proves that living happily does not require a lot of money. But because of the financial loss on the books, my emotions hit rock bottom, living more painfully than anyone else.

They made me re-understand the sentence in the Tao Te Ching: "Riches and honor lead to arrogance, leaving oneself open to blame."

I gradually realized that the pain I endured far exceeded the sense of achievement brought by making money and project success. This huge pullback actually had no substantial impact on my daily life—life goes on as usual, eating and playing as usual, and the quality of life did not decrease. In short, this paper loss is not worth torturing myself like this.

Maybe it's because I've been quite smooth sailing all the way from childhood to adulthood: I was admitted to university through the Olympic Games, and the several projects I started after graduation also received good responses. Suddenly encountering this fierce blow, I started to doubt myself for a while.

Fortunately, I slowed down for a month and walked out of the shadow, and realized a fact: whether I do projects or investments, the most important thing is to gain a sense of achievement. For me, the numbers in the account are not important, continuous positive feedback is the indispensable motivation.

Having realized this, my attitude towards wealth has also become much more indifferent. After all, when wealth reaches a certain level, its impact on the quality of life is actually quite limited—at most, it's just a few more good cars and a few more luxury homes. And my life has long been worry-free, and I am not keen on supercars and luxury homes, so what is there to be entangled about?

My biggest cognitive trap is mistaking the scale of assets for the progress bar of life.

Start afresh: A new plan

After adjusting my mindset, I decided to implement 'dynamic programming' and re-plan how to proceed next. It is crucial to reevaluate the direction worth continuously building based on the current financial situation and market environment. Specifically, I have set the following new plans for myself:

1. Adjustment Target: In the past few years, I have always wanted to challenge A9. Now, let's be more practical and adjust the goal to return to the asset level before the major retracement.

2. Due to changes in goals, opportunities that were previously considered not cost-effective and not worth pursuing can now be reconsidered. For example, the SEO and traffic arbitrage paths that I used to look down upon as 'making little money' can now also be tried.

3. Always keep an eye on the investment and look for the ultimate arbitrage opportunities. Only by staying at the table all the time, can I seize the opportunity as soon as it comes. In other words, never leave the game, so that I can wait for my next good hand.

4. Continue to focus on the AI track. I'm not referring to the 'AI projects' that are just speculative concepts in the Web3 world, but rather delving into the AI industry itself. The world is paying close attention to the AI revolution—whether or not I can benefit from this trend in the future, being at the forefront means being able to use the latest and most powerful AI tools at the earliest opportunity, and the most advanced tools are often the most powerful productivity multipliers.

5. The blockchain continues to deepen its presence on the chain. The public chain world is like an open 'dark forest', full of dangers, but with transparent rules. I want to hone my skills on this battlefield of real swords and guns, and meet opportunities with true strength.

6. Strive to increase your cash cow. Simply put, it means creating more products outside of your main business that can continue to generate revenue, and paving more stable income streams for yourself.

7. Remember that “wealth doesn't come in through the urgent door.” Looking back at the losses before, the biggest enemy is being too impatient. When the heart is impatient, actions become distorted. I have fallen on this twice already, once, twice, absolutely cannot have a third time.

After this adjustment, I feel much more relaxed. The road of growth is inevitably full of ups and downs, but every setback is a precious nutrient, allowing me to have a clearer understanding of what I truly want. Putting down the burden and going into battle lightly, I am ready to embrace the next stage of challenges - as long as I proceed steadfastly according to these plans, I believe that wealth or growth will come unexpectedly in the future.

"Real financial freedom is not about the amount of assets, but the confidence to switch survival mode at any time"