Advice To Those Who, Like Me, Made Some Money Early In Life

Albeit moderate, of course.

I do not own buildings, fly in private jets, buy overpriced clothes, or stay in swanky hotels; I do not intend to either. But if you do, if your aspirations are higher than mine, you still have more of yourself to sell or to get luckier. All attempts are lottery tickets. All our time is about scratching them. My moment continues to affect my life in ways I have stopped keeping tally of, but I can share what I’ve learned.

When eating at a fancy place, you start using the cutlery outside in, but it is for the benefit of everyone to avoid places like these wholly unless the situation arises that you find yourself in such a setting. For those days and those days only, you must know how to carry yourself amidst the snobbery. You must also develop knowledge of all things people value. You can learn by experience or reading about them. However, you need not be a connoisseur simply because no one cares enough. People only know how to respond to confidence; if you have some knowledge, the rest is easy to manoeuvre. No, you must not lie, but if you know some things, you can readily admit that you do not know others.

You must also save money first and spend it second, lest you become a cautionary tale. You must learn your way around the complex systems that tie the world together and stick to the basics. If someone tells you they can make you more money, you tell them you know how to make it, and can they teach you how to keep it instead? That they will not know about, and that is harder. But it is possible.

You must make a life where the money to sustain it is not exorbitant. You must not live in an attempt to impress the world. Money is utility, and you must treat it as such. Most of your problems and pitfalls, if not all, will be avoided by only this; the rest, you can chalk up to lessons.

You must learn a lot about everything, but mostly, you must learn to keep your wits about yourself. In the end, it will only be about you and your days. Nothing else will change. In the end, it is about how comfortable a cup of coffee or tea is for how long.

That is all there is to it.

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