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Habits of the Unscripted

WJK

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Besides investing, have you built any businesses at this point?

In both of those examples it looks like you completely forfeited control.

Why not take that $15k and instead invest it in your own business and have more influence over the outcome?
Yes, I have more than one working businesses that are ongoing. They are my base income.

As you will learn in time, there are only 24 hours in a day. You must run a successful business(es), build up your good fortune, and then you might become an investor in other people's businesses. The two examples I gave were "pie-in-the-sky" type of investment where the financial exposure is limited and they can have a huge upside. It's "angel" investing where you either lose your nut or make a lot of money. It's NOT a beginner's game -- it is for qualified investors only -- as per FDIC rules.

The reason to have an investment in a group of oil wells is that they produce a type of "passive income". The payments for that ownership percentage are put into your account for regular payouts over several years -- no effort, no sweat. But, oil wells are risky business. The operator can find that he has a dry hole. The hole can run dry or have other problems. The neighbors can sue for no reason or invalid reasons. The operator can go broke -- as he did here trying to get the project developed.
 
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Mr4213

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Yes, I have more than one working businesses that are ongoing. They are my base income.

As you will learn in time, there are only 24 hours in a day. You must run a successful business(es), build up your good fortune, and then you might become an investor in other people's businesses. The two examples I gave were "pie-in-the-sky" type of investment where the financial exposure is limited and they can have a huge upside. It's "angel" investing where you either lose your nut or make a lot of money. It's NOT a beginner's game -- it is for qualified investors only -- as per FDIC rules.

The reason to have an investment in a group of oil wells is that they produce a type of "passive income". The payments for that ownership percentage are put into your account for regular payouts over several years -- no effort, no sweat. But, oil wells are risky business. The operator can find that he has a dry hole. The hole can run dry or have other problems. The neighbors can sue for no reason or invalid reasons. The operator can go broke -- as he did here trying to get the project developed.
Oh, I see.

Well recently I've just been focusing on my habits and grinding them out every day.

Learning to fall in love with the process and focusing on the fundamentals.

Ideally within this next year I'll be in a good position to take action in starting a new business.
 

WJK

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Oh, I see.

Well recently I've just been focusing on my habits and grinding them out every day.

Learning to fall in love with the process and focusing on the fundamentals.

Ideally within this next year I'll be in a good position to take action in starting a new business.
Why wait until next year? What's holding you back? You could be laying the groundwork now. Start now. Get up every morning. First, make your bed, brush your teeth, exercise, and eat something healthy. Then get one foot in front of the other to get going on your day...
At first, you will probably hate the whole thing -- and that's OK. Act cheerful. Act hopeful. Act energetic. Feelings follow actions. You won't "love" this journey until you get good at it. You won't get good at it until you've practiced, failed, and you've gotten back up a bunch of times. They say the practice part takes 10,000 hours of hard, concentrated, and focused work. When you get really good at the whole thing, you may come to love it. You might not. Loving the process and the fundamentals is not a necessary element to your success. What is necessary is the knowledge and the grit to execute the day-to-day grind and navigate the endless frustrations.

FYI -- I've been successfully self-employed for 45 years...
 

DMNinja

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I actually feel like this habit you mentioned could be improved.

The issue I see with it is that it is lacking clarity and simplification.
You are absolutely correct that the trigger is unclear. It is not meant to be a daily actionable habit, but a daily failsafe. Even on the days the world turns over and I completely loose my ability to perform for that day, that day when I feel like not doing X at all, I just remember that and do X. However small of a progression. Be that 10 minutes if needed. That way, even on my off days I don't break the chain.

The next day or the day after, I will look back and know that I at least tried. That I did not give up. That's the scope of the habit. It's only meant to trigger when "I don't feel like producing something" becomes an option. It's meant to disallow me that option.

Feelings follow actions. You won't "love" this journey until you get good at it. You won't get good at it until you've practiced, failed, and you've gotten back up a bunch of times.
Loving the process and the fundamentals is not a necessary element to your success. What is necessary is the knowledge and the grit to execute the day-to-day grind and navigate the endless frustrations.

You described the solution to an issue I will be facing before I even did so. I just wanted to condense the lesson so others may understand how an unscripted person thinks and acts. Thank you so much for adding value to this tread!
 
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DMNinja

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When I started this thread, I thought that people would read the topic and chime in with a thought of theirs. That this thread would be a repository of knowledge for new people or people looking to make a change in their lives.

This is not what happened. The thread got zero traction and I was the one updating it weekly with my own habits and observations. Eventually, there was feedback. That put a smile on my face. People thought this thread was worth their time in watching and reacting or replying to my posts.

Then people engaged with the thread! Namely @WJK ,a person who's crossed the metaphorical river to get the roses, decided to congratulate a new user to the forum who's trying to make his mindset right. That made me happy. Then life happened. I was gone for a while, and of course the thread as well as my clarity took a dive.

I decided to go back into it. I started updating the thread again. And again. And again. And this time, more people engaged. More people found value in my observations. Some observations fell flat on their face. And today, I logged in and noticed that a 2nd page was appended.

Part of me did not expect this. Part of me is proud. Part of me feels responsible for the words I present on your screen. And part of me is happy. Happy that I've observed things that slowly made me change. Happy that I am learning. Happy that I have managed to add value to people's lives I know nothing about. Happy that although I am facing again a crisis in identity, I am moving to the right direction.

And for all of that, I want to say
Thank You

I hope that you add your own observations about being unscripted in this thread. And if you don't that's fine. Maybe it's not needed after all.

I hope I will keep brining value to your life, to whatever extent this thread allows.
-Constantine
 

DMNinja

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Hello yet again! It's been a while, and many things happened in my private life. In short, i decided to decline a PhD offer and actually work towards getting registered as a civil engineer with the goal of making my own business around it. Also switched to linux and underwent many "violent" belief shifts. It was mentally exhausting and i've been moving forward ever since.

All this time i've been away, i've understood a few things that i wish to share:

  1. I had become institutionalized (to the MS ecosystem and academia) without even knowing it
  2. I figured out i had many more limiting beliefs about myself than i thought i did. Beliefs i had to uncover (with some help)
  3. Some of the observations i've made on this very thread have been off the mark. Thus they need readjusting
Honestly? I was in a very uncertain place three weeks ago. Too scared to make a move on anything. I honestly feel almost ashamed to post again in the forum. But i also know i have no reason to be.

For now, i'll leave you with a rubric that i uncovered during these last weeks:

When making a decision, are the consequences of it making me less or more free?

Needless to say, choose freedom over convenience
As always, I hope you find some value within this post.
-Constantine

EDIT: P.S. I've found that being onto the forums too much leads to action faking by me. Just by browsing other people's experience, my mind seems to think that i'm vicariously working through them, which is not the case. How do you mitigate such issues?
 
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WJK

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Hello yet again! It's been a while, and many things happened in my private life. In short, i decided to decline a PhD offer and actually work towards getting registered as a civil engineer with the goal of making my own business around it. Also switched to linux and underwent many "violent" belief shifts. It was mentally exhausting and i've been moving forward ever since.

All this time i've been away, i've understood a few things that i wish to share:

  1. I had become institutionalized (to the MS ecosystem and academia) without even knowing it
  2. I figured out i had many more limiting beliefs about myself than i thought i did. Beliefs i had to uncover (with some help)
  3. Some of the observations i've made on this very thread have been off the mark. Thus they need readjusting
Honestly? I was in a very uncertain place three weeks ago. Too scared to make a move on anything. I honestly feel almost ashamed to post again in the forum. But i also know i have no reason to be.

For now, i'll leave you with a rubric that i uncovered during these last weeks:

When making a decision, are the consequences of it making me less or more free?

Needless to say, choose freedom over convenience
As always, I hope you find some value within this post.
-Constantine

EDIT: P.S. I've found that being onto the forums too much leads to action faking by me. Just by browsing other people's experience, my mind seems to think that i'm vicariously working through them, which is not the case. How do you mitigate such issues?
You mitigate it by making a plan and working it. The info you receive here just gives you some other ideas and options.
 
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DMNinja

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You mitigate it by making a plan and working it. The info you receive here just gives you some other ideas and options.
Not only true, but accurate. I am (once again) getting too wrapped up in my mind and how things "should" be done. Your response actually reminded me to readjust an old post i made, and What you said is something that has brushed my mind, but from the other side of things. It's specifically under the addendum of MP.

Now, to address yesterday's comment that some notes need readjusting. I was referring to this particular note.
It doesn't matter if you don't have your 3B's in order. Just make a plan and start executing. Your shift will come through evidence.

So what if you're unmotivated, and with no plan? Make one. Don't wait for the day to be motivated. Momentum begets momentum. Don't believe in your plan? Read my other posts on providing value. Feeling down? Understandable. Lockdowns are not a natural human condition. Proceed anyway. Use that as FU Fuel.
"FU and your regulations. I'll make it in life, get a big patch of land in the middle of nowhere, and live my life without you and your retarded diktats. I will raise my kids outside of the indoctrination camps you call schools. I will move to, acquire and defend my property."
Just know that you'll fighting yourself all along the way. You'll be armed with sticks and stones and he'll be armed with state-of-the-art tech. Proceed anyway. Expect that you'll take 5 steps forward, 6 steps back sometimes. Sometimes you'll take 5 steps forward and 5 steps back. And rarely the net result will be positive. Understand that you'll (possibly) feel like you can't make it. That you're not "cut" to be an entrepreneur. PROCEED ANYWAY.
It doesn't matter if you don't have a strong MP. The strongest MPs come from catastrophic events. Be glad you haven't had one of them to realize you need to keep moving. Execute, and you will kickstart your feedback loop anyway.
Just know that you'll be snared by mediocre comfort. That you'll have to wake yourself up and move forward. That you'll feel that a lot of time has been wasted. And be prepared to waste more. Know that more often than not, you'll take the easy way out. Know that you might feel like a failure for being afraid to move out of the things that are comforting. Know that you'll be ashamed to admit it to people that have taken their time to help you. That want to see you succeed. That have trusted your ability and have faith in your potential. Know that you'll do a lot of action-faking because of the lack of a clear MP. Know that making life decisions will be a multi-day, gut wrenching experience (it did for me).
PROCEED ANYWAY
What you think you know has got you to where you are. You need to see that to see where you need to go.
post hoc ergo propter hoc does not define anyone's life, unless they choose to.


This is a trap I fell (sometimes still do) into. But I'm content at realizing that even if I don't feel strongly to what I'm doing, it doesn't matter. The only thing that does is that I've identified a CENTS opportunity, I have many "why" reasons (pertaining to the future), and I am awake from the script.

So what if you don't know what and how to do it? Start regardless! You'll fall in front of those questions and you WILL resolve them if you want to move forward. Feeling shitty that you don't feel motivated? Who cares? Move regardless!

It was longer than expected. Hope you found these thought seeds valuable
-Constantine
For this i'll just simply add: TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE IF IT'S GOOD.
The fact that you dispense good advice means little if you don't follow it.

But that's understandable. We're humans. And flawed ones at that. This flaw just seems to be systematic

As always, I hope i brought some value into your life
-Constantine
 

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