This Took Me 14 Years to Understand

We need friction

I finished grad school 14 years ago. Since then, I worked hard to earn money.

I woke up every day with a fresh start. At that time I also had student debt so I had a long way to go.

My goal was always to become a millionaire. It’s something our society has always considered a marker of financial success. If you have a million bucks, you’ve made it.

We all know that’s no longer true because society has changed a lot over the past decade. We’re living in the age of decadence. People just want to live luxurious lives, which requires a lot of money. But that’s the topic for another essay.

What I've realized recently is that my pursuit of financial success was more fulfilling than simply acquiring money.

As I’m typing this, I feel it’s not a deep realization at all. Because if you look around you, the platitudes about this concept are everywhere.

“It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.”

As a skeptical (and sometimes cynical) person, I have an allergy to motivational quotes and sayings.

Saying that life is about the journey just doesn’t mean anything when you’re stuck in the day-to-day grind of life.