A wannabe blog article
I always admire people who know exactly what they're doing and what they want to be in life. Their lives always seem like a video game where they're landing high scores at every level. How do they do that? I think they start by defining who they want to be, so let's begin at the very start…
Things I want to be
Healthy & fit
Successful in maintaining good relationships (partner, family, friends)
Relevant for people I care about
Recognized/appreciated in society
Financially free
Charismatic
Simple
But why do I want to be that? I guess because I think these things are important to me and that they are good. But…
When do things become good? When do things positively impact me and the people around me?
Things are good when:
it feels natural
it's fun
it helps me achieve my goals
Thats it. Things are usually good when it feels natural to do or be something. And mostly that's when it starts to become fun.
But there is one issue! Things are never, NEVER, easy when starting, and of course, I am talking about things that have a positive impact on your life. Binchwatching Netflix comes easy from the very first second you turn on the TV, you know it! So even if you're good at something "new," it's always a product of past experiences that allows you to excel at a certain skill. In other words, we all suck at the beginning until we don't. And this is the struggle I am facing.
Over the last decade, I invested quite some time in personal development in various forms Live events, Online coaching, and many books. I have learned that to achieve something good, that positively impacts my life, the reason behind it must be far greater than myself. It needs to be so huge that It's hard to fully grasp it. The vision should be so clear and simple that even at my lowest point, I don't need to question why I'm pursuing it. Its clarity should be a constant guiding force.
So far, I've only applied this principle to one thing: CrossFit! At the moment, I can imagine myself doing CrossFit for the rest of my life. Why? A few years ago, I realized that health is one of the most valuable assets in life. To enjoy life, create, support, and help others, you need to be both physically and mentally healthy. You must take care of yourself to serve others effectively. Of course, I enjoy the perks that come with it—getting in shape and being able to tackle almost any physical activity—but the real reason is that I want to maintain this lifestyle for as long as possible.
So even though there's a ton more room to grow, I'd say I've kinda figured out the sports thing. I know my why, I know my how, I know my where and when. It's all crystal clear. But what about the other areas of my life? When looking at all my desired characteristics there is one particular characteristic that I struggle with the most, but at the same time, I think it's the one where I crave clarity the most. I want to be financially free.
Yo Financial Freedom, where you at?!
And what does financial freedom mean to me? Well, my definition is simple: if I decide I don't want to work anymore, I could—period. Does this mean my goal is to stop working altogether? Not at all. I believe that once you stop working, you kind of stop living. So I guess the goal is set and pretty clear but what is the actual status and what is my game plan to reach this goal?
Well, the good thing is I'm already doing what I love—editing sick videos for a well-known energy drink company based in Salzburg. The funny thing about it, it’s both a good and a bad thing. I'm doing what I love, but I'm working for someone else's dream. When I started in 2019, I was thrilled with this arrangement because of the incredible people I met and the knowledge and skills I gained in those first years. However, I'm exchanging time for money—a decent salary, but not enough to make me financially free. Something has to change.
Two years ago, I decided to reduce my 9-to-5 working hours by 25% to work on my very own projects.
Long story short: it took me 2 years to officially register my own business, and I didn't earn any extra money in these two years. You could argue that this decision was a step back from my goal of becoming financially free. But that's not the case. This "free" time gave me a glimpse of what it could be like to use my time freely. It allowed me to think about how I want to achieve financial freedom in the future and where to future work is heading in general but more importantly where it's heading for me.
The Work Game Plan
I quickly realized that working as an employee for someone else wouldn't achieve my goals. Freelancing or starting my own business is the way forward. But what about my current job, which I enjoy? Well, for now, I'm sticking with 75% of my nine-to-five. There's an insane project coming up that I really don't want to miss—I'll dive into that later in a full article of its own.
With the rest of my time, I'm focusing on two projects. If executed well, these will gradually consume more of my nine-to-five and catapult me toward financial freedom.
Freelance work
This is something I've been putting off for a while, but it's finally happening as I write this. In some ways, I'm still working for others—I'm transitioning from having one boss to having several at the same time. However, I now get to choose whom I work with. And let me tell you, my biggest client is one of my best friends, and being able to work with him on his dreams is pretty awesome! Last but not least, I get to decide what my time and skillset are worth. “Here comes the moneeyyyy” knowing that I still trade time against money. But still “here comes the money - haha”
Dustin the Creator
I am a strong believer in the creator economy, not to be confused with the influencer economy. It's characterized by individuals who pursue their interests and document their knowledge.
I want to create things and share them with the world. By doing so, I aim to attract people to my vision, story, and goals. The content can take various forms—written pieces like this, videos in short or long format, or pretty much anything that comes to mind. I want to be my very own brand that people can connect and identify with. It's time for WeWill+, which stands for endless opportunities, endless creativity, and a community that wants to move forward. WeWill create, WeWill fail, WeWill win. WeWill dive into the brand concept in more detail soon enough, but I believe there are millions of people with similar interests, problems, and desires. If I can connect with just a fraction of them, it would form an amazing community. Eventually, my brand will evolve into a product—something I can proudly share with this community. It will hopefully provide value to everyone who chooses to purchase it.
That's the game plan:
Maintain 75% employment while creating cool things and exploring different places
Pursue freelance work
Create content that aligns with my interests and develop a personal brand
I've been creating and sharing a lot lately. I've enjoyed it, and my friends' feedback has been great so far. However, even though I told myself to do this only for me, I caught myself getting stressed about posting for the sake of posting and meeting others' expectations. Combined with the fact that I'm still working a 9-to-5 job, I reached a point where I couldn't create. Sharing my situation with a good friend, we came up with a plan to write down what I want and what my current status is. That's how this article came to life—so thanks, Luci! And thanks to my friends and family who believe I can do whatever I put my mind to. I believe it too. Let's get it!
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