By ROUTE 2 FI
Hello, everyone!
This is a pretty personal post, since the feedback has been very good every time I write these. It seems like you degens want to read my thoughts, so here they are. I am reflecting on life, freedom and digital nomadism.
In this week’s feature I want to focus on something that is personal to me – the leap of faith that I know a lot of us on CT took. Throughout the years in crypto, I have seen a number of people finally take the ever-hard decision to leave their 9-5, to come into crypto full-time, but what does this indeed mean? Read on.
Back when I was younger, I remember sitting in my cubicle at the office one evening after work, staring out the window. asking myself, “How could I continue waking up, completely unexcited about everything I was going to do day after day?”, it was then that I realised this wasn’t what I wanted for myself, I wanted freedom, I wanted the ability to be anywhere I want, to find happiness all whilst being able to progress my career. This led to me searching on Google, “How to quit my job forever”, you know how the rest of the story went. Early Retirement Extreme and Mr. Money Moustache were the first pages that popped up – I read everything in a couple of days. There was really no way back, in my head I went “WTF, could I really quit my job in a couple of years by investing?”
Anon, you might think that I may have been naive, and true enough, I was young and naive back then but an opportunity arose. Crypto and online investments had just started becoming popular and getting “mainstream” attention and I was infatuated. I spent hours a day learning, researching, interacting with new innovations and speaking with various crypto veterans. I wondered what it would be like to be in their shoes for one day, to break out of the vicious tradfi cycle and work on myself and on my strengths.
I soon realised that in crypto, your time and effort was heavily rewarded, that the hardest workers reaped the most benefit. I have always been pretty good at handling my finances, but earlier on I’d just paid down my mortgage – I wanted to go all-in on investing. I started saving and earning more money by changing my 9-5 job. Starting out, I had a savings rate of 40%, eventually over the next 5 months it went up to over 90%. I got addicted to investing, it was like a game, none like any other. My salary was increasing month after month and on top of that, I started earning more online than I ever did with my 9-5. I started having dreams about $100m, then I thought to myself “What sacrifices would I have to make to continue on like this for the next 30+ years?”. I clearly remembered thinking that if I continued doing this for the next 30+ years, I would lose something deep inside of me – at the time I didn’t know how to describe it, but “wasted potential” was probably the words I was searching for. Earning money wasn’t what life was all about, I considered what it really meant to live life, considered everything that I was missing in life – and started searching around for answers, and a quote stuck, “I’ll bet you’re spending too much time working, and not enough time on the things you love.”. Eventually, yes, I did leave my 9-5 and here’s how it went.
To my surprise, it was not what I expected. Time started to pass quickly, I had too much free time, maybe the time had made me lazy, out of routine, unable to focus. “Did I make a mistake” “How am I going to get past this mistake” – these were the thoughts running through my mind. I had too much time, and too many options on what I should do, and where I should go – the options were endless, and all that did was give my brain hundreds of ideas that collided with each other. I was overwhelmed. That’s when I learnt lesson 1 of being a digital nomad: have a routine. In 2020 I came across another quote
“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”
Now this stuck with me, it was a turning point – I started picking up a daily routine built on good habits and discipline. I finally felt me again, felt right. Traditional jobs mainstreamed the idea of working remotely – we started seeing jobs in all sectors utilising apps such as Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Gathertown, etc. This was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Now looking back, my old working life is a distant memory, sometimes I think back and find it hard to believe those days I spent 4 hours sleeping, just to get the approval of my senior in the office. They just replay in my head as if it was a movie I once watched. Years sitting behind a desk is one big blur – but the years I spent working on myself and my skills and meeting the people I’ve met through Twitter has blessed me with enough experience and happy memories to fill LIFETIMES. Taking the leap of faith to becoming a digital nomad provided me with the opportunity to be free, to truly understand and master freedom, and I do not regret it.
There are days when I just wanted to escape from everything, leave the country, start all over again somewhere new. Honestly, I don’t know where this feeling came from, because I feel that I am happy and content with where I am, but there was something freeing about going somewhere new, knowing no one, and just vibing. It wasn’t that I was looking to meet a ton of new people, I already had some number of quality friends. Actually, I’m perfectly fine being alone, oftentimes, this was my preference. Maybe you’ve heard of solitude, but if not, it means being alone (in a positive tone). It isn’t the same as loneliness, which is the uncomfortable state of being alone.
Being a digital nomad means having the ability to be where you want, when you want, with who you want, and do whatever you want at all times. The ultimate freedom. Being on the road so often, you have a limited set of belongings with you, you’re not attached to things – you have your backpack and/or your suitcase and that’s it. Travelling is something I really enjoy. I don’t do anything special when I’m out travelling, I don’t go to tourist spots anymore, maybe if its a hidden gem without tourists I may. There’s a travelling quote that I love and it goes something along the lines of:
“A tourist sees what he has planned. A traveller sees what he sees.”
The beautiful thing about this is that if you let life happen to you instead of planning everything, you may be able to actually experience magical moments. Imagine this: how memorable was that visit to the Colosseum in Rome where you had to stand hours in line just to get into a venue flooded with tourists with a selfie stick? How genuine did it feel? What about that selfie you took with your partner where you have tons of tourists in the background? Well, surely not the most magical, right? Instead you could avoid the tourist traps and go where the locals go. One of my best experiences was when I discovered Catella Sant’Elia outside of Bagheria (a small town next to Palermo). I had no expectations, but it ended up being one of my best ever. No tourists, stunning view of the crystal clear sea, colourful buildings. Reminded me of Cinque Terre without the tourists.
Memories are everywhere with freedom – another great one of mine was when I skipped shopping with my uncle at vacation and instead took a stroll in the streets alone, that’s when I met the most stunning girl I’ve ever seen. I then spent the next 24 hours with her and trust me, it was as magical as “Before Sunrise” if you’ve ever seen that movie. I haven’t seen her again as we live way too far from one another, but the experience is stored in my memory forever. Actually, I’m okay with that. Some experiences aren’t meant to last but they can still be amazing.
If you asked me how much I remember from 2016-2021, I could mention some vacations I had, some weddings and the passing of my family dog. Other than that, I mostly worked.
But if you asked me what I remember from 2021 to 2023? This, on the other hand, has a ton a lot more. In this short period, I’ve been “free”. By free, meaning I work on my own terms, I’ve been working more than ever before to be honest, but at least on my conditions and my routines. I think this is something I and the rest of the crypto community bond on first of all. We all want freedom and sovereignty. To be able to control our destiny and to design life in our own way. Meanwhile in a 9-5, if you lost your job, you’re on your own. If you didn’t have enough saved up, you could be stuck in a stressful and maybe even desperate job hunt – leading to you taking a sh*t job that you hate. There’s always another job of course, but what if I asked you:”What is YOUR dream job?”, What would be your answer? All I can say is, that a forced job is never a dream in the first place.
I get asked all the time, what’s next, and being honest, I don’t know. Over the years I’ve saved sufficient money, and I live a simple life whilst getting to enjoy my freedom doing things I previously never had the time to do. I sometimes miss the office life, the routine, the predictability of each day – but I do not regret taking this leap of faith. I would not have it any other way.
However, I spend a lot of time thinking about what’s next. The next goals, milestones, where I want to be, who I want to be with etc. I’m around mid 7 fig nw now during this bear, and tbh I’m quite happy with that. Sometimes I even ponder why the heck I would ever spend so much time in here when I have more than enough. CT wants you to believe that you need more. Their answer is always that more is good. Long-term readers might remember that I actually quit my job in 2021 with $500k, and that my intention was just to live off of that doing some easy side work. Based on this, it’s hard for me to justify continue grinding harder. It’s getting more and more clear to me that after the next bull (top in 2025 maybe?), I’ll leave this space. It’s toxic to spend as much time on Twitter, in front of Tradingview, Binance, Discord and Telegram that I do. People say, take a break. But my mind doesn’t work like that. I’m either all in or all out. There is no in between.
Rhino wrote something similar some months back about getting away from crypto in 2025, and this thought has stuck with me forever since.
They say you can never leave, and maybe they’re right. Maybe I won’t be able to do that myself. But I am starting to dream a little bit about it. Haha. It’s ironic, because I escaped my 9-5 only to work 24/7. The flexibility makes it worth it, but yeah, it’s a weird trade off.
What’s been on my mind lately is what’s next. I’ve been renovating a house for almost a year now, and as soon as it is finished I’m pondering what to do with it. Rent it all out for $3k per month? Rent out two bedrooms for $1,5k and live in the rest of the house? Sell it? Not really sure, but I am pretty keen on doing some slow travel. That means staying in places for longer periods of time and move on when it suits me. Not really to see things, but experience other parts of the world, culture, people, new experiences. In many ways it feels like time is just standing still here in Norway. My friends are working during the weekdays, often long days, and in the weekends they’re often busy with family commitments etc. It’s like my life is on wait. That I wait for something, but I don’t know what. I am in a searching phase in my life again. For meaning, for connections, for purpose. It’s frustrating, but also enjoyable. At the same time I am extremely grateful for having all these opportunities in my life. That I am able to choose exactly how my life should be. I have gotten a lot of questions about where’s the ideal place to stay in the world for digital nomads. To that I don’y have a good answer, because this varies for people in so many ways. For me, important factors are weather, safety, people, things to do there. Another factor that counts positive, but that isn’t a must is low taxes. Also, since I am from Europe I’d prefer to stay there. My family and friends are here, and if I am in, let’s say Portugal, it’s just a 3 hour flight back home. It seems like Dubai is becoming a major crypto hub in the world with lots of smart people, opportunities and 0% taxes. In many ways a dream for hungry entrepreneurs. I haven’t been there tbh, but there are some drawbacks about the place that makes me not to keen on living there. It feels like it is very fabricated. A desert with high buildings, plastic women, too hot temperature and bling bling culture. I might be wrong here, but this is my impression about Dubai.
One more thing, some people on CT say that money solves their “problems” of getting their dream girl. I disagree. Yes, money can probably buy these girls, but it will never be real. You can fly your dream girl down to Dubai, but she will never be genuinely interested in you if there’s no mutual connection and real physical attraction. Sorry boys, but she will always be more attracted to a tall, good looking man with ambitions even if he doesn’t have as much money. This is just the laws of nature. Flash all the money you want, but unless all you can bring to the table is money, all you will get is a fake trade off in return. I’m saying this because you have to remember to work on yourself as well. Being fat, hiding yourself in front of your PC 24/7 in a dark room with acne earning money will solve nothing but your money problems. She will ditch you the day she got more options herself. So work on yourself. Go to the gym, meet people, travel, live your life. Be the best version of you that people will would like to spend time with. Our ponzi internet money should just be the starting point of setting ourselves up for a better future.
Some closing thoughts, although I do not regret coming into crypto full-time, it may not be for everyone. Sometimes, one man’s treasure may be another man’s poison. Quitting your job and pursuing crypto full-time may not necessarily mean you have to travel consistently to live on. Some may enjoy a quiet life, staying in their home country whilst working from home, travelling from time to time such as myself.
Remember, do consider all your options, make sure you make decisions after weighing your options, don’t rush into something you may regret in the future. At the end of the day, that’s life, living with the choices you’ve made.
What would you do anon?
That’s it for now.