After living overseas for some time, I’ve been thinking about the key to sustainable success because there are so many Americans who suffer from burnout due to stressful work these days. By contrast, most Europeans that I’ve met here are more relaxed and much happier – it seems that they have found the key to sustainable success.
- No Pains, No Gains VS No Pains, All Gains
Growth doesn’t have to be painful. In fact, if you learn and improve a little bit every single day, you will grow a lot. The real secret isn’t to grow dramatically overnight; the real secret is to grow consistently over time. Remember, ordinary things that are done consistently generate extraordinary results!
Now think about your answer to this question: How do you spend your spare time after work? Do you watch Netflix at night and every weekend? Or do you learn something new during your free time?
If you improve 1% each day, how much would you improve within one year? The correct answer isn’t 365% because that 1% literally works like compound interest. So, now I’d like you to think of one area of your life that you would like to work on and do something to improve that area of your life every day. You will see impressive results soon. 😊
- The significance of having more experiences in life:
According to Bill Perkins (author of Die with Zero), everyone would be well-advised to invest in interesting experiences earlier in life so that they can have beautiful memories for a longer period of time.
For me, living overseas has given me a wide variety of experiences that I genuinely cherish. I think having more exciting experiences is true success in life. Since that’s what I value, I have lived in many different countries already.
Yes, when I retire at the age of 65, I will be able to have more time to enjoy lots of experiences. But realistically, I probably won’t be able to easily go mountaineering in my 90s, so I should spend money on experiences when I’m still healthy and vibrant.
A few years ago, my financial advisor asked me if I would like to save even more money for retirement (I was already saving money regularly for retirement). I asked for my mother’s opinion. Surprisingly, my very frugal mother said, “No, don’t save even more money for retirement. People need to spend money when they are young. Older people tend to spend less money in general. You have health insurance, and you are already quite frugal, so you shouldn’t put more money into your retirement account. Enjoy life now.”
What she said woke me up: Indeed, net fulfillment is more important than net worth. That’s exactly why I decided to live overseas when I still can. 😉
“Accumulating more stimulating experiences is the secret to lasting happiness in life.”
