Why I will probably never retire

I just uploaded every module of the Writing On The Net video course on YouTube. It’s now free for all.

Writing On The Net Video Course - Free For All

These lessons are what Tuấn Mon and I believed to be true about blogging in Vietnam, back in 2024. Many principles are still true now, and I would still approach content creation pretty much the same way if I were to start today - focused on getting reps, copy fundamentals from writers you admire, be motivated internally and externally, etc. (maybe try Threads for discovery and find something with less competition than Substack for long-form).

In the 1 year that we launched this video course, the only 2 sales motions we tried were Meta ads and word-of-mouth (rev-share with our student ambassadors). One worked really well for a bit, then required too much input from us, who were both working full-time, so we deprioritized both.

We also stopped writing - meaning the biggest source of traffic is gone.

This experiment made me think a lot about passive income, career capital, and retirement. Some of those thoughts are shared below.

Passive income only works if you can build 2 things: (1) a timeless product and (2) a super low-maintenance sales machine. Without (1), your product will soon reach 0 demand, and without (2), it will feel like a side hustle, not a source of passive income :)

What are some timeless products? I can think of housing in a super high-demand area (think D1 Ho Chi Minh City), language learning (for English and Mandarin), how-to-be-rich education.

A simple litmus test: Did this demand exist 20 years ago?

But honestly, I think the really hard part is (a) building an awesome sales machine and (b) slowly removing yourself from the sales process. Most people can’t do (a), not to mention attempting (b).

So IF passive income is your goal, I think it’s much better, if you already have money, to become a really good investor - have equity, instead of being a founder.

In Vietnam, owning a few rental units is still probably the best risk-adjusted investment. People are plenty, and they all need housing.

But that just doesn’t excite me :) What I’m interested in, at least in my 20s and 30s, is 👇

I’m interested in creating more value for society in general. So buying a house and renting it out or trying to flip it for profit gives me no meaning. I’m creating zero to submarginal benefit to society. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who said, “My landlord changed my life for the better.”

I respect the people who are good at real estate - spending their time reading market reports and urban planning briefs, scouting the area, and navigating the legal intricacies. But it’s not my game. So I’d rather figure out ways to create a lot of value for my clients, and give the money they pay me to my partner (who’s a great real estate hunter lol).

The act of building a business, figuring out new ways to grow, creating new products to solve your client’s problems, I think, keeps the mind sharp and the heart fulfilled.

That act - that mental and intellectual exercise do not come from owning and renting 5 apartments. That exercise is also more appealing to people my age, too - I guess :) My parents, in their 50s and 60s, might not feel motivated by cracking Threads as a growth channel.

All of my professionally ambitious friends who are not founders are doing 3 things: trying to excel at their current job, looking for a better job, or building something on the side. The friends who are founders are already spending 99% of their awake time trying to grow their business :)

Whatever it is that they do, they’re active.

So, the questions I’d focus on asking myself, at this age, are:

• How do I significantly increase my main source of income (let it be a full-time job or a full-time business)?

• Then, I ask - How do I build other income streams in my free time, in case the first one fails?

This follows one of the most important principles I learned from my boss this year:

Essentially: New things have a risk of not working. Usually, doing more is the best risk-adjusted return on your money. You want to exhaust 90% of a working idea before trying to experiment with a new one. If something is working, try to do a lot more of it.

Your goal as a fresh grad / new employee should be to try to be really exceptional at your job. Only when you’ve done exceptional work and still see no chance of significantly increasing your compensation, either via a promotion or performance bonus tied to your compensation, should you start thinking about finding new ways to make more money.

I guess the only exception to why you should not try to be exceptional at your job is if you’re in a company/team that does not align with your long-term growth goal, and a boss who is just bad for your growth :) Then, sure, find an exit or other ways to make money.

The most obvious, risk-adjusted strategy for increasing your income is getting better at your full-time job.

Trying to get better at your full-time job improves not only your income but also your skills and social capital - 2 types of 👇

Back to the topic of wealth building. I seriously don’t think you’ll be able to retire after 1 or 2 video courses. I’m a strong advocate for young people trying to build many active income streams, or if you’re a founder, build a really successful, profitable company.

In order to do that, there are a few career capitals I think you have to build:

1. Expertise & Skill Capital: real knowledge people need and will pay for + the ability to monetize it.

2. Social Capital: potential partners, mentors, evangelists, clients you know via your work (full-time, part-time, or casual networking)

3. Credentials/Reputation: what makes someone trust you? Your public work (think personal brand), a degree you have, or the people who would recommend your product or services (ties to social capital).

4. Financial Capital: literal money - a safety net so you can comfortably take bigger risks. i.e: without my full-time job salary, it would be much harder for me to be patient with my side hustles.

What I think about career capital strategy is already outlined here https://akwaabatung.substack.com/p/neu-anh-sap-tot-nghiep-ai-hoc.

The key here is: No one owns these capitals on the day they graduate from college. At most, a reputable college gives you credentials and a tiny bit of expertise. So you gotta fight real hard to build these capitals. And many times, during those fighting years, you will feel demotivated as fck :)

It’s normal to feel stuck at work. It’s normal to hate your boss and Monday. It’s normal to feel scared of quitting your job.

In my apartment, almost every other Sunday, we talk about how we just wanna retire and chill. I think what we really mean is we wanna find work that fills our souls (and our pockets). Luckily, we all know that we have to be patient with it.

Power through the struggle. Build up those career capitals. Good things take time, courage, and luck :)

Last thoughts: I think there’s beauty in working - especially doing work that fills your soul. Retirement is just not exciting to me.

I think everyone has a desire to contribute - to be of value to “others”. The scope of “others” is different for everyone - for some, helping their family is enough, for some, it’s their city, country, or humankind.

We all want to be recognized for our contributions OR feel our impact.

Work is a medium through which I interact with and create value for others. The day I can no longer do that, I think I’m meaningfully dead.

SO, I’d rather spend the rest of my life figuring out how to do meaningful work, instead of dreaming of never having to work again.

This month also marks the 1-year anniversary of closing my first business. The people I met on that journey are still great friends. That’s the kind of work I wanna create again and again.

That’s it. Thanks for reading my thoughts :)

Tung

p/s: I’m trying to write more casually in this Substack moving forward. Sharing learning with you like a friend. I won’t try to be too polished or inspiring :) If this is not your cup of tea, pls unsubscribe haha.