June edition: on taking a break

Hello and welcome to June’s edition, coming in a few days late. I wanted to have sent it on Sunday but life got in the way 😕

This month, I decided to ditch the usual format (which is a book summary, a tool recommendation, and a lesson learnt, for those unfamiliar with it).

We have now half of the year behind us and, since it’s the month of my birthday, I decided to take a small break. I visited Copenhagen, which I loved. If you needed a sign to also take a break and relax for a few days, this is it.

I didn’t read any book from my “achiever’s book list”, and instead opted for a fiction book from Agatha Christie. Little trivia for you: she’s the most successful writer of all time, after Shakespeare.

I have enjoyed this break, and took it as an opportunity to reflect on the first half of the year, as well as the last few years.

Since 2020, I have been focused on a plan to achieve more. In broad terms, this plan consists of learning as much as possible after my day job: investing/finance, Data/tech skills, programming, business knowledge, etc... This month, all that caught up to me. For the first time ever, I felt tired to the point of being unable to keep working/learning after the day job. I felt difficulty concentrating during the work day, engaging with everyday life, and a persistent desire to sleep. It feels as if my body is asking for a rest. This reminded me of a quote from Ryan Holiday:

remember, it’s called “human being”, not “human doing”.

Despite not having any book summary or tool recommendation, I wanted to share a few thoughts and lessons learnt from the past years:

• I once told my parents I’d be a millionaire by 30. I’m now 33 and still a few hundred thousand short. Things take time, be patient. When I look at my last year, it seems I didn’t achieve anything significant. Looking at the last decade, I see I graduated, changed jobs four times across three different areas, bought two houses and four motorcycles, and learned a lot about myself.

• Don’t neglect your health (both physical and mental). Your goals will still be there after you take a rest. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. For the overachievers out there: take a walk, a few deep breaths, a few minutes (or hours) doing nothing. Your body will thank you (I know mine did.)

• Know Your 'Why': I chase achievement for freedom - to do what I want, when and where I want. (I also really want an AP Royal Oak 😂)

• Related with the above, I saw a book in Copenhagen mentioning a Swedish concept - “Lagom” - which means “just the right amount”. Enough gives you a finish line. It provides comfort, and satisfaction (maybe even gratitude). More is indefinite. It creates stress because there is no finish line. More doesn’t end. This reminded me of a recommendation from the financial independence subreddit: first, define the life you want, then save for it.

I never fail, I either win or I learn.

• Embrace failure. I’ve been failing for well over a decade now, and it has been the best learning experience. I’ve failed dozens of exams in university, job interviews, relationships, workout programs, even career paths. I’m still scared to fail, but much less. As Valentino Rossi said: “if you want to be a great rider, eventually you have to learn to crash.”

• Be comfortable being dumb. I have been in a new position for about 5 months now. I’d say, despite all the technical things I’ve learnt, the most important lesson so far has been to not be afraid to sound/be dumb. That is the only way to eventually stop being dumb and to learn something. Ask many questions, even if they are stupid.

• Actions show priorities. I have considered exercise as a priority for a long time but in the last months, I haven’t found the time to do it. I could find the time to watch TV, play PlayStation, and scroll Instagram, though. Realising this suddenly made me able to find the time to work out again.

• Be careful with dreamy lives. Everybody seems to be living a perfect life, especially online. Great meals, vacations, minimalist perfectly designed houses, and dream jobs that pay thousands with minimal effort. Comparing your life to those is a sure way to feel behind and inadequate. A great life takes a huge amount of effort, and is filled with many setbacks along the way. It pays well to make it seem otherwise. So, if you need to read this, here it is: not getting it right every time doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. Those perfect pancakes on Instagram probably took several times to film.

That’s it from me.

See you next month,

Fábio

P.S. If you found value in this departure from the usual format, let me know. Your feedback shapes this newsletter.