THREAD // How learning SEO allowed me to quit my day job and achieve financial independence.
Caveat: This is not a "get rich quick" story. This took ~3 years to get off the ground.
Upon graduating college, I worked as a data scientist for 4 years.
I quickly grew to hate corporate culture - pointless meetings, bad bosses, long hours, etc.
I did some research and found SEO - search engine optimization - and found that I could make money with it.
May 22, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
THREAD // On using profitable websites to achieve financial freedom.
1. After working in Corp America for 4 years following college, I felt burnt out and tired of the monotonous schedule so I started looking for alternative ways to earn money.
2. Most alternatives were just side hustles / freelance gigs
e.g.
-Driving for Uber
-Delivering food via DoorDash
-Walking dogs via Rover
-Being a freelance writer
None offered any potential for (1) passive income or (2) exponential income growth
Dec 9, 2019 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
THREAD // Short summaries of popular finance books
Richest Man in Bablyon: Spend less than you earn and invest the difference. Avoid buying things that have little or no value after a few months. Spend time accumulating skills and knowledge that others will pay you for.
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: Buy a home within your means. Always negotiate salary. Negotiate when buying a car. Keep your cash in online accounts that pay more interest than traditional big banks. Automate savings and investments. Invest in low-cost index funds.
Oct 28, 2019 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
THREAD // How to gain wealth
1. To be "wealthy" is to own your time.
Wealthy people get to wake up each morning and decide exactly how they'd like to spend their day.
2. The way to gain freedom over your time is to own assets that earn money for you while you sleep.
An asset is anything that tends to increase in value over time or pays you money simply for owning it. Some examples are real estate, stocks, bonds, websites, and businesses.
Oct 7, 2019 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
12 tips for improved sleep from "Why We Sleep"
1. Stick to a sleep schedule. "Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day."
2. Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. "Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but not later than two hours before bedtime."
3. Avoid caffeine and nicotine in the afternoon or later.
4. Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. "You tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off."
5. Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
Jul 3, 2019 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
THREAD // Quitting my job at 25
Ever since graduating college and working at a traditional 9-5, I hated many aspects of Corporate America including:
-Commutes
-Bad managers
-Performance reviews
-Pointless meetings
-Office politics
-Lack of control over my schedule
I quickly realized that I wanted to achieve financial independence so that I could walk away from a traditional job altogether.
However, starting at $0 it would take me ~16 years to hit F.I. (25x ann expenses) even with a 50% savings rate (assuming 5% ann. returns)
Jan 19, 2019 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
THREAD // Advice on Saving & Investing in Your 20s
1. When you’re just starting out, focus on becoming an income machine, not an investment guru.
2. Don't obsess over finding your passion. Instead, master some skill, interest, or knowledge that others find valuable.
3. Once you do start making serious money, resist the temptation to blow it on lifestyle upgrades.
4. Outside of your day job, become a voracious learner.
Jan 1, 2019 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
THREAD // Life is about finding fulfilling work, not saving up enough money to never work again.
When I first discovered the concept of early retirement (save up enough money in 10-15 years to never work again), I thought it was the solution to lasting happiness and bliss.
I hated the idea of working 40 hours per week in a cube for 40 years doing work I found pointless, so stacking up enough savings to never need a cubicle job again seemed like a great idea.
Dec 9, 2018 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
THREAD // Life is about finding fulfilling work, not saving up enough money to never work again.
When I first discovered the concept of early retirement (save up enough money in 10-15 years to never work again), I thought it was the solution to lasting happiness and bliss.
I hated the idea of working 40 hours per week in a cube for 40 years doing work I found pointless, so stacking up enough savings to never need a cubicle job again seemed like a great idea.
Nov 28, 2018 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
THREAD // Are savings or investment returns more important?
Short answer: savings in the short-term (<10 yrs) and investment returns in the long-term (>20 yrs)
Long answer: keep reading
Starting out, investment returns won't accelerate your net worth growth much.
A 7% return on $1,000 is only $70.
A 7% return on $10,000 is only $700.
Early net worth growth is purely dependent on how much of your income you can save.
Nov 5, 2018 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
THREAD // 7 lessons from 7 mentors that have changed my life
1. Great relationships and great wealth are both a product of compound interest. The serious returns come from consistent investments made over the course of many decades. (Naval Ravikant)
2. The best source of new business is the work on your desk. To acquire new clients, please the ones you have. To grow your following, focus on writing a great post today. To get promoted, do your best work on your current project. (Charlie Munger)
Aug 24, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
THREAD // A collection of my favorite quotes from "The One Thing" by Gary Keller:
"It is not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do, it is that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have."
"Success is actually a short race—a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over."
Aug 10, 2018 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Some musings on writing every day for over a year:
1. I write around 6am-8:30am each morning before leaving for work. This 8:30am deadline is a blessing in disguise as it forces me to focus deeply for a solid 2-2.5 hours in order to craft an article from start to finish.
2. When I first started, I feared that I wouldn't have enough ideas to write about. But once I started writing daily I became more observant in my everyday life as I was always on the watch for something interesting to write about. Now I have a backlog of 100+ article ideas.
