The first gazillion "businesses" I started since 14 failed and left me defeated…
Then I discovered one must live the dream, not chase the dream.
The next venture I started generated my first BIG win.
And then again. And again. And again.
Now it’s second nature to play the game of life from a place of living the dream and doing anything else seems like self-sabotage.
And so that’s what I do.
But I still fail and F up and lose money ON THE DAILY…
And that’s all a part of "living the dream".
In other words...
My man Kobe got 5 chips…
But he also lost BIG games too…
All was a part of "living the dream" when you look back on it.
The dream was to play basketball at the highest level. To practice. To put in the reps. To hone the craft. To get better. To test oneself. To see what one is capable of. To rise early. To be the last one to leave.
Win or lose? Chip or no chip? Success or failure?
All irrelevant for my man was already living the dream of being the GOAT and when you live the dream, instead of chase the dream - 5 championship rings find their way onto your fingers. The label of the GOAT finds you. Other ball players ‘stuck’ chasing the dream end up looking up to you.
"Nobody worked harder than Kobe…" guys like Dwayne Wade say.
And that’s because…
Nobody lived the dream harder than Kobe.
Other ball players "chased" the dream…
But one cannot keep chasing for long durations without getting tired.
And so these ball players would throw in the towel, take a break, focus on other things and take their eyes off the prize.
Kobe’s biggest beef with his teammates especially early in his career was "all these guys care about is money and bitches, fuck em." lol.
My man wouldn’t even want to talk to his teammates, he was so invested in living the dream. My man wouldn’t even get distracted when Chris Rock was cracking jokes in his ear, he was so invested in living the dream.
Anybody who wasn’t living the dream he wouldn’t even F with - even if these were his own teammates or celebrities or whoever.
And that’s what made Kobe, Kobe.
To the outside world, this seems crazy. But that’s because we’ve been conditioned to chase, stop, chase, stop, chase, stop.
When you realize this is a recipe for disaster and ends up in despair and more heartache than you can ever imagine - you realize all one can do is live the dream. Not tomorrow. Today. Before you even taste a teaspoon of success.
If the dream is really your dream and you want to do nothing more than devote your life to making the dream materialize, then the only choice you have is to live the dream. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly.
Why do anything else?
Kobe knew that. And so did anybody else who ever achieved the dream.
So how does this apply to online business?
Chances are up till now if you haven’t seen the success you think you deserve, then you’re probably stuck ‘chasing the dream’ instead of ‘living the dream’.
How can you tell which is which?
I don’t know.
But here’s what I was ‘doing’ when I was chasing the dream of online business and nothing was working for me:
Jumping from business model to business model, trying to find the model that would unlock success…
Dreaming about the future and how rich I would be…
Compartmentalizing the dream vs. life. Viewed em as two separate things. During work, I would focus on the dream. During life, I would forget the dream.
Thoughts & words were either aligned with what I didn’t want and/or with what I wanted in the *future*...
Testing a bunch of different shit and waiting for a ‘lucky’ break…
Doing x, so I could experience y down the road…
Putting opportunity over skill…
Doubting myself and giving into my fears (listening and giving into surroundings of external doubt)…
Constantly anxious and worried if I would ever achieve the dream - or if I’d just end up a big loser while all my peers around me made bank via corporate life…
Waiting for the ‘perfect’ idea to hit me…
You get the point.
How did this change when I started living the dream?
I simply asked myself:
"If I already had what I seek, how would I act… think… speak… work… engage with people… view myself… tackle the work day?"
I realized I would:
Rise early
Lift weights/run/walk
Meditate
Write copy for 2-4 hours
Check up on the team + manage
Scheme up ideas for new ventures + creating more impact
Create dope content to give back w/ zero expectations
Constantly learn to get better at what I do
Network/chop it up with fellow killers
Spend $$$s without looking at the price tag (I’m not recommending this to anybody and if my immigrant momma ever reads this, she gon kill the boy. But even when I barely had any money in the account, I wouldn’t look at price tags. Obviously I wasn’t poppin’ tags in the Gucci store and shit. But when grocery shopping, buying booze, buying chips/candy at the gas station, eating at restaurants, going on trips with the boys, whatever - I wouldn’t base decisions off price. So many stories of being with friends/gf and buying stuff, then they ask me 2 seconds later… "yo how much was that?" and I wouldn’t know what to tell em. I would be like "I forgot" and they’d be like "yo how did you forget… you literally just paid for it 2 seconds ago?" Shit was the funniest shit in the world. Probably why my bank account hit -$67 at one point, but whatever - live the dream right? Haha. Again. This isn’t financial advice. Taking it to that extreme will probably fuck you up if you’re an adult. So don’t try it and please don’t sue me, bro. I’m just telling you my story.)
Be 100% empathetic, curious and high energy with people
Leave evenings free for family/adventure/fun/freedom/enjoying the fruits of my labor
Align my thoughts, words, actions with only things I wanted/cared about
Feel the following emotions daily: gratitude, joy, love, peace, laughter, success, wealth, abundance.
Take x week off every quarter to travel and raise havoc
Not give a F about anxiety/worries because I was already worthy/living the dream
And so that’s what I did.
Before I made big $$$, I was already living the dream of a high performing online entrepreneur.
Once I ‘achieved’ the dream (and didn’t have to find a job, had money coming in, time freedom, etc.), guess what?
NOTHING in my life really changed (sure the drinks got colder… the bottles got more expensive… the frequency of trips increased… the physical environment started to change a bit… but the ‘default’ setting - exactly the same).
Nobody around me noticed anything different either.
Heck even to this day most of my peers/friends/colleagues in real life don’t even know what's up. I don’t know what they think I’m doing lol. I don’t have any socials besides Twitter and nobody really knows about it, so it’s funny. Every time I link up with an old friend they always ask "what you been doing?"
I say "same shit I’ve been doing since 16 bro" and they laugh and think it’s a joke, like I’m still ‘unemployed’ lol. But it’s not.
What I’ve been doing is living the dream.
Once I started making good money, there was nothing left to do but to continue to live the dream.
And so that’s what I did…
And that’s what I’ve done…
Up till this email.
Get how this works?
You can make your dreams come true RIGHT NOW by simply living the dream. Find out what you seek. And live it. Daily.
If your dream is to be an A-List actor, live the dream of an A-List actor. If your dream is to be a 6-figure copywriter, live the dream of a 6-figure copywriter. If your dream is to be a YouTuber, live the dream of a YouTuber. With all doubt removed. Because doubt is not real.
Only one stopping you is you.
"But it can’t be that simple Tej..."
I don’t know, why don’t you try it?
You’ve spent xx years of your life chasing dreams…
Why not spend the rest of this year living IN the dream…
… and see where that takes you?
This may seem like minor changes in approach to you, but it’s anything but. Read any biography. Watch any documentary of someone who achieved remarkable shit with their life. And ask yourself:
Did this person chase the dream or live the dream?
We all admire people who live the dream, but we spend our own precious life chasing our dreams.
Stop. Wake up. It’s not working.
Get on the same level your heroes are on by living your dream.
If dreams of having an online business and making whatever you want happen is your dream, then live it. No more chasing. Okay?
Your friend,
/tej
P.S. Have you ever heard the quote "all you seek is inside you" or some cheesy shit like that? It sounds cheesy and funny, right? And you dismiss it. But once you start living the dream and then experience it, you realize you had everything the dream could give you…
… the FIRST day you started to live it.
You won’t believe me till you experience it.
But once you do, you’ll be like "Yo wtf… I can live ANY dream right now by simply living it?" And guess what? You can.
Only one stopping you is you.
One does not need permission or ‘external’ success to live the dream (that’s a lie fed to control you). One can simply start living the dream. And experience the gifts it has to give you right here, right now.
P.S.S. What is worry? What are fears? What is stress? All things that arise when one goes from 'living the dream' to 'chasing the dream'. Whenever you start feeling these emotions, view them as a sign that you have slipped out of living the dream. And get back to it. And watch the worries/fears/stress melt away.