Hi friend,

I spent the better half of my early twenties chasing success – or at least what I thought it looked like.

What did success look like to me? Well, it’s complicated.

When I was a senior in high school, I finally started taking a look at what I wanted to do with my life and how I wanted to earn a living. As a high school senior, there’s so much pressure on you to figure things out, when, to be quite frank, none of us knew what the f*ck we were doing at that age. How could we? We have little life experience, and definitely minimal exposure to the harsh realities of adulthood.

So, I decided that I wanted to be a music teacher…. at first. After going through the application for a state university, I promptly made the decision that I didn’t want to do that with my life. So, I dropped out of the audition process and signed up for community college where I would go for two years for “Electronic Media” – a weak multimedia program. I would eventually drop out of that program and quit college completely.

This is the first example of me chasing success. This one was quite tame in my experience and one that I think at least a lot of my fellow Americans go through. The next round of chasing success was worse.

I soon grew accustomed to full-time employment and the financial benefits that came with. I began chasing stuff – expensive clothes, a newer car (to be fair, mine was beginning to fall apart), expensive furniture, you name it, I probably went for it. (except for those weird Stanley cup accessories that are all over TikTok and Instagram. That stuff is weird).

In doing so, I let go of the one principal that I had attached my identity to and brought me a more fulfilling life, minimalism. It also what dug me into 15,000 of credit card debt. All those fancy dinners, days spent shopping, and subscriptions add up so quick, especially when you’re not a high income earner, like me.

The hardest lesson I’ve learned from this, and the hardest one I’ve probably ever learned is:

You can’t have it all, especially not all at once.

This lesson has forced me to reassess my life and how I to live going forward.

What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned? How did you learn it?

As always, I’m keen to hear your thoughts.

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Thanks for reading the first installment of my new newsletter! New-sletter? New(sletter)? New(s)letter? Okay, enough of that. My newsletter. In this newsletter, I'll be sharing insights into minimalism, productivity, self development, and how to live a meaningful life. Excited to have you here!

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Have a great week!

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Drew