This is the first non-introductory blog post I’ve written for Wealth Courant. Realistically, there’s still a lot more introducing I need to do.
As I put my fingers to the keyboard for the first time as part of this new effort, one thing is abundantly clear. My mental state when writing is one of severe restriction. I imagine all of my teachers, professors, and smart friends reading something I’ve written and saying, “Really? That’s the best you could do?”
Part of my personal goal for this blog is to unlearn that habit of writing restrictively, trying to make it perfect the first time, or frankly perfect at all. I deeply understand and respect the need for structure (to an annoying degree sometimes for my loved ones and coworkers no doubt), but writing more freely is a relevant skill too. In a nutshell, the purpose of Wealth Courant is to memorialize the thoughts and lessons I have learned and will learn throughout my life, ultimately exploring the modern definitions of wealth. As long as I do something that closely resembles that and is enjoyable to read, I aim not to care if the writing itself isn’t publication ready. I may ask some trusted people in my life to proofread these at some point, but for now, my only co-editor is Google Docs suggestions.
I have so many thoughts I want to include in this post. I may be running the risk of covering multiple topics here, but for now, I don’t mind.
In terms of the mechanics of actually writing this post, here are some things I’m noticing:
- I hate that I used “things” in that last line. My AP Lang teacher is cringing. But I’m going to leave it be.
- I like the concept of first writing a title that summarizes or merely teases my thoughts on a topic, then writing the post. Therefore, I don’t mind having a longer title, and I’m going to resist the urge to capitalize every word because it feels too much like letting my inner perfectionist win. Either way, I expect my process to remain (1) construct an intelligent title, (2) construct an intelligent post.
- I like teeing up new paragraphs before finishing previous ones and bouncing around from point to point to gradually build out the narrative I’m trying to express. I can’t be sure if this tendency will stick around.
- I instinctively wonder “how many pages am I going to write?” This is a mental artifact of being a lifelong (thus far) academic that I hope to shake.
- I really don’t want to step away from writing this. Maybe I’ll be a finish-in-one-sitting type of author.
- The vast majority of the writing I have done/do is fact-based. This opinion-based writing feels strange, but good.
- I’m purposefully doing certain things to maintain anonymity. I wonder if/how long this will last.
- I’m probably going to forget to include certain ideas these posts. Unless they’re central to the topic, I probably won’t retroactively edit these posts to include these new ideas that will likely pop into my head over time.
- Just as with my running, my writing stamina is due for improvement over time.
- I am an obsessive person, so I need to ensure these writing efforts remain a labor of love and don’t become an all-consuming commitment.
- No hard feelings to Sam Dogen from Financial Samurai, and Sam Harris (not that they’ll be seeing this). In the case of my writing, imitation really should be interpreted as a form of deep flattery.
Anyways, the core idea I want to convey here is that perfectionism about certain things can be a significant downfall. (That may be obvious, but now and going forward, I want to crux of these posts to be providing a unique viewpoint on even the most mainstream of topics.) Case in point: it has taken me almost exactly a year from the conception of Wealth Courant to write this post. After failing to start immediately, for reasons unknowable in a universe with no free will (be on the lookout for that post), I frequently thought about the endeavor but never took the leap. Along the way, the perfectionist in me said, “Eh, just move on to something else. The idea is stale in your head already. Something better will come around that you’ll jump on right away.” In hindsight, it was a lethal (get used to my exaggerations) combination of perfectionism and the desire for instant gratification that could have stopped me from pursuing this writing goal that is now 2-3 years in the making.
I think these thoughts I was having are a mental microcosm of feelings that aspiring entrepreneurs often have, especially young people, who nowadays put immense pressure on themselves to succeed instantly. “Is this the right idea? Is this the right time to try? What if a perfect opportunity comes along and I’m too busy with this older idea to take advantage?” More and more, I believe the answers to these questions don’t matter.
There are harsh economic realities to life, but whether you’re trying to start a business or just pursuing a passion project, it’s best to throw all of your expectations out the window. If you have enough mental bandwidth to have these types of internal discussions with yourself, odds are it’s not to late for you to start anything. So prove to yourself you can be the type of person that starts, by starting.