Summary

The author reflects on the realization that pursuing an advertising agency for monetary gain led to personal unhappiness and the subsequent discovery that true fulfillment comes from listening to one's intuition and not just achieving set goals.

Abstract

The author shares a personal journey of disillusionment with their advertising agency business, initially driven by the promise of financial success. Despite having the necessary skills and experiencing months of good income, the author felt miserable, recognizing that money alone does not guarantee happiness. Over three years, the author suppressed personal happiness, social life, and intuition, adhering to the misguided belief that achieving specific life goals would lead to contentment. Eventually, the author acknowledges the mistake of ignoring their well-being and the importance of listening to their inner voice, finding solace in writing as a form of therapy and rejecting the oversimplification of happiness through goal-setting and positive thinking.

Opinions

The author believes that the pursuit of money can overshadow the importance of personal happiness and well-being.
There is a critique of the idea that setting and achieving life goals directly leads to happiness.
The author expresses regret for neglecting personal fulfillment, relationships, and intuition in the pursuit of professional success.
Writing is seen as therapeutic and a way to reconnect with one's inner thoughts and feelings.
The author rejects the culture of "positive thinking" and motivational content as inadequate solutions for true happiness.

Almost All Of Us Fall For This Until It’s Too Late

You can’t buy your time back

I couldn’t wait to hang up that sales call.

*click*

I was done.

I lay back in my chair, and put my hands over my face.

This business was killing me.

Yes- I had months when I made good money.

So what?

It means nothing when you’re miserable.

In 2018, I set out on a (stupid) mission to build an advertising agency.

As part of my day job, I have almost all the skills needed, as I invested millions of dollars in ads for clients.

The one thing I didn’t think of, though, is whether or not it would make my life better, aside from money.

Things like a general sense of “happiness”, spending time with friends and family, going out with women, all seemed irrelevant, and was considered a privilege.

Dumb thinking.

It took me three years to realize this:

Your brain can’t predict whether something will make you happy or not.

HA.

I “fell for” a simple idea that most of us have these days:

If you want to be happy, identify what you want out of your life, set clear goals, and work to achieve them.

Well.

It doesn’t work.

Not for me, anyway.

The funny thing is, I felt like something was wrong the entire time.

I felt like this for THREE damn years,

As if the world was screaming, “STOP! and choose another path for yourself”.

So I started writing. It feels a lot better. Like therapy.

I’m done burying my intuition in “positive thinking” and motivational videos.