Growing up - All I wanted to be was a Millionaire.

Growing up - All I wanted to be was a millionaire. When I made my first million, I thought I'd be happy, on top of the world, really satisfied with myself. I am not talking about a million in assets, I hit that when I was 23, I am talking about $1 million in cash.  A few days before I turned 25, I made my first million and a few months later, I made another. I am not writing this because I want to show off, I am writing this to show money isn't everything. I made alot of sacrifices, lost many friends, and worked almost 18 hours a day to get here. Was it worth it? Would I do it again? YES! But the grass is not always greener.

The Hunger:

A million dollars - so what? The first million was hard and it does get easier after that. But for someone like me, I am not satisfied - I am always looking for more. As you move up, the competition gets steeper. For example, in Ontario alone, there are over 100,000 millionaires.  So you aren't that special as you think . Yes I compete with myself and try to better myself every day but I don't ignore the competition.  You always walk with an empty stomach and nothing you do will fill your hunger. The only word you know is 'more'. It comes to a point where you think to yourself, what the hell am I doing sleeping, at a bar, at a sporting event, at a family party, at your friend's wedding when you can be out using your time a lot more productive. Everything becomes a numerical statistic; you start to rationalize events using probability and you are always measuring gain/loss in everything you do. Let's not forget opportunity cost.   This is not to say greed takes over you, I am quite satisfied. Key word being satisfied, when was the last time you had a really good meal and your answer was I am satisfied? It's usually I am full or I feel bloated or I shouldn't have ate so much.  It becomes a situation where the more you get, the more you want.

People

I'd say, I lost touch with most people that I ones considered really good friends. Friendship itself I feel is relative and its dependent on circumstances. I still have a few good friends that I keep in touch with every now and then but for the majority of it, they are all strangers. What I noticed was the more I became successful, the more people started to move away from me. Especially those who are not relatively that well off. On the contrary, I received an increase in response with those who were doing relatively well in life, accountants, lawyers, bankers and so on.  So yes you become isolated from most of the world that you used to know; on a plus side those that matter stay with you no matter what. You realize those who the well wishers are, those who are happy for you. I also learned not to talk about your accomplishments; they do very little to inspire and you will seem like a 'show-off'. More people talk about you then talk to you. I wish everyone the best!

Stress

In the beginning you are really stressed. Everything that goes bad is the worst thing in the world. You learn to cope with stress and use it as a weapon. Stress becomes so regular that it becomes irrelevant. You made so many mistakes and surprisingly you gotten through them all, this builds confidence.  Maybe I am saying this is because all stressful situations  were faced head first and resolved/mediated.  Had a stressful situation had a negative implication, I might not have the same perspective.

Part 2 to Follow