The counterintuitive approach to success

“The beauty of life is falling down seven times and waking up the eighth time." – Paulo Coelho

In his book -- The Alchemist.

The book transformed my life for good.

I've gifted it to nearly all my friends, and I make it a point to reread it every year.

This brings me to the quote above; it's a powerful reminder to reflect on my past business experiences and acknowledge that I am making significant strides as a digital writer this time around.

After deciding to drop out of university in 2022, I've engaged in various business ventures, including:

- Forex trading

- Substack newsletter

- Digital products (e-book)

- Growth coaching

- Fruit vending

- Home tuition

While I failed in all of them, I refuse to view them as failures.

Instead, I see these experiences as invaluable experiments.

Through these experiments, I've uncovered what I truly want from life, and I am now fully committed to my journey in digital writing.

So, why do I believe this time things will be different?

It’s my seventh attempt, and I’m taking that to heart.

Ultimately, my success hinges on me. I am in charge of my path forward.

Bottom line:

I am grateful for the past two years I have invested in my portfolio of experiments. While the outcomes haven't always met my expectations, I take immense pride in my resilience and determination to press on.

The experimentation phase has been immensely rewarding atleast for me.

On the same note, its so unfortunate too many people rush to skip this vital process.

They launch a business, face one setback, and declare, "This isn’t for me."

"Really? You’re giving up after just one attempt?"

If you’ve ever heard success stories, you know that real achievement takes years, not months. Patience is key; without it, you'll give up too soon.

See, success is relative...

What I seek isn’t to create a unicorn; my goal is digital freedom.

This encompasses:

- Freedom of time

- Freedom of work

- Freedom of income

- Freedom of location

I want the flexibility to work whenever I choose, on tasks I genuinely enjoy, with limitless income potential, and from anywhere in the world.

This letter focuses on the importance of freedom in work and the necessity of experimentation.

And why this experiments is important.

It's so naive to think you'll get it right the first time you try something new.

9/10, you'll fail and that's OK.

Experiment until you find work that feels like play. Embrace curiosity, courage, and honesty in your pursuit, and you will find your way.

Setbacks are part of the process. You may not fail six times or even seven as Paulo suggests, but challenges will arise.

Embrace them.

The goal is to discover your ikigai: the work you love, the work that pays you, and the work that makes an impact in others' lives.

Until then, don’t settle.

And please, don’t fixate solely on money; it can obscure your true purpose.

That's a wrap.

Talk soon,

Dennis

P.S

I am not yet successful yet, I mean, I haven't even hit $10k/month milestone yet, but one thing that has taken me 2+ years to crystalize on my mind is that failure is inevitable.

It's an essential part of the equation of success.

You should not aim to not have failures, you should instead, aim to fail fast and forward until Mr Success and Mrs Luck comes knocking your way.

So I am curious...

How many times did you encounter challenges before reaching success?

If you aren't successful yet, what attempt are you at?

Feel free to send me a email as I reply to all my emails...

P.P.S

If you feel you already know what you want to go all in, I recommend you read my previous issue on finding work that feels like play...

Here is the link:

https://dennischegenewsletter.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-find-work-that-feels-like-play