I wish I had known these lessons (and what REALLY matters) earlier in my career.
Giving back is my true passion. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.
So I wanted to take the time to share these lessons with you. Don’t wait as long as I did for all the hard work to be worth it.
If you missed part 1, check it out here.
Here’s the second batch of the 16 big life lessons I learned along the way…
8. Be Real In a World Full of Fakes
I believe in full transparency (it’s good to be real in an industry full of fakes).
That’s why I show all my trades (wins AND losses).
And it’s why I show all the donations we do with Karmagawa.
When we donate to a charity, they don’t know how much we’re going to donate.
They show us their mission and then we surprise them with a donation.
People sometimes ask why we post them online (usually the toxic haters).
We post them online to inspire crowdfunding more donations. And it works.
When Amir Zakari did our Save the Reef documentary, it actually bombed on Instagram.
But it got 15.3 million views on YouTube and raised roughly $1.5 million.
Take that, haters…
9. Turn Negativity Into Fuel
The world has a lot of big issues.
For example, we’re not going to stop climate change anytime soon. Palm oil in Indonesia is another big problem.
But there’s also potential to fix a lot of the problems with new technology.
If you look at the plastic problem around the world, it’s terrible. But new technologies have the potential to get rid of the plastic.
That’s going to change people’s minds.
Right now, there’s all this negativity and people believe there are no solutions.
As technology grows (and AI gets better), it’s going to be amazing.
10. Find Your Motivation
Some people ask “How can you live luxuriously and then donate schools?”
One is for me, one is for them (a little of everything).
For some people, it’s all charity. For others, it’s all luxury.
I think that the world is much more fascinating when you start to open your mind to different possibilities.
You can be a little selfish and unselfish, too.
It’s all about having a purpose and a mission.
Kobe Bryant had the Mamba mentality.
More people need to find what they’re obsessed with.
It’s not just about working hard.
If you don’t really love something, you won’t fine-tune it. So find your purpose.
In ancient Japan, the samurai were only samurai.
All they did was practice for battle (they were obsessed with the mission).
11. Fall In Love With the Process
Here’s another thing we can learn from Japanese culture…
Source: Millionaire Publishing
There’s no tipping in Japan. Why?
Because service is already supposed to be perfect, so why would you tip?
There’s a certain beauty in that. It reminds me of some of the best chefs.
They might have a restaurant with six or eight seats.
They don’t look to franchise (and if they’re sick, the restaurant doesn’t open that night).
To become a sushi chef in Japan… It’s crazy.
You have to spend seven years just cutting fish and putting it on the rice. There are all these nuances. Who would do that?
When you focus on your craft and try to be perfect, whether or not you succeed, you fall in love with the process.
More people need to do that.
I fell in love with the process of trading (not just the money).
Many people get into trading because they want to get rich.
But they don’t want it bad enough to really educate themselves.
12. Stay Open-Minded and Adapt, Adapt, Adapt
When I got into trading, I was a tennis player. But then I couldn’t play tennis (due to an injury).
I was successful, but trading got old after a while, so I got into teaching.
Then teaching led me to traveling more.
Then I got tired of luxury and was open-minded enough to get into charity.
There were a lot of missteps along the way, but I was a philosophy major in college (that helped).
The beautiful thing about the internet is that you have access to endless information, videos, photos…
The world is at your fingertips.
But a lot of people just stick to what they love right now and they’re not willing to change.
Always be willing to change.
You might be surprised by what motivates you.
If you told me that I’d be teaching or into charity as a kid, I would have said, “shut up, I just want to get rich.”
You always have to challenge yourself.
NEVER just say, “Okay, this is my life, I’m pigeonholed into this.”
You can literally do anything.
And the cool thing is, with all the new technology, you can make money on anything.
13. The Traditional Path Isn’t Always the Best Path
Most of the best people I know are street smart. They’re not book smart.
I get it…
If you want to be a doctor or lawyer, you need those degrees. You need to stay in school because it’s required.
But in the future?
It will change as AI takes over.
AI can program websites. You shouldn’t learn to program anymore.
Think about where we are historically.
There are SO many different jobs out there where you can make more (and be financially free while doing what you love).
14. Stay Humble or Life Will Humble You
You always have to stay humble, especially in the stock market.
If you ever get too cocky, you’ll get humbled (and it can be VERY expensive).
Mistakes are a vital part of your journey.
They’re not a fun part of your journey, but they ARE vital.
Even after you’ve learned (or think you’ve learned) every lesson life has to offer…
Stay humble.
Because when you start to think “look at me, I’m so good…”
You’re standing on the edge of a cliff.
15. Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
When Mat Abad and I started Karmagawa, our goal was to build 1,000 schools.
We have a ways to go, but there’s so much opportunity to help.
Source: 2026 Millionaire Media, LLC
If you keep going, you get to that level where there’s hockey stick growth.
So, we’re also doing libraries and computer labs.
We have two now in South America where kids are learning to type, learning basic computer skills…
These are really tough neighborhoods (a lot of these communities don’t have much).
They have a negatively skewed view of the world, where nobody is coming to help them.
We’ve given musical instruments to kids.
It’s just a saxophone to you and me, but for a child with no hope, it’s night and day.
Another child in Bali was grateful that we’d opened a school and helped build a home for his family.
But it wasn’t until I’d met him for the third time that he told me he was sad because he couldn’t learn to read.
He couldn’t see the words and he was embarrassed by it.
We spent $50 on a pair of glasses and it changed his life forever.
Another child wasn’t studying because he was always tired from sleeping on the ground.
We bought him a mattress for about $100 so he could sleep and study.
It’s crazy how far a little compassion and obsession with helping can go.
Finally…
16. Focus On What Is In Your Control
People underestimate technology and how fast everything is changing.
Other people are scared of AI and robots. I get it.
But there’s also nothing we can do about it.
Don’t worry about things that aren’t in your control.
This is a very Buddhist way of thinking.
Why are you worrying? What are you going to do?
All you can do is control your own journey, your own actions.
Ignore all the dystopian future negativity out there.
Get Inspired and Take Action NOW
You have all of these tools at your fingertips that no civilization, no generation in the past has ever had.
We can do amazing things with it.
You just need a little push…
What’s your favorite life lesson? Any I should add to my list? Let me know at [email protected].
Cheers,
Tim SykesEditor, Tim Sykes Daily
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