I don’t know why you are here, however, I do exactly know why I am here writing. Why? The main reason is that I wish to be independent.

Premise: This is a series of 3 articles that take inspiration from this video. The first one explains why I’m doing this, the second explains how to achieve these goals while the third answers what I’m talking about, and is a summary of the main material and resources if one wants to support my activity. The first one is the most personal, while the other two are more focused on practicality.

About motivations

Well, independence is a complicated and personal concept, hence, I’ll let you dive for a moment into my personal thoughts. From my point of view, being independent means being capable of sustain and fulfill different levels of personal needs without sacrificing leisure time, which is needed to join the beauties offered by life such as family, friends, love, nature, music, and fun. A more analytic way to analyze different necessities of human beings is represented by the well known Maslow hierarchy (1954):

where needs to be satisfied go in order, from the bottom to the top. The motivation to fulfill and complete the pyramid depends principally on two factors:

• personal values: what one desires to do.
• personal competences: what one is able to do.

Combining personal values and competences, one should start fulfilling these needs until he/she reaches the full potential of his/her personality. This is not a trivial task. One should first start to listen to him/herself, questioning the deeper and hidden parts of the subconscious “what do you really love to do”. Then, work hard to be able to make it happen. Someone just knows what he/she wants to do from childhood, for others take much more time. 

The reality is that, too often and more and more frequently, the most remain stuck in the first step of the hierarchy before he/she could start thinking, where is unable to move because the job just allows them to pay living goods, consuming all available time.

I am in a similar situation, but I am really, really, really motivated to break this chain. Moreover, I wish that my ‘project’ -to be independent -, could be taken as an example and will help all the people that have the same goals as mine. I hope that this will benefit all the people like me that suffered for the feel to be powerless in front of the world and most, in front of society. 

The general thought is that society and state are believed to help, but instead, for my experience, they are a big obstacle to climb the hierarchy of wellness. I am not criticizing the idea of society, rather I am criticizing the actual societies. Being a millennial, personally feel betrayed by society. The worst thing is that there is no precise reason, as some concept melt away into thin air. I think that at some point, everyone felt like if it doesn’t matter what you think or do. The society will always be the same: same politicians but different faces, same wars but different weapons, same hierarchies but different dictators, and so on.

Moreover, I am worried. World resources are not infinite and it seems that not too many people are worrying enough. Depression and cancer are the illness of our century and they are believed to go worse. Loneliness is spreading as the wrong use of social networks creates barriers between people, pushing to poor relationships and unsatisfactory consumerism. For sure, money has a role in all of this. We all wake up to earn money, which is the fruit of our hard work. Nevertheless, money is lacking in the real economy and the labor market offers very few job opportunities, which, therefore do not give too many possibilities to grow. Indeed, financial instability is a severe limitation to self-fulfillment, because it lets you satisfy only the first basic needs on the chain. Not to mention that there are more unfortunate people. This kind of environment will easily take off all your energies, getting you into a vicious circle where the only concern is to get to the end of the month.

However, I am not complaining at all. I am saying what I see, my reasons and I’m continually asking myself how to mitigate this situation. Even so, I don’t think there is a static solution for this “problem” as the world moves dynamically. What follows is a simple but fundamental realization, and it seems to me that this realization is a relief both for personal problems and the ones connected to society.

We are what we think and do, with and without other individuals.

This means that every action, everyone you are related to, everything you buy, play, consider and desire, reflects the society we have. At this point, one may think: “ok, everybody knows that”; however, this sentence hides more that it seems. As you know, the words listen and understand mean different things. One can listen to a sentence but not understand it because understanding requires some level of empathy, which therefore requires experiencing and interiorizing similar thoughts or situations. Thus, if one is not able to “put him/herself in one another’s shoes” he/she will not be able to understand what I’m trying to explain.

Every thought or action, even the small one, starts from the individual but has consequences on everyone, because in some way it results in an aggregated thought, forming a collective consciousness that directly shapes the reality. If it was true that everybody knows that we are all inevitably connected and that every action has a proportional reaction on people who are close to him/her, I think we would not have all these critical situations around the world. I suspect that very few people really think about that.

On the other hand, for me, this means that if one fulfills his/her goals or helps to fulfill other people’s goals nearby or on the other side of the world, humanity is better as a whole. This is because the result of individual positive actions in a group has multiplicative effects and not additive as in the case of people took singularly. Moreover, good and bad behaviors are contagious and could have a “domino effect”.

Hence, if one thinks that other’s problems or complicated situations will never affect him/her because he/she is in a secure comfort-zone, I believe he/she is wrong. We are all connected and even more in the digital age: with our behavior, we all participate in shaping society. I believe that for everyone there is always a way to help others while achieving their personal goals, and there is no one best way to do it. However, this requires a lot of work. In fact, I don’t expect to wake up in a few days and find that the job is done.

After some time thinking of what could be one of my best ways to help others while fulfilling my aspirations and maintaining financial stability, I came up with a few personal principles which I wish to follow throughout my activity:

• I would create value: First of all, I aim to create value for others following my moral principles, using my studies and being creative.
• I would create trust: Trust is a very delicate concept, which is tied with reputation. Without it, you cannot build any relationship with anyone in the long term. Hence, I would try to be more coherent as possible and I would give only resources that were relevant in my studies.
• I would search for authenticity. I don’t like fakes because I think that they are a complete loss of time. This is true in the majority of fields of life.
• I would be open-minded: I would change my mindset if needed, obviously for the better. Moreover, I would try to develop as much as possible critical thinking about circumstances.
• I would be tidy. The idea is to record my findings such as if it was a block note. I would try to maintain a certain order of the notes through time, to be more comprehensible.
• I would enhance personal development. I would continuously try to improve my skills and abilities in such a way to be able to express my personality.
• I would help others to do the same. If someone is determined to find his/her way to independence could use my research to integrate his/her findings. I am open-source!
• I would have fun and entertainment. Smiling is one of the gifts of life. I would put some effort into smiling more and I would try to make others grin! :)

More about me

Before starting to explain what my strategy is and how I’ll try to achieve these goals, I would explain a little bit of myself and my past. Even though I would have preferred to skip this part, I think that knowing some of the reasons that made me what I am, would benefit in terms of trust. However, I feel more comfortable speaking in the name of my channel and not with mine, because I want to be trusted for my work and nothing else. Even though I know that this would make more difficult the task to be trusted, I am inflexible about protecting my privacy. This is not only because there are things that I want to share and others that I don’t, but also because it’s becoming clear that personal data is the new petrol and could be easily abused by data miners. If it is true that we value and we are creators of value, I think that this should be equally compensated.

Furthermore, it has to be clear that these are not the advice of any kind, what is written is only my thoughts. Everyone is responsible for his/her own decisions and everyone should be concerned to develop critical thinking, which is one of the reasons for the existence of the channel.

Like the majority, I am a human (yes it sound strange), or a kind of. Hence, I fell emotions, I am able to think and to move, and I have wishes and objectives. I don’t have particular abilities: not an excellent writer, speaker, manual worker, excellent on sport, music, math, art and so on. I feel like if I am in the middle. When it is time to answer the question “what job will you do for the rest of your life?” I have no responses.

Since I was young, this statement always caused me some trouble. The only thing that I am sure of is that I don’t want to depend on other activities and people who say me what to do and how to do it. Hence, the answer cannot be precise, I would like to embrace different things because I think there are a lot of amazing things to do.

Even though I am not an expert in any one of these fields, in some way, I like them all. For instance, I’m not going to be a philosopher, however, I like philosophy. The same for math, computer science, game theory, and finance. I like playing sports and I‘m part of a basketball team. I am quite good at drawing (thanks dad) and I like to read books or watch videos of psychology, astrology, statistics, and many others. I am not the smartest people I know, I am only curious, so I just want to know how some mechanisms work on its basis and then pass over, without becoming an expert on it. Emilie Wapnick calls this kind of person “multipotentialite” and says: “A multipotentialite is someone with many interests and creative pursuits”, that is someone who has more than one vocation.

Hence, my curiosity jointed with great stubbornness started a long time ago the desire to discover more about topics in which I am interested. I’ve started watching videos of every kind, from TedTalks to other great channels found on the web. The result was that there were more things to discover than expected, and, as the digital network is growing, there will be more and more in the future.

Short story

After scientific high school, I don’t know why but I ever found difficulties to approach the labor market. Maybe, the slight recession of 2008, which in my country is not ended yet (we are waiting for another one?), has had a role in this, because it happened just when I finished school. Or maybe a non-specialized worker is not needed for the traditional jobs on the market (I prefer ‘multidisciplinary’ worker, however). In addition, I am not too good at social relationships, which made it more difficult for the task to start working. After a while, first I went harvesting grapes and then, I found a job as a pizza chef (mmm, I like pizza), even if the pay was surely the direct consequence of finance crumbling.

                                                                                   One of my pizzas made with wood oven.

For a couple of weeks, I worked in both places; I woke up at 5.30 a.m and finished work at midnight. My intent was to save as much money as possible. The result was that at the end of the week, I did not have either money or energies to do anything else and after I realized that it was unsustainable I left the first job.

I think that at that moment I’ve discovered that is better to let money works for you instead of the contrary.

So, I’ve started to work only on weekends and while working, I’ve decided to enroll in a university of economy, also because I was not sure what I would become in the future. After three years I’m graduated in the bachelor course of management and organization of entrepreneurship.

In that period, while searching on the web a way to earn some money taking advantage of the web, I’ve discovered Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I’ve started immediately to deepen the argument, which then is become a big part of my aim to achieve independence, freedom and financial stability. Good times of Bitcoin in 2017 allowed me to continue my studies, hence I enrolled in the master course of statistics and economics which I’m on the way to complete it.

In this course, I’ve learned some English (I know I have to improve it, apologizes for errors!) which was the default language, and I’ve trained in Economics at a more advanced level. The program intends to ensure that students gain a solid foundation in economic theory, applied economics, and acquire a good knowledge of policy issues while supporting knowledge of mathematical and statistical methods of analysis.

Moreover, the university offered a Double-Degree program for one semester of international mobility, which ultimately was the most useful and interesting part of the course. This is not only because the affiliated university was more prestigious and rigorous, but mostly because abroad I met some friends smarter than me, with whom I shared the house. Living together in another country allowed me to learn the right method for studying, just by taking as an example of what my friends were doing. During my abroad studies, I’ve also started learning how to code with the R language, which is one of the subjects that for me it might be nice to master.

Even though I think to be fortunate to have had the possibility to finish my courses, I don’t think to owe too much to the university. If you ask me, the only things in which a university could be useful are because it increases the possibilities to meet new friends and collaborators, and because it gives you a piece of paper. But talking of the organization I have something to complain about: they spent five years teaching me about effectiveness and efficiency, however, they are totally unable to apply what they are teaching. Most professors only limit to read slides and write demonstrations and I would say that they have no clue how the mechanism of learning works. Some professors, even defined me as a nightmare because I was asking things about statistics (it is not the university where one is supposed to learn?), distracting them to their “affairs”. Most of them are always busy, so what is the added value to go to the lesson? As for I can tell, it is a waste of time, it is a way faster to learn from your own.

On the other side, most students memorize things without understanding them, with the only aim to pass exams. They are not even touched to the sentiment to help others and nobody is willing to share their notes, at least they sell it to you.

Fortunately, there are exceptions and I have to say that in my career I’ve found also really great students and some really good professors, which are the only things that I don’t regret.

Honestly speaking, I believe that education should be free. Furthermore, at a certain level, I think that students should be paid. This is because when someone learns how to be useful to others, all the economy benefits from it. If the students are really motivated to continue learning to help the community, one day they are going to be the next social class, giving prestige to society.

Instead, in my country, they offer you an educational service in which nobody believes, and when you finish your studies you only face the possibility to leave the country because the state does not even consider you. The only concern about the state is to collect money from people to survive itself. Does this make any sense? 

I’m not going to lie, I think that millennial are a lost generation: old generations do not believe in us, or they leave us aside, to keep everything. And then, they define us lazy.

Nevertheless, bad times of Bitcoin in 2018 brought me back to where I was. At the beginning of the courses, I was just able to pay living goods and my university fees, and after some time, hard-worked savings were finishing rapidly because working on weekends was not enough. I did not have easy times. To be able to afford all of this I gave up a lot of things. When others were working I had the day off and when my friends were free was the time I was working more. The remaining time was used to study for exams, which nevertheless I’ve passed positively. Paid some bills and the groceries and there was no money left. No time for the holidays, my friend!

Conclusions

Despite all of all that is written I’m positive for the coming years. Through time I have made a plan. And a plan B. And a plan C. Without any doubt the first thing to care about is money, that is one of the answers that I’ve received thinking about independence.

This article and the following two, try to explain which could be one of my best ways to earn at least something to continue, that is not too much. Of course, even a small contribution or support to me is very significant and could change the course of my life, just for the symbol that represents. Finally, I also hope that it could help others. Indeed, being independent makes happier you and the people around you.

Why I am saying all of this? Sincerely, I don’t like to talk about myself. I didn’t even know if someone believes me, but it doesn’t matter. Indeed, at one point in my life, I’ve decided to learn as much as possible and then try to be useful for others, which I think is one of the highest things a human could do. I don’t want to work anymore for someone that just wants to take advantage of you for his own interests.

I just want to do my thing. Me, my responsibilities, my errors and my gains.

The more time passes, the more I would structure all the resources until, in some years from now, it should seem a complete path for independence. Although we all pass difficult moments of sufferance, I think life is awesome and could be for everyone. And yes, I think that it’s normal sometimes thinking to give up and take an easier way. How can one compete with a few experiences, in another language and with limited time? The point is that, after a while, I return on my way more convinced than before.

Here the second article for the methodology, while here the third article for material, resources, and support.

We are living in chaotic times and there is still a lot of work to do to have a better world and a better society. If you share some of my values, make some noise.

Thanks for reading.