The Best Version of Yourself | Investor's Guide to Joy — Chapter 1
Chapter 1 of 6 · Free to Read

The Best Version of Yourself

Belief, love, and why a fish should never climb a tree.

Tap to get the chapter ↓
Chapter: 1 of 6
Read time: 9 minutes
Theme: Belief, identity, capacity for opportunity
Get the Full Chapter Free

The one thing that is related to every success, trial and failure in your life is you. The amount of truth that you can accept will allow the amount of opportunity that you can handle, because there is a capacity that you can hold.

Imagine you were given five full drinking glasses and had to carry them. Using just your hands would only get you so far. But accepting that there could be more, and getting a tray, would allow you to carry them easily. Learning how to find the best version of yourself will ultimately allow you to create and sustain everything you feel you desire.

You might say things like "I am just being realistic." But what you actually mean is: this is what I already know. Realistic is just familiar. It is what you have already seen, done, or decided is safe. It represents what you think, not what is possible. Your brain is not built to show you potential. It is built to keep you safe.

There is a quote often attributed to Einstein: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." I spent years climbing trees that were never mine to climb.

Corporate ladders that looked right because someone else told me they were. Income goals that someone else's life suggested I should chase. When I stopped judging my progress by someone else's scoreboard, I started finding my own — and that shift changed everything about how I built wealth, and what I was actually building it for...

What readers are saying

"I've read a dozen books on building wealth. This is the first one that made me ask why I wanted it in the first place."

— Eric

Read the Rest of Chapter 1

Enter your email and we'll send you the full opening chapter, plus the Taxes and Exits newsletter — one idea at a time, no spam.

One email. Unsubscribe anytime.
PG
Paul H. Graham Author of The Investor's Guide to Joy & founder of Taxes and Exits
Scroll to Top