“Can you help me pay for the gym this month?”

That’s what I asked my father today after we had our breakfast. I’m 24 years old. For the first time in a while, I had to ask him for money… And it was for something as trivial as a gym membership.

I felt ashamed because after all the effort I put in these last years, I’m still at point zero.

When I remember my dad had a car and a business at my age, I feel even worse.

Where did I fail?

What did I do wrong?

These questions keep coming back and forth in my head. Every time I look in the mirror, I see someone who hasn’t accomplished anything in life yet. Not even a girlfriend.

A feeling of despair takes over me when I wake up late and see how much time has passed.

6 years ago, when I was 18, during a family lunch, I remember saying something about becoming a millionaire before turning 21. Little did I know… 😅

Now I’m 24 and I just asked my father for help to pay my gym membership.

Tragic side aside, it’s kinda funny, isn’t it?

But not everything is a disaster. I can’t be 100% negative when I look at my present life. To be honest, I’ve accomplished quite a few important things since I made that promise.

Yes, 99% of them were intellectual. So what?

I learned English, copywriting, advertising, audience building, how to monetize my audience, how to take care of my money (even though I have none), and a few more things.

I’m not a failure. It’s the opposite, actually.

I’m going through this delay in my professional life because I chose an unconventional path back then.

While all my friends and acquaintances were going to college and following traditional and, consequently, “safer” paths, I decided that my choice would be different.

I took the self-taught entrepreneur path.

Everything I’ve learned so far is the result of my own effort, sweat and tears. I have no close reference. Nobody around me, before me, or even around somebody around me walked on this road before.

I’m the pioneer.

Therefore, when you take these points into consideration, it’s absolutely normal for someone like me, who comes from a poor family, to face a harder journey.

I’m doing everything by myself.

There’s no point in comparing myself with my father, X bros, or even my close friends. All of them took a different path. And even the ones who decided to do something similar still had a totally different context.

It’s extremely easy to fall for the trap of self-sabotage.

Frequently, when I reflect on this situation, I immediately think, “I failed.”

That’s not true.

Reality is: I’m just going through another phase of the journey.

In the end, the secret is to keep going. Even though I’m in a bad position right now, I’m 1000s better than I was in the past. I evolved intellectually, spiritually, and socially. Sadly, the money still hasn’t come. But eventually, it will. I just need to keep grinding.

Life often rewards those who are strong enough to pass its tests.

That’s just how things work.

Daniel Costa