Driving a Ferrari but trapped in "Hell on Earth": An entrepreneur's year-end reflection

Author: MINHxDYNASTY

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Original Title: I’ve become rich, so why am I still unhappy?

This has nothing to do with money, but rather about the sacrifices I’ve made for it.

As the year draws to a close, I have more money than ever before, but I am less happy than ever.

Objectively speaking, this year has been a success.

Our media production business has grown fourfold.

We’ve paid off all bad debts.

I’ve made some good investment trades.

I even bought a Ferrari, something I once thought would never be possible.

So why do I still feel so unhappy?

During the holiday break, I finally had time to reflect.

I read some stories online about “successful people” who still feel empty. I thought I would be different.

But it turned out, I was next.

The uncomfortable truth is simple: in the process of entrepreneurship and pursuing generational wealth, I became obsessed with money. I was enamored with rankings, addicted to scores.

I used to love this game.

But in the end, I became its slave.

The internet has changed my life in ways I never imagined. In 2020, it pulled me out of bankruptcy and gave me a gamified platform. Since then, I’ve gradually shifted to cryptocurrency and Twitter. Every year, life has gotten better and better.

Life became my video game.

But at some point, I stopped focusing on tasks and started indulging in the thrill of stacking coins. What a boring way to play.

I became so addicted to the dopamine rush from opening social media and messaging apps because I had been trained to think “every time I open, I’ll find an opportunity.”

I was addicted to waiting for the chime, watching the door, forgetting the skills that originally brought me opportunities.

Therefore, I fell into a nonstop 24-hour state, constantly thinking about how to scale my business, find more opportunities, always searching, never resting.

If you let it continue, this is hell on earth.

Starting today, and focusing even more in 2026, I want to regain an intentional, goal-oriented lifestyle.

Create more than consume

Before writing these words, I hadn’t opened my favorite social media app. This is a huge change, and I already feel a noticeable difference. At some point, I became a mechanical “work robot.”

So, before I open any information window, I will set aside 1 hour and 30 minutes to focus on creation. During this time, it’s just me, a pen, a camera, and a blank canvas. The goal is to create without any distractions or interruptions.

I’ve only just started, with 22 minutes and 45 seconds invested, but I’ve already accomplished a lot. The things humans can do when focused are truly beyond imagination.

Try it—you’ll be amazed.

Reduce frequent switching

I have many identities: a creator, an operator, a husband, a friend, a son.

Like you, I wear multiple hats.

For a long time, I thought this represented freedom, but actually, it meant division.

Throughout the day, I kept switching between scripting, shooting, checking charts, trading, replying to DMs, tweeting, attending meetings, and more.

This year, I often jumped from one task to another in just 15 minutes, then refreshed what I just checked, just to get a little extra dopamine, before returning to what truly mattered.

Busy.

Distracted.

And almost no results.

Now, I plan my time in two-hour blocks, focusing on only one role or task at a time.

As for social media, I schedule it into two fixed periods during my workday. I’ve found that the smartest people rarely use their phones, some don’t use them at all.

Focus.

Log off, reconnect with the real world

A few weeks ago, I strained my calf while exercising.

At that moment, I switched to the other leg and kept going, but I immediately started blaming myself. Because I already knew that during warm-up that day, my body was exhausted from daily nonstop training. My leg felt heavy and weak.

“Shouldn’t have played today,” I thought.

So, when my calf muscle pulled, I wasn’t surprised.

Our minds are so powerful, but in such situations, it’s hard to tell if they are already exhausted because fatigue is invisible.

If we never “log off” from the internet, never disconnect from the digital world, we can never truly rest or recharge.

So, I set a new rule for myself: after 7 p.m. every day, I must log off.

Here are the beliefs that support me in following this rule:

“I believe in my efforts today.”

“I believe in my efforts tomorrow.”

I no longer want to return to a state of nothingness, driven by the fear of failure to keep moving forward. But I also understand that everything has limits, and life needs balance.

Life is a tug-of-war.

We keep learning, improving, failing, living the life we want, and also the life we don’t want.

If we dislike something, we change it—that’s what I am doing.

We live in a beautiful yet chaotic online world. Whether you like it or not, it has deeply integrated into our lives.

Like me, you reading this article may also be addicted to constantly improving your life. And often, that means chasing more “coins.”

But remember, while pursuing digital growth, there are other truly important things worth cherishing.

The internet and social media have always been part of my life.

They are the main reasons I learned real skills while studying those “useless” courses in college.

They helped me acquire skills, make friends, get opportunities, and even build my career.

They are at the core of my identity and the way I create value in this world.

But through all this, I’ve never agreed to exchange my entire identity for it.

I am still working to balance it all, and perhaps I always will.

Because in the end, you have to ask yourself:

What is all this really for?