NFA Finance

At 20 years old, I thought success was about moving faster.

Make more money.
Buy more cars.
Take bigger risks.
Outwork everyone.

I was always looking for the next opportunity.

What I didn’t realize was that opportunities were never the problem.

The ability to stay focused long enough to capitalize on them was.

If I could sit down with my 20-year-old self today, I wouldn’t give him stock tips. I wouldn’t tell him what houses to buy. I wouldn’t tell him what businesses to start.

I’d tell him something much simpler.

Slow down.

Not because life is short.

Because life is long.

You don’t need to have everything figured out by 25.

You don’t need to be a millionaire by 30.

You don’t need to impress people who won’t even be in your life ten years from now.

What matters is building habits that survive every season.

The workouts nobody sees.

The phone calls nobody wants to make.

The early mornings.

The late nights.

The promises you keep to yourself.

That’s where confidence comes from.

Not from winning.

From keeping your word.

I’d also tell him to stop chasing approval.

Some people will never understand your vision.

Some people won’t support you until after you’ve already succeeded.

Some people will leave when you stop giving them what they want.

Let them.

Protecting your peace is more valuable than protecting someone’s opinion of you.

And if there’s one thing I’d tell him sooner than anything else…

Quit drinking.

The years after I quit drinking became some of the most productive years of my life.

Clearer thinking.
Better decisions.
More energy.
Better relationships.
Better health.

I thought alcohol was helping me unwind.

In reality, it was slowing me down.

Most importantly, I’d tell him this:

The life you’re looking for isn’t hiding somewhere in the future.

It’s being built right now.

One workout.
One conversation.
One blog post.
One video.
One deal.
One day at a time.

You don’t need a breakthrough.

You need consistency.

Twenty-year-old me probably wouldn’t listen.

But if he did?

He’d realize the biggest opportunities in life were already standing right in front of him.

He just needed to stay focused long enough to see them.

—

Nicholas Francis
Modern Day Dealer

Attention Is the New Currency