How to retire early and keep your gains

Probably an obvious post, but easy to lose yourself in a state of market frenzy.

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1. Dumb Investor
a) Breakdown
• Portfolio/net worth remains the same maybe due to bad decisions or getting caught by the market

• Income stays flat, no compounding, no real edge

b) Actionable steps
• If trading is not for you , there are many other side quests to pursue (content creation, work full time at a project/company, build something with your close friends, airdrop farm) --> create more sources of income + focus on finding your edge (if trading perps is not for you, go on chain and vice versa)
• Create a system in place: budget + journal + excel PnL and portfolio tracker + risk management systems

• Learn to stop over trading, sit out when there is a lack of narrative and only be active when there is a new and fresh meta
• Train your muscle memory to spot fresh narratives and non-consensus plays

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2. Smart Investor
a) Breakdown

• Spending decreases, disciplined and stay within the budget
• Speculating/Apeing still present but possibly done more selectively and contributes to upside --> you did well, probably graduated from the trenches but still need to actively invest/ape if you are still at 6-7 fig port (here comes the fabled high 6s to 7 fig hell where "you are too rich to work, but also too poor to retire")

b) Actionable steps
• You now know how to survive (most impt) not to die in crypto. Now it’s time to learn how to win
• Accumulate wealth by being smarter about bets (size into conviction plays) and maintaining control of expenses (you now have money, easy to squander it all away if not careful)
• Zig while others zag (e.g early to robotics and biotech, or apeing PIPEs/equity stocks when everyone else was still in altcoins)
• Size into things that will create meaningful returns to your portfolio, eliminate things that are time wasters
• Systematise your learnings, stack XP points
• Constantly off ramp, just to create a safe nest egg and diversify + spend on life upgrades
• Scoop non-consensus bets at low valuations but they have strong team and market misplacing
• Size into bigger cap coins that have narrative + future catalyst ("reasons that people want to own in the future")

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3. Wise Investor
a) Breakdown
• Everyone's goal, when income/portfolio becomes dominant through compounding and smart positioning --> you've probably reached high 7 figs to 8/9 figs here
• Your spending is basically life upgrades, safety and enjoyment
• Speculating is minimized or timed well, probably best just to put into safe stuff/btc --> constantly cash out to buy real estate, maybe a proper (kek) business
• If done properly, probably exits the cycle early or becomes a giga whale

• Humans basically want to optimise for 2 things: money and time, you've solved for the first one now buy back your time

b) Actionable steps
• Optimise for fulfilment and leaving a legacy (build or start something, work on your passions)
• Prioritise for anonymity, stealth wealth, buy back time, safety --> the more you scale your port, the more you are a target
• Wealth preservation is paramount

Having said all the above, one quote still rings true for me: "most of us came from nothing, so how can we lose when we started of with nothing"