Three role models

As a kid I was mesmerized by Jackie Chan and Michael Jackson. That's probably why martial arts and dancing became big parts of my life. Over time, my attention shifted to travelers and adventures. While I can't name anyone in particular, I met many of them in person. They inspired me to work in tourism.

Now at the age of 37, I'm at a different stage. I look up to three particular individuals. Not as impeccable gurus. But rather older colleagues that built wealth. A monetary prosperity that's streamlined from their domain experience, relentless consistency, and positive attitude.

Bem Thompson — Stratechery

Ben Thompson is a tech business analyst. I highly value his perspective on the tech industry, and more importantly I'm impressed with his business model at stratechery.com. As an avid subscriber I experience firsthand how well Ben is executing. Delivering detailed articles, insightful podcasts, and expanding the subscription bundle with additional channels like Asianometry.

Over 10 years ago, he pioneered the newsletter subscription model. Some of his articles are freely accessible, but majority of the content requires monthly fee. Now this model is popularized by centralized Substack and open-source Ghost, where I'm gladly hosting my nerdontour.net site.

Stratechery inspires me as a blog business with the prime focus on excellent written content. Ben has a unique skill of creating high volume of long-form articles that are read and recommended by known figures in the tech sector.

Peter Adeney — Mr. Money Mustache

Peter Adeney, known more as Mr. Money Mustache is a software developer who retired at the age of 30. Yup, at the age when doctors are still finishing their studies before their full-time employment, Peter was already done. Out of the regular 9-to-5 system. And he did that in 2005.

In 2011, he started blogging about his financial independence journey at mrmoneymustache.com, building a big community of fellow FIRE enthusiasts. The Financial Independence Retire Early has many flavors, but the basic principle is the 4% rule:

Adeney believes in the 4% rule, which states that, with a balanced investment portfolio, a retiree can withdraw 4% of their portfolio's initial value each year, adjusted upward for inflation each year thereafter, with a low probability of ever running out of money. — Wikipedia Contributors

Over two decades ago, Peter already incorporated minimalism and frugality. Many commentators can't believe the extent he cuts costs on everyday expenses, building things from scratch or refusing most luxury products.

I highly enjoy his detailed descriptions with light-hearted, humorous vibe. But most importantly, that he proves that early retirement is accessible. If you, like me, are intrigued by the FIRE movement, do sign up for the MMM Boot Camp free newsletter.

Justin Welsh — $10 million Solopreneur

While Ben and Peter feel like an old guard on the Internet, Justin is relatively new. He only started in 2020 with his posts on LinkedIn, but thanks to laser focus and master execution, he reached the $10M income milestone.

Moreover, he did that as a solopreneur. That's a concept of running a company on your own, popularized in 2019 by Paul Jarvis in his “Company of One”. Justin leverages the immense distribution of social media to reach out and educate people. In fact, after hearing about Justin on a podcast, I fell into the rabbit hole of his practical content to finally land on his site justinwelsh.me.

The point is that Justin doesn't create flashy or controversial content. He often refers to himself as a digital writer, and you can check his written mastery on LinkedIn, X/Twitter or Threads. That's my aspiration as well. Writing things down remains the best way to convey a message.

Lastly, I'm currently studying Justin's Creator MBA. It's an online course that helps bulding solopreneur business. I did some other online courses in the past, but this is the first one that already returns the investment. Thanks to Justin's approach I'm having more and more meaningful interactions with my audience. Learning about their hurdles and helping them 1-on-1 helps me to create my first digital product, and in the end built my wealth.