After achieving financial freedom, I became a slave to money.

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Original text: MINHxDYNASTY

Compiled by: Yuliya, PANews

Why is it that the more you earn, the less happy you are? A young entrepreneur who can afford a Ferrari gives the answer. In the first person, the author MINHxDYNASTY reveals how after gaining fame and fortune, he became a “slave to money” and was hollowed out by a digital life that never went offline. PANews has compiled this monologue, and here is the original monologue:

This article is not about money, but about the price I paid for it.

At the end of the year, I had unprecedented wealth, but I also fell into unprecedented unhappiness.

Objectively, the year was a success. Our media production company has grown 4 times, paid off all the bad debts, made a few beautiful investments and even bought a Ferrari that I never thought of. Then why am I still unhappy?

During the holidays, I finally had the opportunity to calm down and think about it by myself. I have read some stories on the Internet about those who “successfully landed” but still empty in their hearts. I thought I would be the exception, but it turned out that it was my turn.

In fact, the reason is simple: I gradually lost my heart on the road to entrepreneurship and chasing wealth, became obsessed with leaderboards and scores, and eventually turned from a player who loved this business to a slave to money.

The internet has changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. In 2020, it pulled me out of my days of poverty and gave me a gaming platform, and then I turned to crypto and Twitter, getting better every year.

Life is like a video game. But at some point, I stopped caring about the task itself and became addicted to the growing number of coins. This gameplay is really boring.

I became addicted to the dopamine I produced when I opened social media and instant messaging apps because I had been trained to smell opportunity in every refresh. I was obsessed with waiting for business to come to my door, always staring at the door, but neglecting to polish the core skills that could really attract customers to the store.

To put it bluntly, I let myself live in a 7x24 hours a day, never-ending state of anxiety: always looking for ways to grow my business, always looking for more opportunities, never stopping. If this state is allowed to develop, life will really become hell on earth.

From today onwards, I will give it my all, especially in 2026, and I must regain that conscious and purposeful life.

Here’s how I did it:

Create > consumption

As I write this, I haven’t opened my favorite social apps. It’s a huge change, and I can clearly feel the difference. At some point, I became a drone that only executed commands, constantly consuming information but rarely creating.

So I set aside an hour and a half for myself to create before entering the “information window” I set each day to learn about current events. During this time, I am alone with a pen, camera, or a blank canvas, intending to create without any distractions or distractions.

After only 22 minutes and 45 seconds, I have already got a lot of things done. Once humans are focused, what they can do is beyond imagination. Try it and you will definitely be blown away.

Identity switching

I have many identities: creator, operator, husband, friend, son. Just like you, I also play many roles. For a long time, I saw this as freedom, but in reality, it brought about fragmentation of life.

This year, I spent all day switching back and forth between writing scripts, filming, watching markets, trading, replying to private messages, tweeting, and holding team meetings. I often jump from task to task in 15 minutes, and even after checking something, I will immediately refresh it to refresh it and then return to what really matters.

The result is: busy, unfocused, and unable to produce anything decent.

Now, I learn to organize things in two-hour increments, playing only one role at a time. As for social media, I only do it during the two fixed periods of time scheduled during the week. The smartest people I know rarely play with their phones, and some don’t even do it at all. Focus is the key.

Take the initiative to go offline

A few weeks ago, I strained my calf muscles while exercising. The moment I was injured, I switched to the other leg and immediately got angry with myself. In fact, I knew when I warmed up that day that my body was exhausted because I never rested because I exercised every day, and my legs felt heavy and weak.

I was like, “I shouldn’t exercise today.” So when the calf muscles “pop”, I knew in my heart. The same is true of our brain, its power is incomparably strong, but because of this, its exhaustion is invisible and imperceptible. If we never “go offline” from the internet, from this digitally connected world, the brain will never really rest and recharge.

Therefore, I set a new rule: after 7 p.m. every day, completely offline. In order to do this, I need to believe two things:

“Believe in your daily efforts.”

“Believe in your future abilities”

I never wanted to be a pauper again, and the fear of failure drove me forward. But I also understand that everything has limits and needs to be balanced. Life is a push-and-pull game.

People are always learning, improving, and failing, sometimes living the life they want, and sometimes backfire. If we don’t like something, we make changes, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.

We live in this beautiful and chaotic online world. Whether you like it or not, it’s connected to us. People who can read these words may be like him, keen to improve their lives, and this often means accumulating more “gold coins”. However, on the way to that digital growth, remember not to overlook other equally important things along the way.

The internet and social media have always been a part of my life. When I was studying the “bullshit” theories in college, it was the Internet that taught me real skills, and it also brought friendships, opportunities, and career growth, and even became the core of my personal value creation.

But in this “transaction” at the beginning, I did not agree to exchange my entire identity.

This is something I’m still struggling with, and it’s likely to take a lifetime to face.

Because you finally have to ask yourself: what is all this for?