How to make success inevitable
Lessons learned from losing all my money
Today, I’d like to share something a little bit more personal that happened to me very recently. My goal with this newsletter is to document my entrepreneurial journey and share my learnings with as much transparency as possible. I truly believe that building in public creates accountability, aligns vision and fosters proximity with my audience.
Alright, here we go. Last month, while I was hosting the Morocco experience, I finally found the courage to check my crypto portfolio balance after the massive and (for me) unexpected crypto crash. It was worse than expected… I had officially lost my entire fortune that I had made from going all into crypto starting April 2020.
I few months before, I had reached 150,000€ and I thought I was the king of the world. I got greedy and didn’t want to spend any of it so I decided to take on a couple of loans using my crypto as collateral to pay for company expenses. When Bitcoin dipped all the way down to $20K, almost 99% of my wealth got liquidated, bringing me all the way back to 2,800€.
This money was my life vest. Exactly a year ago, this life vest gave me (and my parents) the confidence and tranquility to take the leap and go after my dreams. Losing it was a huge slap in the face. Not gonna lie, I was completely devastated at first and even doubted myself for a second about whether I’d be able to make it.
Fast forward to now, I feel so incredibly grateful for all of the lessons that this experience has given me at such a young age. I’m hungrier than ever and, most importantly, I’ve become 100% confident in my own abilities to reach my own personal success with or without the money.
I know everything will be more than fine in the long term. I believe it. I know it. Over the last month, I’ve identified 4 critical pillars, which I have been following unconsciously, that I believe contribute to the inevitability of success without the need of money, which is just another tool and not the end all be all.
Passion ❤️🔥
Action 🚀
Environment 🌍
Gratitude 🙏
Passion ❤️🔥
I’m the luckiest man in the world. I’m so fucking obsessed about what I do and could work on it every single day. In fact, it doesn’t even feel like work. My head is constantly thinking about Karisma to the point where sometimes I can’t even fall asleep because I’m constantly thinking of new ideas and writing them down.
This sounds like a dream, and for me, it is. However, I dedicate so many hours to my project and not all days are ecstatic. I’d even say that a loooot of my days are stressful, overwhelming and emotionally charged due to unforeseen problems or constant uncertainty.
I’ve come to believe that in life you need to find something worth struggling for. This may sound pessimistic but to get anything in life, you must sacrifice something else. If you wanna get fit, you need to put in the hours at the gym. If you wanna be a DJ, you need to spend endless hours in the studio and risk never even making it. Life isn’t as idilic as it may seem on social media.
However, when you do what you love, when you put all your passion into something and when you totally believe in what you do, it becomes much more likely for you to keep going no matter what hardships come your way. Reaching success doesn’t come just like that; it’s a journey. It takes work and it can take a very long time until you see the fruits of your labor. Passion is the fuel that will get you there.
Action 🚀
But Marc, I don’t even know what I’m passionate about or what way to even go in. I can assure you that the large majority of people who have reached their personal success very very likely started off not knowing either. What I’m also extremely sure about is that they all did the following 2 things: 1) take action and 2) learn from their failures.
How can I even take action if I don’t even know what I want? Well, before Karisma was born, all I knew was I wanted to create something that involved people, travel, growth and real estate (because I love architecture). I called that “thing” experiential real estate, even though it was very broad (and that’s OK). This eventually lead to the idea of creating a surf camp made out of shipping containers. Even though it wasn’t really my thing and I sucked at surfing, it served as a great starting point. After 2 months of researching the matter 1h after work every day and following my curiosity with an open mind, I finally came across coliving.
The point I’m trying to make is that it’s better to go in the wrong direction than in no direction at all. At least going in the wrong direction is telling you the things you don’t like and allowing you to recalibrate to find a direction that’s more suitable for you. The crazy part is that I’ve pivoted sooooo many times within the coliving niche. First it was a 25-room space in Portugal, then coliving retreats, I considered a social club, I went super deep down web3 and, finally after more than 1.5 years, I’ve finally gained a lot of clarity about the future but who knows what will happen.
Often we don’t take action because we’re afraid of failing without knowing that failing is the best thing that could happen to us. Failure is an opportunity for growth. There’s a saying that I couldn’t agree with more, which is “fail fast, learn faster.” The moment you stop learning is the moment you start dying. Just do it, be ready to pivot and keep going forward.
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm” — Winston Churchill
Environment 🌍
You are the product of your environment. Choosing the right (or wrong) environment can dramatically increase (or decrease) the quality of your life. If you’re always around optimistic, ambitious or hard-working people, you’ll be the next one. It’s that simple.
Since I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve invested a lot into my network, which is the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me. In challenging moments like these, I’ve realized how lucky I am to be able to count on people much smarter and experienced than me. Even though Karisma may seem like a one man show, there’s sooo many friends, mentors/advisors and experts helping out in the background contributing to the overall success of this project. Without you, none of this would be possible ❤️
This is one of the huge reasons why coliving spaces can have such a profound positive impact in the life of any individual. If coliving is not an option, always be open to meeting new people or trying new things and say yes to plans, especially in your 20s. Otherwise, leverage the power of tools like LinkedIn or Instagram. It’s insane how many people I’ve met over LinkedIn or virtually before meeting in person. You’re just one outreach away from anyone in the world.
Gratitude 🙏
After my financial “tragedy,” I decided to move back into my parents home in Barcelona. I remember coming back home — after spending one magical week in Morocco with my fellow kreators and another one in Bulgaria to attend the epic Bansko Nomad Fest — and just feeling a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for life.
Coming back home made me stop for once and look back at the crazy things I’ve been fortunate to do and experience over the last few months building my own meaningful path. It also made me realize how much I already have. I have a beautiful and cozy home to go back to, friends and family I can always count on and that support me, a healthy and well-functioning body, and sooo much more.
So often we chase, chase, chase after things and dreams losing sight of the present. It’s awesome and even fulfilling to have a goal and something to strive towards, but it’s equally as important to have perspective and to be mindful of everything we already have and everything we’ve already accomplished. True joy and happiness is found in the now. Most likely, the things we’re chasing aren’t necessarily going to make us happier because joy comes from within and that, in it of itself, is a massive success.
Bonus: Luck 🍀
I gotta admit, it’s easy(er) to be grateful when you already have everything you need. Moving back into my parents home has been a true blessing. I barely have to cook, I never have to buy groceries, my room and my clothes are always clean…
You can always make your own luck and I agree with the famous quote “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity,” but there’s no doubt that some have it much easier than others. I was born into a good family that will always have my back when things go south. That’s a life vest that some people can only dream of.
Losing all my money has probably been one of the most transformative and humbling experiences I’ve been fortunate to have in my yet short life. This is probably one of the best things that could’ve happened to me, especially as things are moving forward and getting serious with Karisma.
I’ve toughened up in these tough times and I’m more motivated than ever. Since I got back to Barcelona, I’ve been working harder than I ever have and getting Karisma ready for Phase 2. Next week, I’ll be sharing some very very exciting news about what’s next and where we’re heading. Stay tuned!
I hope this article was valuable for you and that introducing any of the 5 pillars into your life (passion, action, environment and gratitude + luck) dramatically increases your chances of success — whatever that looks like to you.