sport football: I Can’t Put a Dollar Figure on the Gift You’ve Given Me

December 25, 2024 | Listen Online | Read Online

Editor's Note: Our offices at Tiwari Research Group are closed for Christmas. So today, we're sharing a personal essay from editor Teeka Tiwari about the gift that keeps on giving.

I Can't Put a Dollar Figure on the Gift You've Given Me

Less than a year ago, something very strange happened to me.

It was early in February. I got a phone call out of the blue. I didn't know what to expect.

Then, all of a sudden, I "disappeared" from public for several months… Leaving my readers with a big question…

"What happened to Big T?"

Friends, even nearly a year later, I can't go into all the details of why I "disappeared" from the scene for several weeks.

Regardless of the reasons, I decided to return.

I rolled up my sleeves. Got to work. And officially launched my own newsletter business just a month later.

I want you to know this: My return isn't about me. It's all about you.

I could have "disappeared" for good and lived a great life in my beautiful Caribbean home spending the days sailing my 50-foot catamaran with my family.

Or I could have started my own crypto fund. And shared my best research with other wealthy individuals, making them even wealthier.

But making rich people even richer holds no appeal to me. Crypto assets are a gift for the not yet rich to become rich. That's the reason I am compelled to share my knowledge with as many everyday people as possible.

I've come to realize that no matter how many more zeroes I add to my net worth, it isn't going to make me any happier than I was helping you add to your net worth.

My happiness would actually decline if I went back into money management even as my wealth would surely rise.

Friends, when you are already rich and you try to get even richer from something that reduces your happiness… you're making a bad decision.

Hard Work Led Me Here

Many of you know my story…

I grew up in Britain's foster care system. I lived in a cramped, unheated room on top of a garage. At night, I watched my breath coil into a frigid mist.

My future looked as bleak as my tiny room.

Since I was 12, I dreamed of working in the stock market. I once shared that dream with my school job counselor. His response? He told me to be more realistic.

"Be a telephone repairman," he advised me.

But in my heart, I knew my future was in the financial markets.

As a teenager trapped in the foster care system, I soon realized no one was going to rescue me… That meant I had to rescue myself.

So, when I turned 16, I left for the land of freedom: America.

I arrived in this country in 1987 with only $150 in my pocket and literally the clothes on my back.

When I first arrived in the United States, I lived with family for six months before saving up enough money to secure a tiny apartment in Queens, N.Y.

During the day, I worked 8-hour shifts at Roy Rogers. At night, I worked 4-hour shifts at the Key Food supermarket – bagging groceries and sweeping floors.

On Saturday and Sunday, I'd work 12-hour shifts at a newspaper store stocking shelves and preparing the Sunday papers.

It never bothered me to work like that. I never felt somebody owed me anything.

I was overjoyed I had the freedom to find so much work. To me, America was a paradise. A place that rewarded hard work.

But I still had a dream to pursue. I wanted to make it on Wall Street.

So when I turned 18, I wrangled an introduction with a hiring manager at Lehman Brothers. He had no interest in me until I told him I'd work for free. He liked my drive and ambition and offered me a job paying $4 per hour.

I was overjoyed that someone was willing to give me a shot.

And that was all I needed. By the time I was 20, I had become the youngest vice president in Shearson Lehman history.

I worked on Wall Street for 15 years as a money manager. I made good money. But helping the rich get richer just left me feeling empty.

I didn't like who I was. I had allowed myself to become a machine focused only on my wants. I got greedy. And my ego eventually got the best of me.

I had success. I had accolades. But I wasn't happy.

I realized on Wall Street I was extracting value from the world. I wasn't adding value. I was part of a system that was actually widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

And coming from my blue-collar background where I started out loading trucks… working in kitchens… mopping floors… It just never felt right to me.

I wanted to help everyday people like me – people who are willing to work hard, be focused, and do the right thing — have a legitimate shot at financial freedom.

Friends, I know what it means to come from a limited background. I know how it feels to be the lowest man on the totem pole.

So when I discovered bitcoin in 2016, it was like a light bulb turned on in my brain. Here was an asset that few people knew about. But it had an incredibly bright future.

Once I understood that bitcoin would go from a small number of people owning it to mass adoption – I knew those who got in early would make fortunes. And for the first time ever, even people of limited means had a chance to transform their financial life without putting what they had already built at risk…

When I was young, I always wished that someone would introduce me to these types of opportunities. One in which you could completely change your life without putting your current lifestyle at risk.

So for the past decade, I've been showing people that there's an alternative path to build wealth.

My Holiday Message to You

Friends, this has been one of the wildest years of my professional life. I "disappeared" in early February. And my son was born at the end of February.

The ups and downs have been jarring. But as tumultuous as it has been, what has kept me going through all of this is gratitude.

I'm grateful to have my health. To have a healthy son. A healthy partner. And a healthy family.

And I'm grateful to you.

You have stood by me, even though terrible things have been written and said about me.

So my message for you this Christmas is this: Rather than be upset about what you don't have… Be grateful for what you do have.

Earlier this year, I could've thrown up my hands, said "poor me," and fell into a victim mindset. But I made the conscious decision not to do that. I got really clear on what I do have. And I focused on the things that increase my happiness in life.

And I have a lot to be happy for.

I'm incredibly grateful for my family, my friends, for the people who I work with, and the relationship I have with you.

That's a gift I cannot put a dollar figure on.

Let the Game Come to You!

Big T

P.S. What are you grateful for during this holiday season? I'd love to hear your story! Please send it to my team by replying to this email.