from Nicolas Cole 🚢👻 | by Nicolas Cole 🚢👻

When I graduated from college, I moved into a small, studio apartment. It was the size of a closet. No AC. Heater from 1970s. Making minimum wage. 8 years later, I just moved into my dream condo on the beach. Here's what I've learned about the journey of "success" 🧵👇 t.co/8aqhqiuztr

Lesson #1: Your habits in your shitty apartment define your habits in your dream house. I wrote every day in that studio apt. Even in the summer. 100 degree heat. I'd sit at my desk in my underwear & take cold showers every 40 min to cool off. Only difference today = AC.

Lesson #2: All you really need is a bed and a desk. For the first 3 years out of college, I slept on a $79 air mattress from Target. My desk was $20 from Goodwill. When I look at my belongings today, the 2 things that mean the most to me are my bed and my desk. All you need.

Lesson #3: Discipline is the leading indicator of success In my early 20s, I was so determined to become a successful writer, I deprived myself of Internet for 4 years to write my first book. My friends all told me I was crazy. But 4 years later, I was an author.

Lesson #4: Money doesn't fix everything I was very insecure about my apt. I was ashamed at how poor I was. And I didn't date for years because of it. It took me years to realize those insecurities weren't "my apartment's." They were my own. And money wouldn't fix them.

Lesson #5: If you can't do it here, you won't be able to do it there. After college, I listened to a lot of my peers say: "Once I get to X, THEN I'll start working on Z." But the goalpost kept moving. And they never got "there." Success means doing what isn't yet convenient.

Lesson #6: The more you achieve, the harder it is to stay disciplined I am surrounded by 10x more distractions today than I was 8 years ago. I own a TV now. I have disposable income. I can travel. In my 20s, I didn't even have those options. Not-having can be a gift too.

Lesson #7: "Wanting" is more fun than "Having" 2 days after I moved into my dream condo, my weekly therapy session rolled around. "Now what?" I asked him. I'd spent almost a decade pounding the pavement, trying to get "here." Only to get "here" and not know how to enjoy it.

Final story: Two years ago, I had the opportunity to ghostwrite for a Grammy-winning producer. You would know his name. He flew me out to his home for a work weekend. A massive ranch with a multimillion dollar home music studio.

He owned every keyboard money could buy. In awe, I said, "Your creative process must be so different today. You have so many options!" He shook his head and said, "Actually, it's killing me." To make his next album, he was going to rent a studio apartment in the city.

We all think the journey somehow gets easier once we've achieved our dreams, or made a certain amount of money. From my own experience, and what I've learned ghostwriting for so many successful people, it's actually the opposite. The journey & creative process gets harder.

So, enjoy wherever it is you are today. Focus on mastering yourself, your habits, your state of mind, your ability to create no matter how hot the room is, whether you have Internet or not. Your bed, your desk, and your apartment might change. But the work won't.