So I previously worked as an engineer at a top firm (think, Microsoft), but left that to work on a sales and marketing company. This company took off pretty quickly and I surpassed my Microsoft salary. I was also going through a divorce at the time but it didn't really hurt me financially as she also made good money. After the divorce was completed I started traveling as a digital nomad, and my company kept growing. When I would get depressed over my divorce, I would cope by checking out a new country, meeting other tourists, etc. I eventually had to come back to America due to Visa issues, and my finances were at an all time high. I was able to hire employees out of my own pocket for example.After coming back to America I stayed with family for a bit but found it hard to focus. For example I would be guilted into going out to dinner and stuff, which would cause me to miss important business meetings. I eventually got 'tilted', meaning I would be frustrated and make stupid decisions. Embarrassingly, I would blow up at business partners and potential clients due to this frustration, and we lost some of our biggest clients. I also felt like I had to 'prove' to my family that my business was legitimate, and when on marketing campaigns on local TV and radio, I would come off as boastful and honestly a huge jerk. Finally, my ex-wife lives near my family, and seeing her do really well with her new husband also made me depressed. I started spending a lot on lavish dates to impress women and felt into the wrong crowd, where I developed an expensive drug habit.I eventually left USA and started traveling again. I am back to an amazing mental state, investors have reached out to me about raising money, and I really focus on my mental health through meditation, taking walks, meeting new people, etc in healthy ways.My main takeaway from this fiasco when being home was1) I need to be fully focused on my business at all times. Future partners / friends / whatever won't be allowed in my life if they aren't totally on board with this. I won't tolerate snarky comments. I remember I was on a 50k client business meeting and had to do this meeting at Starbucks bc I felt bad 'talking loudly in the morning while others were sleeping'. In hindsight I came off as really unprofessional and (surprise) didn't close the deal.2) I am done being an ATM for people. I paid rent for some relatives while in the USA, and in hindsight was dating for the wrong reasons, as I was purely blowing money. This made me realize that I need to focus on my other qualities, rather than just trying to impress with money. It also made me realize that I don't want to be around people who 'like' me just bc of my finances. My finances don't define me.3) I made my business not as dependent on a few major clients. I have diversified into more accounts, but smaller clients. While I am currently talking to some big clients, I have basically set up the business so our profit and loss will be less volatile. Also with the investors, they will be taking on much of the risk, for example I won't have to pay employees out of my own pocket.So basically with 2 and 3, I learned lessons about my personal life and business that I think will be a huge boost for my personal finances moving forward.But I still can't understate how depressed I was, it was truly night and day. I am not exaggerating, I felt suicidal at times and would cry myself to sleep. I spent a lot on a therapist (10k+ out of pocket), had the drug problem which I've since kicked, and it was just so horrible. Oh btw, I also gambled on crypto, and lost a lot of money doing that. I also just had a really bad attitude due to the stressful circumstances. I guess the reason I made this post was, I want a better solution than just 'avoid being home, avoid your family and your ex-wife and the USA for the rest of your life'.Thanks for the advice! see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
