The reality of living in Dubai

It's Friday, 8 p.m. My Jeremiah is visiting Ben and I in Dubai.

We're eating pizza with a view of the ocean.

Jeremiah: "Dude, It's super weird living here, seeing Lambos and Ferraris is normal"

* spots a red Porsche 911 pass by us *

"Also almost everyone here has brand new Range Rover Defenders, it's crazy… also, Can you imagine yourself living in this place?" Jeremiah said in disbelief.

"You wake up, look out of your window and you have a beach and restaurants right below your apartment. My goal is to live in a place like this." Jeremiah continued with his speech.

Ben: "You know you made it. When you have a place here"

This was a conversation I had with my friends last week and it reminded me of something I used to chase a lot when I was younger, materialistic possessions

If you don't know already, I'm born and raised in Dubai.

So I'm in a unique position to talk about it in a way that most people don't get to hear.

When I was younger, I'd go out every other day, buy new clothes, watches, and have expensive dinners.

I was never satisfied—always wanting more.

But 2 years ago, I asked myself a question that changed my life: "When is it ever going to be enough?"

Is it when you buy that apartment in the beach resort?

Or when you have the apartment + Lambo?

But then you need to have an AP, Rolex, or a Patek.

Because then you've really "made it"

But then there's a guy who's living in Burj Khalifa.

So you haven't "made it" until you own an apartment in Burj Khalifa.

But what happens after you buy that apartment?

What then?

A fully furnished penthouse by Fendi on Billionaires' Row in NYC, where you have a full view of Central Park?

My guess:

It's never enough, the more you buy, the more you want.

But the worst part about chasing these materialistic possessions is you end up building your own prison.

You're trapped in your own success.

Now you have to spend the rest of your life maintaining everything you own, apartments, cars, staff, paperwork, the list keeps going.

Instead of having your assets work for you, you're now working for your assets.

One thing I noticed from my life when chasing materialistic items:

The more items you own, the more you lose yourself.

The void that's inside you keeps growing the more you buy stuff.

Because here's the thing { First Name | my friend }.

I lived that life. I'm not here to brag, but I'm telling you this from my personal experience, that going down that road is a dark, lonely, soul-sucking road.

The more "successful" you become, the more miserable your life gets.

You don't want to be "rich", you want to be free and have a purpose.

Cuz yes, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are some of the best cities you can live in, I know this because I hate traveling now.

Every other major European city that I've visited:

• Rome

• Venice

• Madrid

• London

They all fall short in front of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The level of entertainment and lifestyle you have here is next level.

They have a way of making you chase these materialistic goals—making you addicted to them and if you're unaware, then you might slip down that dark road.

Not that there is anything wrong with having a good lifestyle and owning a nice car or house, but if your whole life revolves around it, then you need to take a hard look in the mirror and question your values and goals in life.

This is one of the reasons why I became a "minimalist".

I stopped buying designer clothes. Stopped chasing trends. Stopped going to the hottest and newest restaurants in the city.

Because I realized that I was buying things I didn’t need to impress people I don’t like and I knew would gossip behind my back.

So what’s the point of doing all of it?

Heck, ever since I moved houses (3 years ago), I've never finished furnishing my room. It's still the same as when I first moved here.

• Bed

• Desk

• Closet

My room still echoes whenever I speak somewhat loudly.

Living in Dubai, or better put, the UAE, in general, has made me extremely conscious of how I'm approaching my life and especially my business.

Cuz it's so easy to slip and start chasing materialistic items.

That's why I'm always asking myself:

"Are you building your business to make more money or is there a more noble reason?"

And I think I've found the answer to it.

Yes, it is to make money, but that's just a byproduct of something more meaningful:

Mastery. Personal development. Making an impact at scale.

Pursuing these 3 things has given me more purpose and meaning in my life than anything I owned.

It is the reason why I write for hours on end without feeling burned out.

Because I know at the end of the day, I'm helping someone live a better life—even if it's just changing their beliefs about a topic.

So I hope this email sparked some insights and realizations on your own life.

There is more to life than just making money and owning nice cars.

That's all for this week.

Thank you for reading.

— Hussain

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PS:

Just because I'm a minimalist doesn't mean I've stopped going out and enjoying life.

Cuz I still go out to restaurants every few weeks—I just now realize that there is more to life than owning a fancy car or living in a mansion.

Chase purpose, not money.

Cuz the more you chase money, the further it gets.

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PPS:

I'm thinking of creating a Black Friday special offer.

Here's the idea of it:

You get 7 videos of me roasting my threads and my clients' threads and you get to discover the principles of writing threads and my thought process behind every tweet inside the thread.

And when you get it you’ll also receive 1 review from me personally roasting your thread and giving you my opinion on it.

If this sounds like something you're interested in, just reply with "interested"—and I'll make sure you're going to be the first one to know about it.

Cheers.