Hey — It’s Toffer.
In the future, there’s a formula to get rich.
Estimated read time: 5 minutes
This is the tail end of my three-part letter. Check out The Future Is Rich and The Future is Rich 2 for good measure.
✅ Reason 5: Wealth is in the Doing.
In the future, time spent is not equal to job done. There are zero people exchanging time for money. Everyone is leveraged. Everyone is rich. When I asked how, I was pointed to this simple formula for doing things:
Doing = Joy ( Drive - Drag )
Drive — It’s why I do it.
With this formula, a strong Drive becomes the force behind meaningful action. People in the future prioritize having compelling reasons that inspire them, even if those reasons don't necessarily define their entire life’s purpose. They find ‘whys’ that feel worthwhile.1
Drag — It’s hard & it sucks.
But sometimes even with good reasons, things are not always easy, and sometimes even uncomfortable — the Drag. This is why a strong Drive is crucial so that no matter how difficult or uninviting the task may be, there’s enough reason to keep going. The worst thing is to do something hard, something that sucks, and is meaningless.2
Joy — It’s fun!
Then there’s the multiplier, Joy. Future people do a lot of serious things, but they realize that they don’t necessarily have to do them seriously.3 There’s always something that they can do to make things more enjoyable. For them, work is always an adventure — leveling up their skills with real cash rewards.4
🏁 Reason 6: Wealth is in the Quitting.
Now, if there is zero Drive, even without Drag, there is no amount of Joy that can make the equation positive. So, it’s easier for future people to quit with peace and ease. In fact, quitting is something that truly separates them from us. We over-romanticize the act of doing—like starting something new—yet we frown upon quitting. What they know is simple: they can’t do something if they don’t quit the other thing. They finally found a way to prioritize things that matter by giving equal value to both doing and quitting.5
Your Friend In Time,
Toffer
If you've ever been stuck in Metro Manila traffic, you've probably seen our local rendition of the timeless question, Why? It's not as famous as Simon Sinek's Start with Why, or Seneca's ideas about finding inner peace through purpose, or Ikigai, which talks about finding what you love to do. But it’s remarkable because it still reminds us to think about what we’re doing and why it matters.
Unfortunately, it’s the important things that have the most Drag, so I've become obsessed with understanding motivations for progress. Among the four types, identified motivation stands out as the most potent. Eric Partaker's advice resonates with me: to boost motivation, I’ve set 3 alarms on my phone to remind me of my identities: a healthy person, a guide, a kaibigan.
Seriousness as inspired by a scene from Dr. Who:
Sarah Jane: You're serious, aren't you?
Doctor: About what I do, yes. Not necessarily the way I do it.
According to Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal, the secret to productivity isn’t discipline, it’s joy. Super easy-to-read book.
This is inspired by the quitting framework of Steven Bartlett from his book, Happy Sexy Millionaire. Here’s the framework:
