Trading vs Content Creation (Research Question)

Research Question

Is it rational to keep prioritizing "high-ROI" activities like options trading over slower, creative work like writing and content creation, if the deeper desire is to contribute to a better world and live in alignment with a true calling?

Items Present (Inputs & Conditions)

A highly skilled trader who can reliably create income and freedom through options and markets.

An established creator: published book, 150+ podcast episodes, and a growing body of intellectual property on redefining wealth.

Time and energy are finite; hours spent on content feel like they "cost" potential trading gains.

An inner tension between: "I should maximize capital now."

"I want my ideas to help people and outlive me."

Experimental Findings

1.      Hidden assumption discovered

Assumption: "An hour trading is always more valuable than an hour creating."

Counterpoint: Trading is a performance activity (paid for current skill); content is an asset-building activity (paid over years as ideas compound).

2.      Vehicle vs vocation separation

Trading functions best as the vehicle: funding life, family, and freedom.

Writing, podcasting, and videos function as the vocation: storing and transmitting a philosophy of wealth and life beyond the creator's individual lifetime.

3.      Redefining "worth it" If "worth it" = dollars this week, trading wins.

If "worth it" = "How many people can access this worldview 10 years from now?", then systematically publishing ideas becomes essential.

4.      Identity follows repetition "Trader" identity was built by hundreds of trades, not one.

"Teacher/guide" identity will similarly strengthen only through consistent, small, repeated acts of publishing, not through one perfect project.

 Conclusion & Action Step (for you)

Here's the tension being wrestled with: "If I spend extra hours creating content, I might make less money this week. But if I never share what I've learned, my ideas die with me."

For someone who doesn't trade, this same tension might sound like: "If I stay late at work or chase the next side job, I might earn more. But if I never make time to share what I've learned or help others, I may end up rich in money and poor in impact."

One simple action step: This week, notice where you make the same trade-off between "more money now" and "more meaning later." Then take just 30 minutes you would normally spend chasing extra work, scrolling, or optimizing, and instead use it to share one lesson you've learned with someone who could use it. Tell your child a story from your life. Call or message a friend who is struggling and share one thing that helped you. Or write a short post or note explaining a lesson you'd want your younger self to know.

The point is not to stop pursuing money or efficiency. The point is to see the trade you're making and experiment—just once—with choosing contribution instead of more accumulation, so you can feel what it's like when your life starts compounding in meaning, not just in numbers.