Fifty Bucks Walked In. My Ego Wanted Fireworks, My Soul Chose Quiet

A single paying subscriber changed the way we think about success. Not because of the amount, but because of what it represented: trust, connection, and proof that the work met someone where it mattered. The feeling wasn’t fireworks; it was quiet, almost peaceful—and that contrast opened a deeper conversation about why we create and what we measure along the way.

We walk through the moment of seeing the first $50 subscription land, the relief that followed, and the unexpected lack of euphoria. From there, we dig into alignment as a truer compass than money: when your work matches who you are, fulfillment feels steady instead of loud. We share reflections from mentors—Wayne Dyer, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Tony Hsieh—that reframe wealth as the outcome of purpose, not pursuit. Instead of chasing totals, we focus on resonance, service, and the long game of building trust with a real community.

If you’re growing a podcast, building a business, or writing your first book, this conversation offers a reset on metrics and meaning. You’ll hear why small wins matter, how to treat money as a signal rather than the source, and what it looks like to define success by impact, not vanity numbers. We close with gratitude for the one person who said yes for a year and an invitation to reflect on your own definition of success—and to share it with us.

Subscribe to stay close to honest growth, share this with a friend who needs a nudge back to purpose, and leave a review with your answer: what does success mean to you beyond the numbers?

Chapters

• 0:00 Milestone Announced
• 0:40 Relief Without Fulfillment
• 2:05 Perspective On Time And Effort
• 3:05 Gratitude For Trust
• 4:08 Meaning Over Money
• 6:22 Quotes That Reframe Success
• 7:34 Fulfillment As Alignment
• 9:50 Community, Reflection, And Next Steps
• 11:20 Closing Thanks And Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Today is a special day, guys. As I write this, as I uh speak to you, I have achieved my first payment of fifty dollars. You know, after taxes, the stripe fee and conversion from dollar to euro that amounts to actually 36 euro to be honest. I feel very grateful. Very, very grateful. But I'm also a bit confused. I don't feel the sense of fulfillment that I had hoped for, honestly. I believe I understand the reason behind this, and I hope that when you experience the same achievement I have, you will be prepared for what I'm going to share with you. Hi guys, my name is Fabio from Journey to Success and welcome. Today we're going to celebrate this milestone together, alright? We will also reflect on what this journey has brought me and uh explore the reasons why I remain careful about this new transformation. But before going forward, as always, please subscribe. Alright, so I know this is the right direction to lead you guys, to drive you, to guide you towards your journey to success. And let's get started, right? As always. So this morning I I woke up. I woke up, and as usual, I checked my Substack dashboard where I'm building my podcast community. I enjoy see how many subscribers I gain overnight. Since I live in the Netherlands, but my community, my community is mostly in the United States, right? I was very eager, actually. I'm very careful to see the progress because for me, every morning is a surprise, okay? Sometimes I gain four subscribers, sometimes ten, sometimes less, sometimes more. So it's always uh kind of a surprise for me since you guys and I live in two different continents. Well, most of you, of course. But what happened basically this morning? I noticed a sub a subscription from a beautiful, great human being who paid$50 for a year. Okay. My first reaction was relief, of course. I finally achieved this milestone, right? So for me was yeah, I was relieved. I I think that's the right word. But you see, when you work hard for so many years, right? Dedicating a decade of your life to achieving financial freedom and uh bringing your project to life, you expect to reach milestone sooner, of course. So I knew I set up this tier, I knew that my first payment would have been uh$5 per month or five or$50 per year, but I was confused. I wasn't happy as I wished. That was my confusion. Some of you might say, uh, Fabio, it's your first achievement, you should celebrate it, you should be happy. And that's true. I acknowledge this feeling, but I also want to be honest with you. Alright. The payment you receive is often related to the amount of time you have invested. Okay. So if you spent five decades to earn only$30, I'm gonna make an example, how would you feel as a human being? Alright. At the same time, if I think about it clearly, I have only been working on my podcast for just under three years, and my Soupstack project has been going for about five months. So I should remind myself that this is a real good achievement, okay? I think I've made great progress, but my mind and body still perceive all the strangles I faced over the past decade, okay. In all of this, I just want to remind myself that we shouldn't be focused on the money itself. I want to highlight the person who trusts who trusts me enough to to give me this amount, you know, this$50. And for that I am incredibly grateful. Perhaps more than ever before I started this episode right now. It means a lot for me that someone believed in me enough to support my journey for a year. It's beautiful. So, Fabio, I'm talking to you. You should appreciate the words that are traveling across space and time to reach all of you with my podcast, and appreciate you for all your help and support as well. And I want to thank my Substack readers for engaging with my notes. Your support is helping my podcast and Substack account grow as we all wish for a beautiful community together, you know. So I have not to lose the compass. Not at all. If we place value not on the money itself, but on what lies behind it, guys, everything makes more sense. Life feels calmer and as it should be, and the money will naturally follow, right? However, it shouldn't be the first thing on your mind when you wake up to work on your project, okay? So don't fall on on this misstep as I did. And I would like to read these three notes for you, and they're very, very beautiful notes, and this for me are notes remind me why I'm doing what I do. First note, when I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous. Quote from Wayne Dyer. Second note, people are chasing cash, not happiness. When you chase money, you're going to lose. Even if you get the money, you're not going to be happy. Gary Binerchok. I think it's Gary Vinerchok. Well, you know Gary, I guess. And third quote, chase the vision, not the money. The money will end up following you. This was a quote from uh Tony Gisi. I think that's how that's the surname, Ghisi. I was a great entrepreneur and uh unfortunately he died. And now I would like to take a moment with you. I would like to take a moment to slow down and really understand what we explore today, alright? Today is not just about a number, first of all. It's not about$50. It's about everything that led to this moment. Every late night, guys, every early morning, every small decision that said, Fabio, keep going, keep going, you can do this. When I saw that payment, I felt grateful, of course, guys, but also a bit confused. I expected joy, maybe even a rush of excitement, right? But what I felt was quiet, almost calm. And at first that surprised me, but as I reflected, and as I'm reflecting with you in this podcast, I realized something important. The milestone was never about the money, it was more about what it meant. It meant that someone somewhere in the world believed in what I'm creating enough to support it for an entire year, guys. That's not small, it's big. That's trust, that's connection, that's proof that what we put out into the world matters even when we don't see immediate results. Okay. You see, we often spend so many years chasing results that we forget to notice the meaning behind them. We think once I make this amount, once I hit this number, then I'll feel successful, you know, something like that. But success doesn't always feel how we imagine it will. Sometimes it's quieter, sometimes it's an invitation to look deeper. Okay. Because what I realized today is that fulfillment doesn't come from the amount, it comes from the alignment. Okay, when what you do matches who you are, that's when you truly start to feel rich inside, guys. So let's highlight this together. The$50 wasn't the destination, it was a reminder. A reminder that progress doesn't always feel like fireworks. Sometimes it feels like peace, sometimes it feels like gratitude, and that's how you know you are growing from the inside out. So if you're building your dream right now, guys, whether you know it's a podcast, a business, a book, or something completely personal, remember this the value is not in what you get, it's in what you give. So the real wealth is in the people who trust you guys, the message that resonates, the lives you touch. So, as I close today's episode, a very short episode this time, I want to thank you for being here, for listening, for supporting, for growing with me. Because you're not just an audience, guys, you're part of this journey, and uh I genuinely believe that when one of us wins, we all rise together. Keep showing up, keep building what feels right. And remember, success is not just about what you're it's about who you become in the process. Okay. Now I want to hear from you, as always. What does success mean to you beyond the numbers? Have you ever reached a milestone that didn't feel the way you expected? Send me a message, share your reflection or connect with me on Soupstack. I would love to hear your story and how you are, you know, redefining what true success means in your own journey. And if you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment of reflection and growth. And if you know someone who has been chasing results and needs a reminder to focus on meaning, not just money, share this episode with them. Together, guys, we're building a life fueled by purpose, okay? Gratitude and growth. And thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything. Thank you for walking this path with me. Thank you so much for being here on journey to success. And thank you also uh to grow with me together. Until next time, stay focused, stay grateful, and keep chasing your vision, not the money. I'll see you in the next episode. Cheers.