Why Success Takes Time — and the Hidden Stages That Shape It
Dear Reader,
The circuits of social consecration are all the more effective the greater the social distance from the consecrated object.
— Pierre Bourdieu
In this entrepreneurial journey toward the three freedoms — geographic, temporal, and financial — there are days when everything feels heavier. As I wrote in The Breaking Zone, “the ocean hits harder.”
The first sales don’t come (3hg.descontos), recognition takes time (datas2.com), and the positive impact you hope to make (auckland.today) feels distant. Even when you’re doing everything right, exhaustion and doubt find their way in. But why does success take so long?
Circuit Zero
Circuit Zero is the space of self-perception — the consecrated object is ourselves.
It’s the realm of the alter ego, where self-praise carries little weight because we are both the creator and the critic. It’s where we see our progress but also where we face the pressure of what hasn’t yet worked.
I’ve been publishing on LinkedIn since 2018 — the same year I founded Data S2. It took five years to earn recognition: in 2023, I was named a Global LinkedIn Top Voice under 30 — a Portuguese writer who generated measurable business impact and whose ideas were worth following. Writing has always been a way to express what I feel, even when, in Circuit Zero, I doubted my own words.
Circuit One
Circuit One belongs to those who believe in us when we no longer do — the circuit of roots.
They’re the ones who comfort us, who buy our first product, who whisper: “Keep going.”
At Data S2, we provided free eBay data collection services for seven years — serving over 2,300 users and handling millions of monthly requests with sub-second latency. But last year, my team disbanded, and I faced a question: stop or continue?
I chose to return to my roots. Data S2 remains a data company, but with a renewed vision — focused on APIs, automation, machine learning, and quantum computing. The faces have changed, but the essence endures. I continue the journey — grateful to those who once shared it with me.
Circuit Two
Circuit Two belongs to the friends crazy enough to believe in your dreams even more than you do.
They push you forward when self-motivation fades.
For a small venture like 3hg.descontos, consistent results may take a full year — 365 days of effort and patience. If all goes well, financial freedom becomes the fuel for geographic freedom. Does the work end there? Never. It only evolves.
Only those a bit mad will persist — and that’s why we do.
Circuit N
Circuit N is the furthest — the circuit of recognition from the unknown.
A comment from a stranger can inspire your next article. A new follower, a small sale, or a kind message can keep you going.
At this stage, the comfort of roots and the push of friends are no longer enough. It’s the unknown faces — those you’ve never met — who now reflect the dreams you once imagined alone.
I haven’t achieved my three freedoms yet. But every message, every like, every word of encouragement reminds me not to stop. There are others out there fighting for the same dream — waiting for someone to remind them that they, too, must keep going.
Keep moving forward. Your work matters.
Warm regards,
Augusto Machado