Neon Dreams: You Can Do More Than You Think
Hey there, dreamers and rebels,
Welcome to the first edition of Neon Dreams—a space where we dive into mindset growth, resilience, and the wild ride of turning chaos into creation. I’m Neon—my legal name, one I chose when I realized I was more than I ever thought I could be. Your guide through real-life stories that prove one thing: you can do more than you think. No fluff, just raw truth from someone who’s been through the fire and come out forging stars.
Before we dive in, a quick note: please be kind while reading. Writing isn’t my forte, and it terrifies me. Stick with me—it will get better.
Let me pull back the curtain on my own story. It’s not a fairy tale; it’s a gritty odyssey of survival, bad calls, and those pivotal decisions that flipped the script. If you’ve ever felt like life handed you a dead-end hand, stick with me—this is for you.
I was born into a cult fueled by my mother’s rigid faith. My parents divorced when I was 6, with my father far off in another state. At 10, my mother moved us from the Midwest to Arizona, wrapping us in isolation and crushing curiosity from day one. It was her faith, not mine—I never believed, never bought into the dogma that dominated our lives. By 12, I was sneaking away to strum a guitar, channeling that pent-up energy into punk rock bands. Music became my secret rebellion, a lifeline in the shadows. But at 16, I hit my breaking point. I ran away with nothing but the clothes on my back, leaving behind family, my mother’s rigid faith, and any sense of security. I quit school right then, but later made the tough call to go back and finish high school. It was a blur—I graduated, barely, but walked out with zero skills, no plan, and a future that looked like a black hole.
The years that followed? Pure survival mode. I bounced from odd job to odd job, scraping by in a world that didn’t give a damn about a runaway kid with no credentials. Two jobs at a time just to eat, no college because who had the luxury? It took years before I could even glance back without regret, but in between? Chaos. With no guide, I took a huge chance packing up from Arizona and chasing the neon lights to Hollywood in ‘91. Diving headfirst into the grunge scene—bleached hair, goatee, endless nights of booze and fleeting connections. It was wild, exhilarating, and utterly directionless. I scraped by, barely, but I did it. I traded stocks on a whim, no clue what I was doing, and yeah, I missed golden opportunities left and right. Could’ve been richer, smarter, sooner. But hindsight’s a luxury I couldn’t afford then.
Then came Japan—another massive leap. Terrified, with no one to guide me through it, I trusted the only person I could: myself. I just went for it, without a safety net. Those 10 years became a total reinvention. I blended my punk roots with kimono vibes while absorbing a culture that taught me discipline amid the madness. It wasn’t easy; language barriers, cultural shocks, the constant hustle. But it changed everything—opened my eyes to new ways of thinking, creating, and surviving.
Those key decisions? They were my only real skill. Choosing to leave the cult behind. Deciding to finish high school despite everything. Betting on music as my anchor. Taking that blind leap from Arizona to Hollywood’s chaos, then to Japan. Each one a gamble, and sure, I fumbled plenty—bad investments, toxic relationships, paths not taken that haunt me still.
But here’s the kicker: I came out the other end winning. Today, I’m thriving as a content creator on X (@make_okane and @Neon_on_X) and TikTok, weaving sci-fi romances, psychedelic art, and AI wizardry into stories that light up screens. No degree, no “proper” path—just relentless decisions to keep moving, to learn AI on my own terms, to turn pain into prompts and trades into triumphs. I’ve built communities around mindset hacks, tech invests, and the kind of resilience that turns “no future” into “infinite possibilities.”
You see, those struggles didn’t break me—they built me. And if a cult runaway with no skills can pivot from punk roots to AI-driven dreams, so can you. It’s not about perfect choices; it’s about making any choice and owning it. Missed opportunities? They sting, but they’re not the end. The real win is deciding to bet on yourself, again and again.
In future issues, we’ll unpack AI tools to supercharge your growth, share trading tips from the trenches, and swap stories that spark your own breakthroughs. What’s one decision that’s changed your game? Hit reply—let’s build this together.
Stay neon, stay unstoppable.
Neon