There’s a story I think is well worth sharing. In 2011, an American kid named Erik Finman was only 12 years old, and he had already grown disappointed with the whole school education system. Later, his grandmother gave him $1,000 as a gift. Most people his age might have used it to buy games or a phone, but Erik Finman made a completely different choice—he put all the money into Bitcoin, when Bitcoin’s price was only about $12 per coin.

This decision sounds a bit crazy, but Erik Finman used that $1,000 to buy about 83 bitcoins. Then he kept holding them while teaching himself programming and working on some small projects. In 2013, when Bitcoin’s price surged to $1,200, his assets were already close to $100,000. Just imagine a teenager holding that kind of wealth.

Even more interestingly, Erik Finman made a bet with his parents. He said that if he became a millionaire before he turned 18, he wouldn’t go to college. His parents naturally thought that was impossible, but they agreed anyway. However, Erik Finman didn’t stop there. He kept expanding his portfolio of digital-asset investments and even founded an online education company called Botangle.

By 2017, Bitcoin’s price had been rising all the way, and Erik Finman’s assets finally broke through the $1 million mark. By then, he was only 18, and he successfully cashed in on his promise. He didn’t go to college, and instead, this bet and his investment foresight drew even more attention.

After that, Erik Finman gave talks at major tech conferences, did TEDx sharing sessions, and served as an advisor for some startups in the digital currency space. To this day, he has remained an advocate for Bitcoin and for achieving financial freedom through technology. This story tells us that sometimes being young isn’t a disadvantage—the key is whether you have the courage to make different choices.