Basically, all of us just need a fair likelihood to compete. We don’t need handouts and we definitely don’t desire to depend on the Bank of Mom & Dad to support us as adults. True satisfaction comes once we see what we are able to achieve.
Because to be honest, it seems like a slow death of the soul when all the pieces is handed to you. Agree?
If you’ve gotten “a chip and a chair” in poker, you’ve gotten a likelihood. That’s all any of us can ask for.
Family, gratitude and an eightieth birthday surprise
Life feels very different at 48 than it did at 20. Back then, I used to be financially insecure and relentlessly competing against everyone and all the pieces to get ahead. Today I’m more settled, but I even have loads more responsibility – a wife, two children, aging parents.
The pressure continues to be there, nevertheless it has modified shape. When people you’re keen on rely upon you, the main focus is on unwavering commitment: managing the funds, teaching the kids, and ensuring your spouse feels seen and revered.
During Thanksgiving week, most of us think concerning the family and friends we’re lucky enough to still have. I’m no different. Although we’re already planning to return to Honolulu in December to go to my parents for Christmas, I desired to plan a surprise trip for my father’s eightieth birthday in November.
His response, captured perfectly on video, was priceless. The whole week was something none of us will ever forget.
Of course, no visit house is complete with out a few home improvements. As a dutiful son, I and my sister coated the front door with urethane. We also hired our trusty handyman to chop out termite-infested trim, install a missing baseboard, patch some floor holes, and even install a bidet.
There’s at all times something to repair at my parents’ house, and I’m completely satisfied to assist.
When will our enthusiasm fade?
During the visit, I started to wonder: At what age do our mental abilities begin to say no? And when does our motivation to enhance diminish?
You can see the change in every single place: older people live happily in homes which have remained untouched for 50 years, while younger homeowners remodel every 15-20 years. Older people wear the identical clothes they wore a long time ago, while younger people keep attempting to improve their appearance. Perhaps this reflects a deeper contentment that comes with age.
I also wonder: When will this youthful desire to overcome the world finally subside? Maybe it’s when you recognize you actually have enough. Or when your kids now not rely upon you. Or when the fireplace that fueled your early profession slowly gives strategy to contentment and peace since you don’t care about status and titles.
I’m grateful that I still have the energy to compete and think
We assume that our minds will at all times remain sharp. But eventually they disappear – processing slows, tolerance to alter decreases, and our behaviors harden.
I feel I’m at the start of this metamorphosis. Maybe I still have two to 10 years of high mental performance ahead of me. But I’m not entirely sure my enthusiasm will last. Posts like this –
– show that I give myself () permission to chill out and luxuriate in life more. Please don’t work so hard when you leaf through the numbers and understand it’s not mandatory. If you’ve got already met your goals, you haven’t got to fret about not delivering every week.
But old habits die hard. I still wish to help as many individuals as possible achieve financial freedom faster because the power to do what you wish, whenever you want, is invaluable.
Competition will at all times be fierce
But then I remember how satisfying it’s to compete without all of that. It’s just me and my wife helping within the background and sharing financial thoughts with anyone who desires to read. That’s the great thing about the web: anyone with enough drive can write, record or be creative for the world and enter competitions.
Yes, being FIRE makes you a terrible entrepreneur because you might be less motivated by money or growth. But there may be also a beautiful peace in focusing solely on what you’re keen on. For me that is writing. The most vital thing is whether or not I’m satisfied with my performance.
The AI moment
When AI got here onto the scene in November 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT, all the pieces modified. Not only was I competing with major platforms and Google’s algorithm changes, but now I also needed to cope with a structural shift in the best way people seek for information. The AI evaluated the content from the publishers and spat it back out without naming names.
It felt hopeless.
But I also benefited from AI. It saves my dad and wife hours of editing, nevertheless it also costs me significant search traffic. That forced a choice: after 13½ years of consistent writing, decelerate…or keep going.
In 2009, I promised to publish not less than three articles per week for ten years. I reached this milestone in 2019 and just kept going like Forrest Gump kept going.
So I did what any financial samurai would do: Starting in 2022, I invested aggressively in AI corporations, first public ones, then private ones. If AI was going to harm my website, I assumed I should spend money on the punishers. My only regret is that I didn’t invest more.
But what I’m most pleased about is that I have never broken my streak of three posts per week because the rise of AI in late 2022. That’s greater than three years of me continuing to do what I’ve at all times done since 2009. The reason is straightforward: writing gives me joy and meaning. I might do it even when there was no financial component.
Being capable of show yourself Daily
I’m grateful that I still have the drive to provide. Even in any case these years, the dreaded author’s block has not yet penetrated my consciousness.
One day my fingers might get stiff from arthritis, or my mind might now not have the opportunity to make sense of things quickly enough to seize buying opportunities. At some point I could lose interest in producing anything in any respect and just wish to chill out and watch TV.
That day hasn’t come yet, but I do know I want to make some changes because I’m too rigid.
That Thanksgiving morning, I began writing late, at 7:45 a.m. as a substitute of the standard 6 a.m. before the family woke up. I began late because I used to be drained after a six-hour adventure that included teaching the youngsters tennis and swimming and taking them to lunch after which to a couple of automotive dealerships.
My wife got here by while I used to be writing that morning, and although I greeted her after about eight minutes, I asked for some alone time to complete my post before heading back out with the youngsters. Understandably, she wasn’t completely satisfied.
If I wasn’t so ambitious, I might have closed my laptop and just enjoyed her company. It literally doesn’t matter if I write this post within the morning or after I am going to bed and even the subsequent day. But once I get into that flow state, the disruption feels jarring. However, I recognize the necessity for a realignment, and I’ll achieve this for the sake of our relationship.
This Thanksgiving week, I’m grateful for the chance to proceed doing what I really like and for the chance to proceed to compete in any way I can. At the identical time, I actually have to alter my ways if I would like to turn out to be a greater person. These changes start now.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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