At our core, we all just want a fair chance to compete. We don’t need a handout, and we certainly don’t want to rely on the bank of Mum and Dad to help us out as adults. Real satisfaction comes from seeing what we can build with Our Effort.
Because honestly, having everything handed to you feels like a slow death for the soul. Agree?
In poker, if you have a “chip and a seat,” you have a shot. That’s all any of us can ask for.
Family, gratitude, and 80th birthday surprises
At 48, life feels very different from my 20s. At the time, I was financially insecure and competed endlessly with anyone and anything to try to get ahead. Today, I am settled, but I also carry more responsibility – wife, two children, elderly parents.
The pressure is still there, but it has changed shape. When your loved ones depend on you, the focus becomes an unnecessary commitment: Taking care of the children, teaching the children, making sure that your spouse feels recognized and respected.
During Thanksgiving week, most of us think about the family and friends we are so lucky to have. I’m not different. Even though we plan to go back to Honolulu in December to see my parents for Christmas, I wanted to make a surprise trip for Dad’s 90th birthday in November.
His reaction, captured perfectly on video, was priceless. The whole week was something he will never forget.
Of course, no home visit is complete without a few home improvement activities. As a fastidious son, I teamed up with my sister to cover the front door with urethane. We also got our handy trusty to cut the infested trim, install the missing baseboard, patch some floor holes, and even install the bidet.
There is always something to fix at my parents’ place, and I’m happy to help.
When does our FADE end?
During the visit, I began to wonder: When did our mental capacity begin to decline? And when does our motivation to develop begin to intensify?
You see flexibility everywhere, older people are happily living in homes that haven’t been occupied for 50 years, while younger homeowners are remodeling every 15-20 years. Older people wear their same clothes from decades ago, while younger people keep trying to improve their appearance. Perhaps this reflects the deep satisfaction that comes with age.
I wonder: When did that youthful desire to conquer the world finally shut down? Maybe if you know you really have it. Or when your children no longer depend on you. Or when the fire that fuels your first job slowly takes satisfaction and peace because you no longer really care about the situation and the topics.
Gratitude still has the power to compete with thinking
We take it for granted that our minds are always sharp. But eventually, they go – processing slows down, tolerance for change decreases, and our methods harden.
I think I am at the beginning of that metamorphosis. I was probably 2 – 10 years old for most of my mental health. But I’m not entirely sure that my enthusiasm will last. Posts like this –
– Show I give myself (And hopefully you) Permission to relax and enjoy life more. Please do not work too hard if you are running numbers and you realize that it is not worth it. There is no need to stress inconsistently every single week in case you exceed your goals.
But old habits die hard. I still want to help as many people as possible to achieve financial freedom sooner rather than later, because the power to do what you want, when you want, is priceless.
Competition will always be fierce
As someone who doesn’t run a Corporation or have a major platform behind me, the competition in the publishing world is huge. Sometimes I think how easy it would be to spread my ideas if I worked for the New York Times or a financial management company and was always on TV.
But then I remembered how satisfying it is to compete without this. It’s just me and my wife helping out behind the scenes and sharing financial thoughts with anyone who wants to learn. That’s the beauty of the Internet: Anyone with enough drive can write, record, or create a world and compete.
Yes, being a firebrand makes you a bad entrepreneur, because you are not motivated by money or growth. But there is also the beautiful peace of focusing only on what you love. For me, that’s writing. And I have to remind this and not get caught up in business competition that doesn’t matter. The main thing that matters is if I am satisfied with my effort.
A moment of ai
When AI burst onto the scene in November 2022, with the launch of Chatgpt, everything changed. Not only was I competing with big platforms and Google’s algorithms, I had to contend with a systemic change in how people search for information. AI was attacking the content of the publishers and they used it without showing.
It sounded hopeful.
But I was benefiting from AI. It keeps scheduling my family and woman hours, but it also brings me reasonable search traffic. That forced a decision: Slow down after 13½ years of writing consistently … or keep going.
Back in 2009, I promised to publish at least three articles a week for 10 years. I hit that milestone in 2019, and I continue to have a forrest bump and keep running.
So I did what any financial samurai would do: I invested in venture capital AI companies starting in 2023, the first middlemen to be independent. If Ai is going to hurt my site, I thought I should invest in gels. My only regret is not spending more money.
But what I’m most excited about is that I haven’t broken my conts-a-week drawings since late 2022. That’s more than three years of continuity since 2009. Reason gives me joy and purpose. I can do it even if there is no financial part.
Being able to show Every day
Thank you for still thinking, writing, and creating. Even after all these years, the dreaded writer’s block has never crossed my mind yet.
One day, my fingers might go numb from arthritis, or my mind might not be washing dots fast enough to grasp the possibilities. One day, I might lose interest in producing anything and just want to relax and watch TV.
That day hasn’t come yet, but I know I need to make some changes because I’m confused.
This morning, I started writing late, at 7:45 am instead of their usual 6 am before the family wakes up. I started late because I was tired after a 6-hour adventure with the kids teaching them tennis, swimming, and taking lunch, and then a few car experts. My wife stopped by while I was writing that morning, and although I accepted her, after eighty minutes, I asked for some time to finish my post before going out with the children. He was not happy.
If I wasn’t so driven, I would have closed my laptop and just enjoyed his company. Literally – don’t care Whether I’m writing this post in the morning or after sleeping or the next day. But when I get into that moment of flow, the interruptions feel raw. Still, I see the need to retaliate, and I will do it for the sake of our relationship.
This Thanksgiving week, I am thankful for the ability to continue doing what I love and the opportunity to continue competing in whatever ways I still can. At the same time, I realize that I need to change my ways if I want to be a better person. These changes start now.
Readers, besides friends and family, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving week?
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