I noticed the other day that I have completed five years typing random thoughts into the interweb. That’s a little scary…!
It’s a little scary that five years of life flies right by. That’s ten percent of my life hammering away on a keyboard for no reason other than the one below. BUT, the scariest part of this thought is that I’m sharing random thoughts which probably have no business or requirement to be in the ether. These thoughts could in some strange perpetual formulation exist in stardate 198297 archived in some light-based storage solution that can trace the thoughts of all beings back to the time of storytelling’s origination. Not likely, but actually likely.
Reasoning
Back to the reason: In 2016, Fincon was coming to San Diego, and Clark Howard was announced as a keynote speaker. I’d listened to Clark for over a decade when I ran or biked. It was an amazing opportunity to hear Clark as well as meet some of the bloggers/podcasters I’ve learned from over the years.
I assumed that some random FIREd guy couldn’t just roll into FinCon. I thought Fincon may be more like Comdex or other trade shows that I’ve finagled my way into as an “industry professional.” So, I gave GoDaddy $10 to buy a name that made sense to me. Drafted a few posts, somehow wordpressed up my account, and my random thoughts were out there. (That’s perfect—no matter how you read that last sentence).
A few months later I roamed around Fincon like I belonged there (somewhat). Oh, and since I don’t like to give away my money, I asked if there was a way to volunteer and PT said yes and gave me the info. I was able to help, learn, meet, swag, and best of all talk with Clark.
…Still?
I’m still blabbing, 5 years later. I even have a cartoon and a logo.
There is no shortage of things that cross my path in daily life which give me a huge list of topics to think about and write about. I find so much of life interesting. If I were funny, then I could write jokes, but instead, I just type paragraphs and share some of the safe topics.
Soul
One strange thought related to time (plenty of time posts lately) is: when I was a teenager in the late 80s my neighbor used to crank up his Boston records(?) and I thought “how dated” he was. Then a decade or so later I would tell my wife, I don’t want to be “that Boston guy,” I want new music. Well, right now I am that guy, but worse, listening to music 30+ years old. The best part, I don’t care what anyone thinks. It’s part of my soul, a DEEP part of my soul—as music often is for many. I should be clear that I do find and listen to new music all the time. There are excellent bands for me to listen to. The surprising thing to me is that so many of the new bands put out better “albums” from start to finish than any of the bands from my youth.
The point is: Some things can stay the same, and even get better with age. Enrich your soul.
*** Nothing in this article is to be construed as financial advice. I am not a financial planner, nor do I pretend to be. You should always consult your own professional when seeking advice. This post is not a piece of literary mastery, just a random thought I had.
Kevin I find that not only do new bands tend to put out a better product than bands from our youth they are way more accessible and work way harder. The internet pretty much destroyed arena bands that made an album and toured a few big cities to promote it. Now they have to tour 2/3rds of the year, play in smaller venues and promote themselves online. Unfortunately their music has become a commodity because of streaming and they have to play a lot more shows and sell merchandise to survive.