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.

Relativity Rules All.

In some ways, I feel old – tired from over-workouts, from living life, and consciously seeing and observing the world.  I look at this positively, from a perspective of being active and engaged.

While it’s true that sometimes I can literally feel the weight of gravity on my being, that’s not a bad thing.  That’s just one sense in my body activating and showing me that I’m alive and on the go.

I’ve always thought inertia meant “an object in motion, stays in motion.”  Yet, lately, I’ve also read the definition as “an object at rest, stays at rest.”  I wonder why I always assumed the active movement aspect of inertia? 

Why did I not realize it was more generalized as “an object maintains its state of motion or non-motion?”  It probably was a teacher’s presentation and not my intellect.  Maybe I was only paying half attention.  That’s most likely the cause.

Let’s get back to me. 

In some ways I feel young – active, the freedom of childhood, no kids, manageable responsibilities, in almost every way—an amazing life.

But as I wrote last time, the decades fly right by.  It takes conscious effort to partake daily and weekly in the things you love.  If you don’t make the effort, the love does not happen.  The day and weeks just become a thing of the past, a part of your history.

I’m not sure what “middle age” is, but I have a feeling that I’m right smack in the middle of it.  Maybe I’m even at middle age early because I’ve broken away from the 9 to 5.  Maybe that is why I am reflecting, or more appropriately, why I have the time to reflect.

To me, it seems that reflecting, and realizing the greatness at my current age of 50 seems lucky.  I’m old enough to have a past (kind of a long past), and still young enough to have a future.  Possibly, even a long future.  By taking action now, to take action in my days and weeks, I may be optimizing, or even maximizing (is maximized more than optimized?) my future.

I am very aware that I’m an “old guy” now.  I’ve been to activities with “youngers.”  Events like CampFi, ChooseFI, even the gym, make it clear that I’m now older, maybe even the “elder.”

How can those past two paragraphs be so different, yet so similar?  I’m older, but I’m still young enough to have a great life ahead of me? 

I’m now reminded of a few wise thoughts:

1. Do not dwell on the past.  You cannot change the past. 
2. Don’t over worry about the future.  You cannot control the future.  You can only control yourself right now.  I’m not sure the exactness of my interpretation, but for me, it makes sense, and it works.

I try to have a great present.  I know deep down, actually right on the surface, that I need to do an even better (much better?) job and having a great present.  I also believe having a great present, sets up a great future.  Isn’t that the best “present” for yourself?

*** 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.