It’s been a little more than four months since I started out on this blogging adventure. I’ve enjoyed interacting with my fellow readers, joined a great community of bloggers, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.
It’s time to revisit the original premise of this blog and see what it’s all about. In life, we have three main resources at our disposal: our health, our mind, and our time. We are not equal in our capacities for health and mind, but we all have the opportunity to make the best with what we have, and increase our life expectation.
Life expectation is simply a term I adapted that should be familiar to poker players out there. In poker, the strength of your hand isn’t solely determined by the cards that you hold. It’s also determined in part by the cards your opponent holds, how he plays his hand, and how you play your hand. This is what is known as expectation, and the amount of value that you expect to gain from the hand is known as expected value (EV).
All of us have a destination in mind. For some, it’s having the freedom to travel around the world. For others, it’s having the ability to start your own business and work for yourself. I personally would like to build up my skills, knowledge, and passive income, so that I one day reach the point where I am no longer required to work a 9 to 5 job to pay the bills.
Here at Invest It Wisely, it’s not only about the destination, but it’s also about the journey along the way. This is a journey that I am currently travelling along with many of you, and I hope that we can learn from each other and grow along the way.
Further reading
Here is the story of two guys that have actually reached their destination and are living the life they always wanted. I find it very inspiring to read their stories. Here they are:
- Early Retirement Extreme: How I became financially independent in 5 years – Part I
- 7million7years: Intro
- 7million7years: Roadmap To Riches
So, what is your dream? What is your vision of the ideal lifestyle for you? What do you think of my breakdown of the 3 primary resources down to mind, health, and time? As always, looking forward to your comments.
I agree with you in that the journey is so important too. It is so admirable to focus on the destination. However, for long-term goals, such as becoming financially independent, it is too arduous to delay having enjoyment until the end. Without embracing the journey, the destination will become that much harder to reach
I think you’re both right. The journey is the destination. You didn’t say that, but I think you referred to it.
Every day we have is precious. Making the most out of each one is the key.
Kevin, do you remember that millionaire mechanic I told you about? Well, after a few years, I thought he was nuts. He just worked and worked, stockpiling millions of dollars and not spending any of it.
So, at first, he was my hero. But when I thought about him working and not enjoying his money, I thought he was a fool. But I’ve come “full-circle”. The guy LOVES doing what he does, and he loves stockpiling money. Sitting on a beach, playing golf or hanging out at a 5 star resort would really bum this guy out—even if it was free.
We’re all so unique in what we want. The only fools out there are the ones that don’t count their blessings daily, and don’t work their perspectives to find the best they can in everything and everyone.
Completely agree with both of you. If someone is doing what they love and they enjoy their daily job, then the phrase “getting out of the rat race” doesn’t really apply to them. Getting out of the rat race for me is about getting out of the 9 to 5 grind, for sure, but it isn’t just about that. There are many other things I can do along the way to increase my satisfaction in life and make the journey that much better.
I think the focus should be on adding fuel to the fire to keep it burning, and to never let it degrade into the cold embers of what you could have been.
Sometimes I get too focused on the destination, and I am really working hard at taking time to stop and enjoy the journey.
I kind of already have my ideal lifestyle, so I am incredibly lucky. I would love to be able to afford to be able to travel more, but outside of that, I am pretty content.
For what it is worth, I really like your blog and I think you will find great success!
I think we actually have to learn to enjoy the journey, and if we can’t, then we have to work on changing things so that we can! I believe that in one sense, we need to be selfish and live for ourselves, and do the things we enjoy; not do the things that other people tell us we should be doing. This doesn’t mean that we have to act selfish toward other people; what some people enjoy the most is doing volunteer work for poor countries and reaping significant emotional rewards in return.
I think it’s really great that you’ve found the ideal lifestyle for yourself! So many people haven’t, and in many cases, I think it’s simply because of unbalanced expectations about life, which are often influenced by perceptions of social status, parental expectations, etc… what I consider the rat race is keeping up the daily grind because you feel pressured to do so. We all have our own set points for creature comforts, of course, but once we’ve gotten there, it’s so much easier to relax a little bit and cultivate relationships, instead of grinding ourselves away simply to match the flagrancy of others!
Thanks for the feedback; I also enjoy reading your blog, and my girlfriend is especially fond of your blog as she finds many similarities between her philosophy and yours! Coupons, for instance 😉
Nice post! Absolutely agree Kevin, “getting out of the rat race” doesn’t apply to everyone, only those who desire to do something different and in some cases, be better than where they are now.
As I get older, I’m learning to enjoy the journey more. Probably comes with age or better still, maturation? I figure if I believe in what I’m doing, personal finance/investing or otherwise, there will be personal satisfaction in starting the race, running it and sprinting to that finish line.
Perhaps 😉 I do know that expectations and reality often battle with each other, and it sometimes takes a while to get the two in balance for some people.
Congrats on the progress with your DRIPs so far!
Kevin, I like the MIND portion of your triangle. That’s really the key in my opinion. Everything is so mental. It’s all about the way we perceive things to be!
That’s very true; sometimes our minds and genetics fail us, but in many other times, we can improve things just by changing our mental outlook. Sometimes, it really is about the color of shades that you’re wearing.
“it’s not only about the destination, but it’s also about the journey along the way.”
Perfect!
… and, thanks for the links, AJC.
No probs, and cool post about the credit card rewards!
I like the diagram! It clearly displays the three resources we all have. Having Health and Mind at satisfactory, but individual level – Time is the only resource that is equal for everybody and everything!
The grounding statement of Time Management says: “All people in the world are equal in only one thing – time. Everyone has 24 hours per day – it is up to the individual to decide how those hours will get invested or blown away”.
That’s an important distinction, I agree. Even Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are limited in the amount of time they have, just as we are! Proper management of that time becomes even more crucial, I think, the more that is at stake.