At our core, we all just want a fair chance to compete. We don’t want handouts, and we certainly don’t want to rely on the Bank of Mom & Dad to keep us afloat as adults. They have their own pensions to worry about. The real satisfaction comes from seeing what we can build through our own effort.
Because honestly, having everything handed to you sounds like a slow death of the soul. Agree?
In poker, if you have ‘a chip and a chair’, you have a chance. That’s all any of us can ask for.
Family, gratitude and an 80th birthday surprise
At 48, life feels very different than it did when I was in my 20s. At the time, I was financially insecure and competing ruthlessly against everyone and everything to get ahead. Nowadays I am more settled, but I also have a lot more responsibility: a wife, two children, elderly parents.
The pressure is still there, but the shape has changed. When the people you love depend on you, the focus becomes an unwavering commitment: managing the finances, teaching the kids, making sure your partner feels seen and respected.
During Thanksgiving week, most of us think about the family and friends we are fortunate to have left. I am no different. Although we are already planning to return to Honolulu in December to see my parents for Christmas, I wanted to plan a surprise trip for my father’s 80th birthday in November.
His reaction, perfectly captured on video, was priceless. The whole week was something none of us will ever forget.
Of course, no home visit is complete without a few home improvement jobs. Being a dutiful son, I worked with my sister to cover the front door with urethane. We also got our trusty handyman to cut away the termite infested cladding, install a missing skirting board, repair some holes in the floor and even fit a bidet.
There’s always something to fix at my parents’ house, and I’m happy to help.
When does our enthusiasm disappear?
During the visit, I began to wonder: at what age do our mental abilities begin to fade? And when does our motivation to improve start to become boring?
You see the shift everywhere: older people live happily in untouched homes for fifty years, while younger homeowners renovate every fifteen to twenty years. Older people wear the same clothes they did decades ago, while younger people continue to try to improve their appearance. Perhaps this reflects a deeper satisfaction that comes with age.
I also wonder: when will that youthful desire to conquer the world finally subside? Maybe it’s when you know you really have enough. Or if your children are no longer dependent on you. Or when the fire that fueled your early career slowly gives way to contentment and peace because you no longer care about status and titles.
Grateful that I still have the energy to compete and think
We assume that our minds will always remain sharp. But eventually they disappear – processing slows, tolerance for change decreases, and our roads become harder.
I think I am at the beginning of that metamorphosis. Maybe I have 2 – 10 years of high mental capacity left in me. But I’m not entirely sure my enthusiasm will last. Posts like this –
– show that I give of myself (and hopefully you) permission to relax and enjoy life more. Please don’t work so hard once you’ve crunched the numbers and realize you don’t need to. You don’t have to worry about not delivering something every week if you’re already so far past your goals.
Yet old habits die hard. Still, I want to help as many people as possible achieve financial freedom faster, because the ability to do what you want, when you want, is invaluable.
Competition will always be fierce
As someone who doesn’t work for a company or have a big platform behind me, competition in the publishing industry is fierce. Sometimes I imagine how much easier it would be to spread my ideas if I worked at The New York Times or a money management company that’s regularly on TV.
But then I remember how satisfying it is to compete without all that. It’s just me and my wife helping in the background to share financial thoughts with anyone who wants to read. That’s the beauty of the internet: anyone with enough drive can write, record or create for the world and compete.
Yes, being FIRE makes you a terrible entrepreneur because you are less motivated by money or growth. But there is also a beautiful peace that comes from focusing solely on what you love. For me that is writing. The most important thing that matters is whether I am satisfied with my efforts.
The AI moment
When AI arrived on the scene in November 2022, with the launch of ChatGPT, everything changed. Not only was I competing with major platforms and Google’s algorithm shifts, I was now also dealing with a structural shift in the way people search for information. AI scrapped and regurgitated publishers’ content without attribution.
It felt hopeless.
But I have also benefited from AI. It saves my father and wife hours of editing, but it also costs me a lot of search traffic. That forced a decision: slow down after 13½ years of consistent writing… or keep going.
In 2009, I committed to publishing at least three articles a week for ten years. I reached that milestone in 2019 and just kept running like Forrest Gump kept running.
So I did what any financial samurai would do: I invested aggressively in AI companies starting in 2022, first in the public sector and then in the private sector. If AI was going to harm my site, I thought I should invest in the punishers. The only thing I regret is not investing more.
But what I’m most happy about is that I haven’t broken my streak of three posts per week since the rise of AI in late 2022. That means more than three years of continuing to do what I’ve always done since 2009. The reason is simple: writing gives me joy and purpose. I would do it even if there was no financial component to it.
Be able to show up Every day
I’m grateful that I still have the drive to produce. Even after all these years, the dreaded writer’s block has not yet infiltrated my mind.
One day my fingers may stiffen from arthritis, or my mind may no longer connect the dots quickly enough to seize purchasing opportunities. Eventually I might lose interest in producing anything at all and just want to relax and watch TV.
That day hasn’t come yet, but I know I have to make some changes because I’m too rigid.
This Thanksgiving morning I started writing late, at 7:45am instead of my usual 6am before the family wakes up. I started late because I was tired after a six hour adventure where the kids took them to tennis, swimming, and taking them out for lunch, then to some car dealerships.
My wife stopped by while I was writing that morning, and although I welcomed her, after about eight minutes I asked for some time to myself to finish my post before heading out with the kids again. Understandably, she wasn’t happy.
If I wasn’t so driven, I would have closed my laptop and just enjoyed her company. It literally doesn’t matter whether I’m writing this post in the morning or after she goes to bed or even the next day. But once I get into that flow state, the disruption feels jarring. Still, I recognize the need to recalibrate, and I will do so for the sake of our relationship.
This Thanksgiving week, I am grateful for the ability to continue doing what I love and for the opportunity to continue to compete in whatever way I can. At the same time, I need to change my ways if I want to become a better person. These changes start now.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Besides friends and family, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving week?
Related posts:
Grateful for happiness: a phone call that changed my life forever
The best financial move I’ve made is something anyone can do
The advantage of the Grindcore culture: work harder, make profits harder
Subscribe to Financial Samurai
Pick up a copy of my national bestseller USA TODAY, Millionaire Milestones: Easy Steps to Seven Figures. I’ve distilled more than 30 years of financial experience to help you build more wealth than 94% of the population – and get unstuck faster.
Listen and subscribe to The Financial Samurai podcast at Apple or Spotify. I interview experts in their respective fields and discuss some of the most interesting topics on this site. Your shares, ratings and reviews are appreciated.
To accelerate your journey to financial freedom, join over 60,000 others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter. You can also receive my posts in your email inbox as they arrive sign up here. Everything is written based on first-hand experience and expertise.
#Grateful #opportunity #continue #compete