The Important Realization You Wish You Had Earlier In Life

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I hope this finds you well.

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In the summer of 2022, I came to a realization, a shift in mindset, if you will.

The exact genesis for this realization was most likely a combination of several events:

• The fact that the summer was coming to an end

• I was finishing a 5-week mini-retirement in Spain

• I no longer had to worry about federal student loans

I was in such a good place that I didn't want that summer to end.

Most (if not all) people would love an endless summer.

The freedom to live a life you actually want to live (without waking up to an alarm clock. Ever).

Take a moment and imagine the life you actually want to live.

• Does it include sitting in a cubicle?

• Does it involve waking up early on weekdays to an alarm clock?

• Does it include commuting to work while stuck in traffic (or via a crowded subway)?

More likely than not, you answered "no" to each question.

Think about it: as humans, did we evolve only to wake up to an alarm clock?

Not to flex, but for 5 weeks in 2022, I did not wake up to an alarm clock.

In Spain.

It was during my time in Spain that I felt compelled to do one thing:

Do whatever it takes to no longer trade my time for money.

That is my current life goal.

This begs the question: Why didn't I realize this sooner?

Like decades ago?

Well, to answer that question, let's first review how we, as humans who live in the ultra-consumer-focused society that is the U.S., are programmed and conditioned to live:

• College

• Job/Career

• Find a partner

• Get married

• Buy a house

• Buy (lease) a car (or two)

• Buy things to fill your house

• Have children (teach the above)

• Work until you're 65 to pay off the above

• Try to save for retirement

• Retire (maybe)

I'm reminded of a quote from Watchmen (one of Time magazine’s All-Time 100 Novels):

Let me simplify the joke:

• Work

• Get paid

• Buy things you don't need

• Rinse and repeat ad nauseam

The punchline: before you know it, life has passed you by.

I admit that I was programmed and conditioned to live like this.

I can't imagine a day before the summer of 2022 when I didn't think I needed to work until I was in my 60s.

With hindsight being 20/20, what disgusts me is that I have to admit that the amount of money I spent in my life up until that summer in Spain can be described in one word: breathtaking.

What bothers me is that I never learned basic personal finance principles, or what I did learn, I never applied.

The counterargument is that if I had learned basic personal finance principles decades ago, would I have applied them throughout my 20s, 30s, and 40s?

This is a debatable question.

I probably would not have.

Again, like most people, I was programmed and conditioned to believe I needed to work well into my 60s.

I have no one to blame but myself.

And I am where I am.

Don't get me wrong, I've lived a pretty good life (and I’m in a pretty good place).

I have lived and traveled all over the world, and because of those experiences, I made investing in life experiences a non-negotiable.

But it does beg the question:

Why didn't I have the important realization mentioned above much earlier in my life?

Is society's programming and conditioning that strong to believe otherwise?

I have one friend to thank for planting an idea in my mind.

Some years ago when, for some unknown reason, my friend Jose gave me the following note after a meeting:

Jose is like the character Dom Cobb in the movie Inception—with this note, he planted the seed of an idea in my mind.

I don't know why he gave it to me (thank you, Jose), and I have no idea why I kept it.

He handed me the note, told me to look into it, and we never discussed it again.

I kept the note; I still have it, and it's in a notebook I carry with me every day.

I have carried it with me every day since the day Jose gave it to me.

I can't tell you why.

I feel compelled to do so.

It was a small act of kindness that slowly nudged me into shifting my mindset from one believing I would trade my time for money in my 60s to a new life goal:

Retire by 2028 (do whatever it takes to no longer trade my time for money).

What's the point of all this?

The point of all this is to help you shift your mindset.

To help you come to your own realization.

To help break society's ultra-consumer-focused programming and conditioning.

You do not need to trade your time for money until you reach your 60s.

I wish I had realized this when I was 40 (or much younger).

Maybe if I did, I'd have the financial resources to no longer have to trade my time for money today.

The truth is that I didn't have this realization when I was younger.

It took me 4 or 5 years from the day Jose gave me that note to realize this and shift my mindset.

I implore you to consider and develop a financial plan to retire (or stop trading your time for money) sooner rather than later.

Invest the time to consult with a fee-only financial professional to help develop a plan, if necessary.

If you're happy with your career and it's something you can do until you're 65+, that's cool.

Run with it (but invest in life experiences along the way).

However, if you can't see yourself doing what you're doing until you're 65+, take it from me, and come up with a financial plan to retire (or stop trading your time for money) sooner rather than later.

It will be challenging.

It will require some sacrifice.

But it is possible.

Figure out a way you no longer have to wake up to an alarm clock.

Then, go and explore the world.

Get lost.

Discover.

Live.

Life's entirely too short not to.

What caught my attention:

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.” —Henry Ward Beecher

“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can find the collection of financial tools & resources that helped me grow from a 6-figure debt to a 6-figure net worth by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

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