The One Important Question You Will Ask Yourself

Good morning!

I hope this finds you well.

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

The newsletter with the goal to inspire you to live the life you actually want to live.

Thank you for your continued support.

If you enjoy The Matt Viera Newsletter, please forward this email to one person you believe would enjoy reading this.

I’ll be honest, writing a weekly newsletter is not easy.

Since October 1, 2022, I’ve been publishing a newsletter article every week (with 2, maybe 3 exceptions).

Some weeks, it’s easy. Other weeks, it’s incredibly challenging.

The latter is how I am currently finding the process.

I have an idea for an article I’m saving until after I reveal my “big something.”

But, until then, it’ll have to wait (note to self: write up a draft).

My typical process for writing an article is to share a story and tie it into some thought-provoking idea or lesson.

I’ve been struggling the past few days trying to come up with a story.

I didn’t sleep well Sunday because I kept asking myself, “What the heck am I going to write about?”

I even looked online for a few writing prompts to provoke creativity.

It’s as if I said everything I needed to say:

• Life’s too short

• Invest in life experiences

• Manage your money effectively

But there is one topic I’ve been thinking about lately, and I may as well write about it.

That is the topic of time.

You don’t feel the passing of time while going through your day-to-day routine year after year.

But one day, you wake up and ask yourself, “Has it really been X years since I did that?”

If you haven’t asked yourself that question yet, I assure you, you definitely will.

Hopefully, one day in the far future.

Check this out:

This time, 32 years ago, I was experiencing my first summer living in Germany.

This time, 29 years ago, I was a beginner parachutist.

That same year, I traveled to Zimbabwe.

This time, 28 years ago, I was experiencing a summer in Seoul, South Korea (and what a summer it was).

This time, 24 years ago, I was living in Miami. I thought I’d stay in Miami for 2 years. I ended up living in Miami for 8 years.

This time, 16 years ago (16 years?) I graduated from law school, moved back to New York City, and was studying for the bar exam.

This time, 8 years ago, I was driving alone from New York City to Montana.

This time, 6 years ago, I was planning my first mini-retirement (the first time in 24 years I’d return to Germany).

And those are just some of the highlights.

The highlights are quite varied, as you can see.

But one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that those past highlights, those experiences, shape my present and future life experiences.

What I can’t say with absolute certainty is whether I’d be so gung-ho about investing in life experiences now if I didn’t have those experiences in the past.

And it all started with one simple, powerful decision I made 33 years ago: I enlisted in the Army.

And that one simple, powerful decision changed my life for the better in so many different ways.

Without serving 8 years in the Army, I may not have traveled the world.

I may not have ever developed this insatiable wanderlust that I have (or maybe it was always there, which is why I enlisted).

I may not have ever developed an appetite for the peace and serenity of spending time in nature.

I may not have ever discovered the beauty of Wyoming and Utah.

I may have always believed that working for decades is the only way to live (it took until my 3rd mini-retirement to disabuse myself of that notion).

And, I may not have ever started writing a newsletter to encourage you to invest in life experiences.

What’s the point of all this?

The point of all this is to say:

Whatever obstacle is in your way of exploring this great, big, beautiful world, I assure you that you can overcome that obstacle.

I promise you, it’s worth it.

Remember: no one on their deathbed ever said, “I wish I spent more time in the office.”

What caught my attention:

The Most Interesting Man in the World written by a friend and fellow Brooklynite.

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!

Please feel free to reply to this email with suggestions, questions, or comments.

I read every email.

If you have a question about personal finance, travel, or mini-retirements, email me and ask and I’ll discuss the answer in a future article.

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