In an earlier post in this Community, I talked about my prior job, and the success I had there, increasing my income every year for 10 years, but what I didn't mention was that the company cut that income every year for the last 4, so that by the time I left, I was making 40% less than I had been. But that wasn't why I quit last November. In a YouTube video, I talked more about deciding that I didn't want to maintain that level of stress and commitment, so I planned my way out. That took me 5 years... but I had already been saving diligently up to that point, maxing out my 401 (k) and investing outside it as well. I was building my safety net and my net worth for many years. But that wasn't really why I quit either. What I haven't talked about is the REAL reason I decided to walk away from the perceived comfort and security of my cushy 9-5. My Dad struggled financially his entire life, but especially after he got laid off from the job he thought he would retire with a big pension from. That was after only just over a decade of working for them. His experience and knowledge made him one of the preeminent experts in his field in his area, but he was never able to fully capitalize on it, even after running his own business for years. Then he fell off a cliff. This was meant literally, but there is a figurative aspect as well. He shattered his pelvis, his hip, and got a massive concussion. He was life-flighted out of a remote area of Utah back home to Colorado. He got patched back together and went into recovery fairly hopeful. Then he just...gave up. Long story short, over a 10-year span, he went from re-learning how to walk, to living in a wheelchair, and finally ending up bedridden in a nursing home...at age 70. It probably had something to do with the head injury, but he stopped trying to get stronger very early in the recovery process. It just hurt too much. I took care of him in those final years, selling his only assets to try and pay for the care he needed, getting him eligible for Medicaid to qualify for the long-term care he needed, and then finally making the final arrangements when he died at age 72, lying in bed.

Interesting Saturday read: “Happiness isn’t something you achieve and keep. It’s the natural byproduct when you live true to what matters and learn to recognize the good already in your life.” I am guilty of this: if you set vague goals for yourself such as "things will get easier when" or " if I just keep my head down for .." then you are deferring action until later. We thrive when we set actionable, achievable goals, with specific measurable outcomes and timeliness. I am interested to hear: how do YOU measure Happiness? https://siliconcanals.com/t-research-suggests-the-habit-of-deferring-happiness-ill-enjoy-life-when-the-kids-leave-when-i-retire-when-things-calm-down-isnt-patience-its-a-pattern-that-simply-moves-the-horizon-forward-no-matter/

New video is up this week 👇 The core idea: every raise you get, your lifestyle tends to follow. Floor goes up. Gap shrinks. And the gap is the only place where real choice actually lives. I also get into the one move that starts to change it, paying yourself first. Fill your savings and emergency fund buckets before lifestyle gets a single dollar. Then live on what's left. Not a budget. Not willpower. A system. 🎥 Watch it here: https://youtu.be/Da4bbkWVhE0 After you watch — I want to know: Do you pay yourself first? If not, what gets in the way? Drop it below. This is exactly the kind of thing we're here to work through together. 🐢

I do... Everyday. I wonder if I am good enough to own this Community. I wonder if those around me are judging the decisions I have made recently. I wonder if my dreams will ever come true because I just don't have anything others will find valuable. I started thinking about why I feel this way this week, because that doubt is a defense mechanism. I have learned a lot from a few people in this world. I would call them mentors, but if you met them, you would likely not see them that way. There were a few people who took me under their wings at certain points in my life and taught me lessons I had not learned previously. How to take care of myself, financially and emotionally. How to manage the feelings of jealousy, of envy, of doubt. How to move through this world knowing that you aren't more important than others, but that you have something to offer anyone. One guy taught me how to climb the corporate ladder while battling through his own challenges and eventually getting fired. He warned me that doing so may ask of me more than I wanted to give. He was right...in hindsight, I traded 10 years of my life chasing money, and not happiness. I hold in high regard every single one of those humans who faced their own challenges but took the time to sit with me and help me through some of my biggest decisions, leading by example and teaching me what they knew I needed to know. I hope every one of you has had similar experiences, because everyone changed me. So yes, I still doubt myself; that is normal. But when times get hard, I draw on what those others taught me, whether they realized it or not, and it gets me through, it pushes me to move forward, even for one step.

I have been thinking about this one a LOT lately... What is wealth to you? https://youtu.be/BomSpwLubzg