I’m Wes — Currently an Operations manager in retail, aspiring real estate investor and now an A.I. student. I’m a husband, father of 2 boys, and now officially an empty nester, which has opened the door to trying new things and thinking bigger about what’s next. Right now, I’m diving into real estate—learning how to build long-term income through smart deals and how to eventually teach others to do the same. At the same time, I’m in the early stages with A.I., exploring how it can help with analyzing deals, improving productivity, and scaling what I’m building. I joined this community to learn how to apply A.I. in real, practical ways—especially in business, investing and personal growth. Fun fact: I've always been drawn to the water and have been a sailor most of my life, I race once a week during the summer and I've sailed the Chicago/Mackinac race (on/off) since 2007. I’m always up for connecting, helping where I can and learning from others.

Seasoned Corp. Accountant/Tax Consultant w/over 35 years of experience delivering robust financial strategies/tax compliance across diverse industries

Is there a specific area for us to post introductions or do we just post them in General Discussion?

I’m in a transition period. I’m downsizing into Vanlife from owning a home for the past 27 years. Here is what I asked Chat GPT using the Sandwich Method. Parts of this brought tears to my eyes in recognition of the truth. I am a 63 year old female who has lived in her own home for 27 years. I worked as a Middle and Elementary School Counselor and College Psychology Instructor for 34 years. I am currently still teaching College Psychology and working 1.5 to 2 days a week to supplement my Retirement Income from the State. I am currently selling as much of the clutter I have accumulated over the last 34 years as I can in order to prepare for the sale of my home in August of this year. I am building my Camper Van and it will be my home in the future. I need to make better progress in the sale of my unneeded possessions while managing my responsibilities in my part-time jobs. The downsizing part of this adventure has been hard. Please suggest some ideas for accomplishing this goal and perhaps a schedule for the next 3 weeks as the Semester ends at the college, as I’d like to have most of my unwanted possessions find new homes before I leave to finish my van build. What you’re doing is a big life transition, not just “decluttering.” You’re closing one chapter (a 34-year career + 27-year home) and intentionally stepping into a new one. The fact that it feels hard doesn’t mean you’re behind—it means you’re doing it thoughtfully. Let’s make this practical, structured, and emotionally sustainable so you can actually move forward without burnout. 🔑 Core Strategy (Keep This Simple) Instead of trying to “declutter everything,” shift to: 1. Decision Speed Over Perfection Ask only: - Do I need this for van life? - Do I deeply love this enough to carry it forward? If not → it goes. 2. Use the “4-Path System” Every item immediately goes into one of these: - 💰 Sell (higher value, worth your time) - 🎁 Donate (good but not worth selling) - ♻️ Toss (broken/unused) - 📦 Keep (van essentials only)