How to live a meaningful life
For the past couple of months, I've been posting a lot about the stock market and all its ups and downs. Even though the S&P 500 ended on a high last week, overall this year in terms of investing can be best described below:
Jokes aside, the stock market has taken a few negative turns over the past few months and it is now more important than ever to hold on to your seatbelts and ride the market fluctuations. Be sure to check out the posts about market dips below to help you weather the storm.
Post 1 - When we were hit with the initial pandemic
Post 2 - In-depth discussion on how we invest and why I believe it is a great way to build wealth.
A post by the godfather of wealth creation and the FIRE movement - Mr Money Moustache. (This is an unbelievable read)
Mr. Money Mustache
Alright, down to brass tax. I wanted to write on a couple of other things, however, something that has been weighing heavy on my mind is the impact I am having on people I meet. Am I helping those around me, and am I making a difference? Yea that got super deep. I wanted to look at some interesting thoughts around the topic and what I've found for myself. I've also looked at what some experts in the field have said.
Finding your why
Could I have used a more cliche subheading? Probably not. Let's take a look at that for a second. To use this blog as an example, when I started, well firstly I hardly wrote a few hundred words per post, but from day one it has had the same goals in mind. To show anyone wanting to escape the rat race a way to financial freedom and retiring early (FIRE).
I use the term retire loosely as a lot of you are aware. Essentially you have enough time to do what excites and energies you.
Since starting the blog I've spoken to dozens of people about investing and what we are doing as a family. I love talking to someone and seeing them realise that this is something they can also be doing. The reward from what people have shared with me is amazing and it truly is what keeps me energised. Just this week a long time friend and reader messaged me to say that he appreciates my openness and transparency on the blog.
I say this to tell you that, this is my why. When I hear these things I feel like I am fulfilling a purpose or a goal. I am doing something to help someone.
Creator Vs Consumer
A very interesting topic I love discussing is the creators vs consumer mindset. You can draw parallels to investing in creating wealth or consuming, aka buying needless things or stuff. However, let's keep using the blog as an example.
Before I started the blog I probably consumed around 28 personal finance books on investing and financial freedom (Bit of a nerd ok). I wanted to understand the topic and make sure that this is the right path. More importantly, I was consuming a large amount of content.
I woke up one day, went to coffee with my best friend and he said. "You should be writing about this stuff man." That got me thinking. At the time, the decision was not an easy one. I was in the middle of creating another business and working out how I could make it profitable. I could not let go of this annoying feeling that he was right (Shh don't tell him I said he was right).
Thus the blog was born.
Aside from me sharing a heartfelt story on how my business failed, the point I am trying to make is that I moved from consuming and keeping all the knowledge I acquired to producing and sharing it with the world. I wanted to give back. Once I did the math and once I realised this was more than achievable I could no longer sit back and keep it to myself.
So here we are today!
Life's too short to worry about what people think
Early on in my blog writing days, I was very worried about what people would say, what would they think about this? What if they think I am a fraud? What if they don't like me?
Over the years I've realised that people don't care that much.
That's right. People, in general, do not care that much. There are people who would read the content. Some might even think that it is useful, however, there is only a select group that will take what they learn here and in other places and put a plan into action.
That to say, I am encouraged by this. Why? Well, I've realised that I can produce with freedom. That is the message I am trying to get across. Produce and realise that people especially at the start just won't care that much. Start creating, start writing and be courageous.
Final thoughts
Today's post is a bit irregular, but it has been something that has weighed heavy on my heart. Life is so fleeting and not making the most of our time on earth would be such a waste. I love this famous quote:
The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.
Les Brown
Stay strong out there folks! I am excited to see what you guys come up with. You might have noticed, that the blog looks slightly different. Let me know what you think.