peaks and valleys (2/2)

spirit (2 minutes)

sunday morning poetry

In some way or another, we all question where we are in life. We all chase greener pastures only to find that fertile soil must be churned.

After recently reading “Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey I’ve been in love with the idea of romanticizing life. Romanticizing the worst parts, the trials and tribulations, but also the best parts, the achievements and personal gains all of which come together to form this messy ball of life that we must find a way to love.

I have been greatly struggling to live presently and this romanticization is one of the best ways for me to combat that. When I am caught daydreaming about future investments, traveling, and migrating, the next step always in sight; this creates a tension in my daily life that I am not currently where I want to be, that this span of time is simply a precursor to the future, and that challenges my purpose of now.

This romanticization is based upon the idea that I am today where I wanted to be years ago, that I’ve already surpassed goals that I once claimed would make me happy. I am living my dream because each day that I wake up I have complete freedom to live the way that I want and not in accordance to anyone else’s ideals.

Similar thought processes can be found in Stoicism. Although speaking from a vastly different way of life, ancient stoics like Marcus Aurelius. A translation of Marcus Aurelius’ meditations: "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."

Marcus Aurelius’ meditations always are so powerful to me because they were never written to be read, they were as genuine personal thoughts that can be and act as a great inspiration to myself. When you see a man living in such a powerful position, glorified and rich with gold, who wakes up and gives thanks for the ability to think and to love speaks to the importance of life and where real wealth lies.

development (1 minute)

Learning a new language is an incredibly daunting task and for many English speakers… may seem somewhat pointless.

Nearly everywhere you seek to travel you can travel in today's world you can find an English speaker to accommodate your every need, if someone in the United States doesn’t speak English that’s simply their problem and not yours, and honestly, for many, it just seems too difficult, too time-consuming.

But learning new languages is an incredible base of personal interest learning for many to launch off of.

Learning a new language opens so many doors throughout your life, it may allow you to experience new cultures more authentically, converse with someone new, make more money at your job. Not to mention that it has been proven by many prestigious university studies that learning a new language increases IQ and general intelligence as well as giving you a much greater depth of understanding not only of international history but also English literature.

With AI becoming the forefront of many careers and eliminating so many jobs one of the most important skills is to be able to do the best that with which AI struggles. To write deeply and meaningfully, to be completely clear and precise with your words, to inspire, and to promote.

Learning a new language will help you with this too.

You do not need to be fluent in one of the most common languages by next week, but rather give yourself the opportunity to learn something new for 10 minutes each day.

As Mark Twain said, “Don’t let school [or work] interfere with your education.” I challenge you to download a simple, free app on your phone that we spend too much time on each day anyway, and start your education, your key to the world, today.

finance (2 minutes)

Something very interesting about financial advice today is that it is dominated by rich 50 to 60-year-olds who have spent the better part of their life working for that money and investing that money rather than living the life that we all want to live. Now, if you’re young like me and you’re reading this post the idea of working 9-5 jobs until you're 60 doesn’t sound like an amazing idea, and if you’re closer to 60 then either you’ve already invested and forged your path or, realistically, it’s too late.

All that to preface that my perspective on finances is in no way financial advice or recommendations but rather my approach.

Something that is talked about frequently in the book “The Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor” is the idea of finding your livable expense numbers and breaking them into three categories.

Minimum - Minimum focuses on covering very basic expenses such as mortgage payments or schooling. While this may not take away all of your stress and worries you would be surprised to see just how lifting these expenses off your chest gives you breathing room to enjoy day-to-day life. In most places, this number will range from $30,000 - $50,000 each year and can be achieved by finding investments that can return $3,000 - $4,000 each month.

Sufficient - Sufficient is more lifestyle centered. It is meant to cover all yearly expenses from mortgage/rent to food, and transportation. While it may not cover extravagant vacations and dining out every night it would be enough that you could enjoy life stress-free and work for personal fulfillment rather than because the bills are due next month. For most people in the United States, this number will range from $60,000 to $100,000 each year. This simply breaks down to $5,000 to $8,000 each month, which may seem very far away but with smart living and investing can be well within reach for almost anyone (more about investments in future posts).

Extra - Extra is meant to cover those vacations and those dining bills. It’s enough to cover your basic expenses and some. Enough that when your car breakdown it’s simply a time commitment rather than a financial burden. Extra may mean different things to different people but it should be enough for you to live your current lifestyle or better without working any job. For many of us, this number may just be $120,000, but if you're from a higher-cost-of-living area this may be closer to $200,000 or more. While this number has high variability roughly $10,000 per month is a great first goal.

The key, though, is to have a goal. To know when enough is enough and when you’re good enough in finances that your daily goals are met. I would rather have enough money to be completely free from the rat race at 25 or 26 than have a BILLION dollars in my bank account when I’m too old to enjoy it.

If you’re like me, even generating $3,000 a month extra sounds like an incredibly difficult task, and we will dive deep into the incredible amount of ways to produce semi-passive income in future posts but I want you to understand that $3,000 can be as simple as on $3,000 payment each month, or finding a way to make an extra $100 a day.

Actionable Steps:

• If you don’t know already calculate all of your average yearly expenses (finding 1 month and multiplying by 12 may be sufficient)

• Determine your minimum, sufficient, and extra expense numbers

• Write it down and have it displayed somewhere as a daily reminder of your goal.

• Join the P&V Expedition for financial freedom!

adventure (1 minute)

It’s important, after thinking so practically about life, to escape to those “greener pastures.” To give your mind a break from the discipline required to lead a successful and fulfilling life and dream of the amazing beautiful pastures you are headed.

Adventure is different for all of us, for some of us it’s a trip to a new coffee bar, to the beach, and for others, it’s Patagonia or Nepal to climb towering mountains.

The movie/documentary “The Endless Summer” encapsulates what I believe is the purest most primal form of true adventure. For those that don’t know of the movie, it’s a documentary of 3 people and their search for an endless summer of surf.

Their plan? Well, there wasn’t much of a plan. They booked one plane ticket at a time across the southern hemisphere, traveling inland by hitchhikers and locals. In search of nothing more than good waves and good stories.

Something that saddened me so much is just how limited those possibilities have become. Cities in Southern Africa are taken over by resorts and tourists, native languages are lost and surfs are becoming overcrowded where once a surfboard had never been seen before. These opportunities to learn the ways of how people have lived are becoming increasingly scarce.

You may not care about surfing, or about connecting with local culture. Hitchhiking might sound dangerous and unappetizing. But I promise you that escaping the life you don’t like for a week each year won’t fulfill you, it won’t challenge you.

To explore, that is human.

If nothing else be inspired to travel, challenge yourself to make it a goal to see the world as it was meant to be seen. Not the Statue of David, not the Eiffel Tower. Reach the highest peaks and the deepest values. Run alongside elephants and lions, and surf next to dolphins and whales and sharks. Be inspired to be more than you are now.

And make a plan to make those opportunities possible.

Sincerely,

- Peaks and Valleys