As I enter my middle age years, I am becoming more reflective on life in general and specifically on spirituality. By many standards, I consider myself very fortunate- good family life, nice house, good job (so far), friends, and ahhh yes- the mirage of financial security. No, I am not rich, but that is all relative anyway. I am a professional and have been in the workforce for the past twenty years would say my education was a good investment. As many of us are facing the challenges of daily life, I guess the the most obvious questions as it relates to any set of struggles is What's next? How can I cope with this or that? What are my options? Where can I get help? Who will help me? There have been many posters on elite trader who have been selfless in sharing ideas and experiences related to trading and in many cases with other areas of life. To make it easier for those who are still young and/or have not been through certain experiences, I would like to share some of my lessons in life so far. We are constantly learning and making mistakes , So I am looking forward to learning a few things also. Although, as the cliche goes- Experience is the best teacher, hopefully some of us can share our best life lessons to make it easier for others. Regrets, omissions, mistakes are valuable in the learning process. If anyone would like to participate by offering such..please do so. Please refrain from senseless or bad advice....I am sure we are above that at ET. Witty retorts are permitted (even if they are useless). A few of my best life lessons: 1.Since I am fan of education....if you have the ability, by all means get an education. One that will land you a decent job after least 2-4 for years. Professional degrees are preferred....healthcare still looks good for the future...be flexible in relocating.....smaller metro areas or rural towns will pay top dollar for healthcare professionals...at half the living cost of big metro area. college debt: some private or public employers will take on debt if you commit for a few years. Work hard and stand out from your colleagues. Please don't be a cut throat. 2. Choose your life partner very carefully. Outer beauty is transient, Inner beauty emanates like the warmth of a fireplace on cold winter day. Trust goes beyond fidelity......please read this again and reflect. 3. Forget the fancy car. After landing a job...work hard and save until you have at least 50% down to buy a house or a rental property which you will be living at. If you are 25 y/o, your goal is to be mortgage free by the age of 40. (15yr mortgage only) 4. Debt is like the Devil....once you sell your soul, he will suck you dry....(no religious connotations intended)..Plain and simple, live within your means. 5. Travel and see the world....forget the fancy dinners and indulging on fruitless activities....save this money and buy memories which will last a lifetime by experiencing different places and cultures. 6. Help others in anyway you can.....even if you only have a smile to offer! 7. Don't expect anything in return for your favors unto others. 8. Be grateful and if this is difficult, be patient. 9. Time is Fleeting!....Time is Fleeting! I am struggling with 6, 7, 8.....I will keep working at it. This list is not exhaustive and will try to update when I can. I am not attempting to pass judgement on anyone nor trying to be preachy. I am optimistic that others will chime in.
Not to be flip but I was just telling my wife yesterday. It's best to keep your wisdom, experience, statistics, anecdotes and advice to yourself. You'll just ruin other people fun... Granted, kids are at an unfair advantage and may benefit from all of the above but they don't listen.
I am approaching 40 with a quickness... 1 - do good deeds without expectation of payback - karma is real. 2 - think before you speak - Im still working on this one. 3 - the psychological strain of constant judgement is intollerable - meaning yourself or others. 4 - do what you love for a living - the money may or may not find you, but you will be much happier. 5 - eat whole foods - no junk food, sugar or dairy for me thank you very much. of course the occasional splurge wont hurt 6 - if you have to do something do your damned best - even if you dont want to. 7 - take risks, but do not be foolhardy - there is a subtle difference. 8 - time really does fly - take it all in...cause soon it will go black 9 - be kind to people and animals - just be kind
Take ample time for recreation. I doubt anyone ever lay on their death bed and said, gee, I should have worked more overtime.
I too am rapidly approaching 40, October 4th to be precise. What you've done in the past doesn't matter, whether you cured cancer or robbed a bank it is in the past so don't dwell on it or have an ego. What you WILL do today matters.
Like this thread, I'm 30 years old, I'm relatively rich, I've got 10-15 fuckbuddies in 3 cities. I have 4 homes in 4 different cities I live in right now. Time for some real crazy advice... 1. Never do anything mediocre, if its going to be done, take it to the EXTREMES. Going to eat cake? eat 10 cakes. Going to skydive, dive from the highest. Going to work? work 18 hours a day. Going to do business? FUCK ur woman, fuck your family , fuck your kids, Do everything possible to become a SUCCESS. Best to start businesses when you are single, so you don't end up fucking all ur family/woman/and kids Want the other side of extremes? Don't want to eat cake? Never touch a single cake. Don't want to work? go on welfare, best return on 0 risk. Don't want to do business? Find the best public job and do a 9-5. Don't want to fuck your wife and family? love them to death since you got a lot of free time from ur 9-5 and u ain't rich so what else to do? 2 sides of the spectrum, both extremes, both valid, nothing in between. The ends will make up for the means.
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