I’m a bit of a budgeting nerd. I excitedly look forward to the time every week when I input transactions into my budgeting software (we use YNAB which stands for “You Need A Budget,” but more on that later.) Partly it is because I love numbers and math, but also because I know how important budgeting is to achieving my […]
The past 3 months for my family could have been very different. Earlier this year, it seemed nearly inevitable that my wife and I would be business owners come March 1st. Two weeks later, our new business venture would have been closed by the government for what turned out to be three months. It would have been 3 months of […]
Okay, I didn’t really “fire” my financial advisor as much as decided to completely ignore his advice. His advice was conventional, safe, and likely something many of you have heard. I, on the other hand, have a hard time with conventional wisdom, avoiding risk, and following the crowd. The piece of advice that I couldn’t help but ignore was my […]
Why do we give gifts? Are we looking to get something in return? Are we validating a relationship and deepening a bond? Is your gift simply an act of kindness and love? Are you giving to celebrate an occasion? Gift-giving is challenging. Is it going to be useful? Are my motivations pure? When is a gift just that, a gift, […]
I’ve always been fascinated with the emotion of fear. Fear is the most important emotion because fear is designed to protect us and help us survive. Am I safe? This is the foundational need for all humanity. Survival trumps anything else. If you do not feel safe, other needs become less important. Fear protects us from harm which keeps us […]
Most people have likely played the Monopoly board game. What is the main goal? Basically, own everything. If you happen to own everything of a certain industry (color), even better. The more you own the higher the rent you can charge. The more rent you can charge the more likely you will be able to bankrupt your competitors and get […]
Who could possibly be like Elon Musk? The eccentric oddball with the outlandish ideas. No one ever really knows what he’s going to say or where his head is actually at. People like predictable and Elon Musk is everything but. Anyone want to go to Mars? Elon Musk wants 1 million there by 2050. Self-driving cars? Sounded pretty crazy 20 […]
I loved college. Great professors. Great content. Great learning environment. But I’ve been thinking, did it kill my creativity? I’m a licensed social studies teacher so you can probably imagine what much of my college coursework looked like. Read thought-provoking and highly academic book or article. Respond to said book or article with a thesis-driven essay. Discuss said article or […]
Social media is one of the most powerful tools to ever exist. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and the countless other sites and applications allow information to spread faster than ever before. Chances are you are reading this because you found it through one of my social media accounts. Bringing my thoughts to audiences would have required significantly more effort 20 […]
I’ve learned a lot eating dark chocolate. First of all, it’s delicious. Second, it deserves to be eaten every single day. What I really learned though takes a little longer to explain. I did not always love dark chocolate. It actually developed over time out of a very specific situation. Through that, I learned how to better face fears and […]
