Great question AT. I left Minnesota in January of 1979 on a blowing snowy, minus 30 below zero day and never looked back on my way to find what little fame and fortune might be in store for me. I had been trapping fox all fall and had a beautiful nest-egg in a local bank that I figured should last me until I could find a job doing what I wanted to do. That took about 15 years but better late than never. In So Cal I had bought into the mantra of "he who travels alone travels farthest" so the San Diego beaches and associated "talent pool" provided far more diversity than just a muley or whitey if you get my drift so it took a bit for me to slow down, married at 37 and realize I probably should have married earlier but wouldn't have been able to meet and marry my partner in life for the last 33 years. I only wish we had met far sooner.
As for me, Dean Parisian, I believe the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness and achievement, and that the voluntary transactions that flow naturally out of an enterprise system are the key to peace and material and personal freedom. Happiness means different things to different people. Freedom is a big deal to me. Freedom to roam, to spend my time doing what I want to do has much to do with my happiness. I have learned that many people don't want freedom, they don't relish freedom, they spend more time trying to save money than invest money, they waste time doing things that will never enhance their net worth and hence give them more freedom in years to come. I tell this to my sons all the time, people do what THEY WANT TO DO. So always, watch what they do, not so much what they say.
Here is an analogy for those that think things will just happen for them without doing the work.
Have you ever seen an eagle sitting on a branch with it's mouth open to the heavens waiting on a rabbit to drop in? No. Those big, beautiful, majestic eagles scratch and claw for every meal they get their entire life, and in that scratching and clawing they are always provided for.
Humans tend to think we can get our life, our health, our marriage, our children, our career, our giving/contributions, our key relationships, and other areas of our life to a certain place without scratching and clawing first, without doing the work.
Extremely successful people are no happier than the rest of us and they struggle just as much or more than average people. The satisfaction of my success doesn't come from achieving my goals but from struggling well. Struggling gives one strength. The happiest people discover their own nature and match their life to it. Match your life to what you want, it's not that hard because it's all about work. Do the work. Be consistent. Work at life, stop paying lip service, just do it. Work harder on understanding, work harder on loving, work harder on helping others. Work is the only thing you can control that will shape your life. Work to be someone you never thought you could.
For you young guys looking for a significant other here is my story. It's the only one I have. I was a couple years into a romantic relationship when it finally hit me that I was spending much more time working on the relationship than enjoying it. You shouldn't have to work at loving someone and being compatible with them! Letting go and ending that relationship was painful, but it was the right decision. She found a happy marriage and family life, and I recently celebrated my 31st wedding anniversary with my soulmate and our very loved family.
After I had a reached a level of financial success that attracted women "who were just crazy about me" I had to learn the hard way that most of them (95%) were nothing but a life support system for a pu$$y. I was in San Diego so that might explain a lot of it but those women were vipers. The advice I give to young guys is to wait until they find a girl who appreciates what he has accomplished (in whatever job he does) and mainly wants to be emotionally secure and have a guy who will always be loyal to her. And loyalty has to be a two-way street. A marriage like that can accomplish wonders. So remember, you can't change what's going on around you until you change what is going on within you.
As well, we have to develop peace on the inside before we can be peaceful on the outside. You can't let idiots, hypocrites, negative past coaches, negative family members or certain "religious leaders" keep us from developing goodness within our own spirit. The amount of negativity out there these days is almost intolerable. I shut the news off a long time ago. All news. Off.
I had a nickname in college, DREAMER, and it still sticks today. To me, I believed in making dreams happen. The pursuit of your dreams is what life should be about. You need YOUR dreams and your reality and determination to create YOUR successful life.
Today I put a down payment on a home in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I call it my first investment property. I feel it is an investment in my health. Sure, there are risks, hurricanes, political issues, currency issues an on and on and on to worry about but why worry? We aren't in control any more than Biden is cognitively healthy.
At 68 years young, I try to read more, pray more, be more consistent in my gratitude, eat better, exercise more, until I can't work at doing those things any more. Just the air we breathe is a gift and that's easy to take for granted. Life can be tough for all of us at times so remember this, tomorrow is a new day and I hope for the best for anyone working and struggling in life.
