What Would The 18 Year Old You Think?

I was far to focused on chasing monetary wealth at that age. I figured I would always live in California. Thanks to living below our means we haven't had to worry about money in a very long time but we are far from loaded. I left California not quite a year and half after graduating from San Diego State.

I am interested in many more things than back then. It used to just be sports and money. I think those varied interests and activities have made my life much more interesting than it would have turned out. I have come to believe in living a life of service, helping others and that idea would not have resonated at 18 and my life is much better for it.

Natural development would say that we outgrow or otherwise evolve as we figure out what actually matters to us. I'll quote our friend Bill from here in Walker who said "you can figure it out now or you can figure it out later but you'll be much happier if you can figure it out now."

Very silly but still influential for me; the show Northern Exposure came out in 1990, about a year after I graduated college, I was 24. The show "gave permission" to not live in a big city and not chase max dollars. It took a few years to get to that small town but is was a process of dues paying for the outcome I came to realize that I wanted but an outcome that 18 year old me could not have fathomed.

I still love sports and I still love the stock market but I have evolved into much more than just those two dimensions.

Years ago I started to blog about living below your means and staying fit as a way of doing your future self a couple of huge favors. This evolved into frequently talking about optionality because you never know what the future you will want to do. I think that idea is embedded in the rest of this list. It is very unlikely we have too much in common with our 18 year old selves. Some of course but a lot? Probably not.