10 years ago today I made a commitment to myself. One that somewhere along the way fell apart. I committed to sacrifice a decade of my life for early retirement. I saw completely feasible that on this day I could be economically unburdened and self-sufficient. My income would be through investments, interest, non-labor revenue and residual income. I would take my late 30s and do those wonderful thrill seeking, life threatening adventures that I enjoy so much. Sky diving, hang gliding, hiking the Appalachian Trail, kayaking the Intercoastal Waterway to Cancun, scuba diving and so much more were planned for my late 30s. My 40s would be world travels and publishing photo journals of my travels. The plans become vague after that.
At one point I wanted to live fast and die young. By that plan I'd be at my end today.
Obviously I have walked a far different path and am happy for it! There is no thrill described in the first paragraph to compare to hearing your child sing the alphabet song for the first time, or see the gleam in their eye as their name is called for that first place ribbon at the horse show, or to release some exuberant, over-confident pre-teen into a chaotic throng of delinquents at the mall, or watch a small boy suck the marrow from life. I have a very loving wife and a wonderful family! This is a very happy day!
