At our core, we all just want a fair chance to compete. We don’t need handouts, and we certainly don’t want to rely on the Bank of Mom & Dad to prop us up as adults. The real satisfaction comes from seeing what we can build through our own effort.
Because honestly, having everything handed to you sounds like a slow death of the soul. Agree?
In poker, if you’ve got “a chip and a chair,” you’ve got a shot. That’s all any of us can ask for.
Family, Gratitude, and an 80th Birthday Surprise
At age 48, life feels very different from my 20s. Back then, I was financially insecure and relentlessly competed against anyone and anything to try to get ahead. Today, I’m more settled, but I also carry far more responsibility – a wife, two children, aging parents.
The pressure is still there, but it’s changed shape. When people you love depend on you, the focus becomes unwavering commitment: managing the finances, teaching the kids, making sure your spouse feels seen and respected.
During Thanksgiving week, most of us reflect on the family and friends we’re lucky to still have. I’m no different. Even though we’re already planning to go back to Honolulu in December to see my parents for Christmas, I wanted to pull off a surprise trip for my father’s 80th birthday in November.
His reaction, captured perfectly on video, was priceless. The entire week was something none of us will ever forget.
Of course, no visit home is complete without a few home improvement tasks. As a dutiful son, I teamed up with my sister to coat the front door with urethane. We also got our trusty handyman to cut out termite-infested trim, install a missing baseboard, patch some floor holes, and even mount a bidet.
There’s always something to fix at my parents’ place, and I’m happy to help.
When Does Our Enthusiasm Fade?
During the visit, I started wondering: at what age do our mental capacities begin to fade? And when does our motivation to improve start to dull?
You see the shift everywhere, older folks happily living in homes untouched for 50 years, while younger homeowners remodel every 15–20 years. Older folks wear their same clothes from decades ago, while younger folks keep trying to improve the way they look. Maybe this reflects a deeper satisfaction that comes with age.
I also wonder: when does that youthful desire to conquer the world finally taper off? Maybe it’s when you know you truly have enough. Or when your kids no longer depend on you. Or when the fire that fueled your early career slowly gives way to contentment and peace because you don't care anymore about status and titles.
Thankful to Still Have the Energy to Compete and Think
We take for granted that our minds will always stay sharp. But eventually, they go – processing slows, tolerance for change decreases, and our ways harden.
I think I’m at the beginning of that metamorphosis. Maybe I have 2 – 10 more years of high mental capacity in me left. But I’m not fully sure that my enthusiasm will last. Posts like these –
- Permission To Live It Up: Upgrading The Safe Withdrawal Rate To 5%
- Living Solely Off Social Security Is Possible
- Descending The Corporate Ladder: A Great Solution To A Better Life
– show I’m giving myself (and hopefully you) permission to relax and enjoy life more. Please don't work so hard if you’ve run the numbers and realize you don't have to. There's no need to stress about not delivering every single week if you're so far passed your goals.
Yet old habits die hard. I still want to help as many people as possible achieve financial freedom sooner, because the ability to do what you want, when you want, is priceless.
Competition Is Always Going To Be Fierce
As someone who doesn’t work for a corporation or have a major platform behind me, competition in the publishing world is intense. Sometimes I imagine how much easier it would be to spread my ideas if I worked at The New York Times or a money management firm that’s regularly on TV.
But then I remember how gratifying it is to compete without any of that. It’s just me and my wife helping in the background sharing financial thoughts with anyone who wants to read. That’s the beauty of the internet: anyone with enough drive can write, record, or create for the world and compete.
Yes, being FIRE makes you a terrible entrepreneur, because you’re less motivated by money or growth. But there’s also a beautiful peace in focusing solely on what you love. For me, that’s writing. The main thing that matters is if I'm satisfied with my effort.
The AI Moment
When AI burst onto the scene in November 2022, with the launch of ChatGPT, everything changed. Not only was I competing with major platforms and Google’s algorithm shifts, I now had to contend with a structural shift in how people search for information. AI was scraping publishers’ content and regurgitating it without attribution.
It felt hopeless.
But I benefitted from AI too. It saves my dad and wife hours editing, but it also cost me meaningful search traffic. That forced a decision: slow down after 13½ years of consistent writing… or keep going.
Back in 2009, I promised to publish at least three articles a week for 10 years. I hit that milestone in 2019, and just kept going like Forrest Gump kept running.
So I did what any Financial Samurai would do: I aggressively invested in AI companies starting in 2022, first public ones then private ones. If AI was going to hurt my site, I figured I should invest in the punishers. My only regret is not investing more.
But what I’m most pleased about is that I haven’t broken my three-posts-a-week streak since AI’s rise at the end of 2022. That's more than three years of continuing to do what I've always done since 2009. The reason is simple: writing gives me joy and purpose. I’d do it even if there were no financial component.
Being Able To Show Up Every Day
I’m thankful I still have the drive to produce. Even after all these years, the dreaded writer’s block hasn’t infiltrated my mind yet.
One day, my fingers may stiffen from arthritis, or my mind may no longer connect the dots fast enough to seize buying opportunities. Eventually, I may lose interest in producing anything at all and simply want to relax and watch TV.
That day hasn’t come yet, but I know I need to make some changes because I’m too rigid.
This Thanksgiving morning, I started writing late, at 7:45 a.m. instead of my usual 6 a.m before the family wakes. I started late because I was tired after a 6-hour adventure with the kids teaching them tennis, swimming, and taking them out for lunch, and then to a couple of car dealerships.
My wife stopped by while I was writing that morning, and though I welcomed her, after about eight minutes, I asked for some alone time to finish my post before heading out again with the kids again. Understandably, she wasn’t happy.
If I weren’t so driven, I would have shut my laptop and just enjoyed her company. It literally doesn't matter whether I write this post in the morning or after she goes to bed or even the next day. But once I enter that flow state, disruption feels jarring. Still, I recognize the need to recalibrate, and I will for the sake of our relationship.
This Thanksgiving week, I’m grateful for the ability to keep doing what I love and for the opportunity to continue competing in whatever ways I still can. At the same time, I need to change my ways if I want to become a better person. These changes start now.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Readers, besides friends and family, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving week?
Subscribe To Financial Samurai
Pick up a copy of my USA TODAY national bestseller, Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps to Seven Figures. I’ve distilled over 30 years of financial experience to help you build more wealth than 94% of the population—and break free sooner.
Listen and subscribe to The Financial Samurai podcast on Apple or Spotify. I interview experts in their respective fields and discuss some of the most interesting topics on this site. Your shares, ratings, and reviews are appreciated.
To expedite your journey to financial freedom, join over 60,000 others and subscribe to the free Financial Samurai newsletter. You can also get my posts in your e-mail inbox as soon as they come out by signing up here. Everything is written based on firsthand experience and expertise.
