T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 4

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #4!

Here are some things I really like and that you might too.

 

Finance Articles

Most Sharks are Actually Just Dolphins or Seals – “Doing scary things leads to awesome moments in life you’ll never forget.”  I love this perspective from 5AM Joel, told in a short story from his experience. And it compliments my shark-diving experience.

Running From My High Functioning Anxiety – “And then I’m out the door and into the woods and suddenly I can breathe again. Ten minutes. One mile down. I can hear the birds singing. Two miles down. The sun is shining and I notice it filtering down through the trees. Three miles down. I notice the dirt and the flowers and my breathing is easier the longer I run. I no longer feel like shaking, I no longer feel wildly out of control.”  All I can say is that I identify with this entire post.

 

Video

If you wonder why I endure so much suffering and physical discomfort to climb big mountains, watch this.  Don’t watch it on your phone or even a tablet, use a big screen, trust me.  And as amazing as these mountains look in this video, they’re ten-thousand times better in person, when you’ve earned it.

This is why I climb.

 

Who’s Inspired Me

Boyan Slat, at the tender age of 22, devised a plan to rid the oceans of plastic.  He’s eloquent enough to attract money and followers, and audacious enough to think big.  His clean up device, named Wilson for the volleyball from the movie “Cast Away”, failed on the first attempt.  The naysayers and “I told you so’s” from the scientific community piled on.  

He’s pushing on anyway, undeterred.  

You can read more about his efforts in the this great New Yorker piece, or from his site here.

 

What I’m Grateful For

My best friend, a former Marine and current family man.  He’d take a bullet for me, and I’d do the same for him.

 

Lyrically Speaking

“Some is rich, and some is poor
And that’s the way the world is
But I don’t believe in laying back
Sayin’ how bad your luck is”

From “Bankrobber“, by The Clash

To be clear, I don’t condone robbing banks or stealing from the rich…  

The Clash were the conflicted punks.  They sold out stadiums and signed to a major label while preaching rebellion, class warfare, and stickin’ it to the man.  The way I saw it, their misguided support for anarchy and socialism was underpinned by good intentions, as many roads to hell are. 

But that brief passage above from “Bankrobber” promotes bootstrapping and condemns the victim mentality, and shows that unlike so many today they were wise enough to see the other side too.

 

Miscellaneous

Study On Aging Athletes: It’s Never Too Late To Begin Strength Training – Age is no excuse people, a new study shows that even 70 year-olds can build muscles quite effectively, regardless of how much (or how little) you have done before. I plan to keep getting better.

The Price of Happiness in Cities – Recent research suggests that urban dwellers are significantly less likely to be happy than their suburban or rural counterparts.

The Untold Story Of The Secret Mission To Seize Nazi Map Data