T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 42

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #42!

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

Finance Articles

We All Have a Time Machine, it’s Disguised as NOW (Financial Success M.D.) – “Every time we say I wish I could go back in time and change something, we should go ahead and make the change NOW”

Financial Independence Requires Hustle, Then You Can Coast (Stop Ironing Shirts) – “Financial independence (and early retirement) is a different result compared to the “normal” middle class narrative of working for nearly five decades of your life. To achieve a different result, it requires different choices.”

Video

Seventeen years ago Prince delivered one of the most jaw-dropping and explosive guitar solos in the history of rock ‘n roll.  While performing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with a cast of all-stars including George Harrison’s son at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall Of Fame, Prince ripped the fret board apart in a blistering performance that to me ranks as his best.  This week a new director’s cut of the famous performance was released, and it’s amazing.  What a void he left.

If you just want to see his solo it starts at 3:28.

Who’s Inspired Me

Jonny Kim.

Becoming a medical doctor is a very difficult thing.  Doctors are mostly revered.  Becoming a Navy Seal is a much more rare thing, and in popular culture is considered the pinnacle of a warrior.  Becoming an astronaut is an even rarer thing.  In U.S. history there have only been a few hundred total, starting in the 1950’s.  Anyone who becomes a doctor, or Navy Seal, or astronaut is considered by most to have made it, and is a high achiever.

Jonny Kim is all three of these things. 

You’re reading that correctly.  Kim is a medical doctor, a Navy Seal, and an astronaut.  The sheer amount of things he had to learn and master to achieve that mind boggling trifecta makes my head explode and frankly exhausts me to even think about.  Oh he also has a B.A. in mathematics from the University of San Diego (summa cum laude, of course…) and got his medical degree from Harvard. 

Did I mentioned he also has three kids?  And he’s not even 40 years old yet.  For all that is holy dude save some for the rest of us. 

All joking aside, it’s futile to compare yourself to someone like Kim, just be inspired by him.  You can read more about him here with some great videos included.

What I’m Grateful For

The Appalachian Trail.  Back in the late 1990’s I hiked about a quarter of the Appalachian Trail in weekend trips with a friend, over 500 miles worth.  I hadn’t been on it much since.  A few weeks ago I did a glorious weekend backpacking trip on the AT with an old friend.  I could feel the stress and anxiety leaving my body every minute I was out there.  I will be back for more therapy.

Lyrically Speaking

Money can’t buy back your youth when you’re old
Or a friend when you’re lonely, or a love that’s grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind

From “A Satisfied Mind” by Porter Wagoner

A dirty little secret, I love old-school country music.  Not the modern crap that’s blasphemously called country, but the genuine article.  Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, etc. 

The good stuff is from the 1940’s to the 1970’s, before country morphed into lap-steel infused pop music with cowboy hats and fashion models.  The lyrics are real, and often full of wisdom-bombs that ring as true now as they did in those halcyon days.  The songs are organic, impeccably sung and played, and there’s no auto-tune to fuck it all up.  It’s raw humanity in 3 minute songs. 

The four lines above from Porter Wagoner’s 1955 smash hit Satisfied Mind should be considered by anyone seeking financial independence as to the limits of what money can do.  I should know, I’m FI.  

Miscellaneous

Was COVID-19 the only culprit behind the extraordinary increase in deaths last year? – “Leading causes of death in 2020”

How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously (possible paywall) – “For decades, flying saucers were a punch line. Then the U.S. government got over the taboo.”

Here’s Why Losing Weight Is the Key to Losing Joint Pain – “Even one less pound helps preserve hips and knees”