T.G.I.F. Friday: Volume 57

Welcome to “Thank God I’m FI” Friday, Volume #57!

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

Financial Independence/Retirement Articles

Do You Harbor Any Regret About Retiring Early? (Stop Ironing Shirts) – “If sitting in this droning corporate meeting is the most exciting hobby you can imagine, I can’t help you”.

Fates Foretold: Reflections On Three Years Of Early Retirement (Fates On Fire) – “The true beauty and magic of living a life is the constant uncertainty. The not knowing.”

Video

I’ve dived with sharks all over the world.  I’ve encountered white and black tip reef sharks, nurse sharks, galapagos sharks, and even hammerheads.  I also know there are a few shark species you never want to encounter if you’d like to stay alive, mainly white sharks, bull sharks, oceanic white-tips, and tiger sharks.  This guy however makes tiger sharks his pets. This is insane and thrilling all at once.

Tiger (Shark) King from Densidad Neutra on Vimeo.

Who’s Inspired Me

Mike McCastle.  

While in B.U.D.S., the brutal Navy SEAL training program, Mike McCastle blew out both of his knees.  His dream of becoming a SEAL ended, but his quest to suffer immensely for good causes had just begun.  Since then he’s pulled a two ton truck across the Mojave Desert, flipped a 250-pound truck tire 13 miles, and climbed a rope over and over to the height of Mt. Everest.  All to raise money for charities. 

He’s the founder of the Twelve Labors Project which he uses to raise awareness for various causes.  But primarily he uses it to motivate.  As it says on his website “Suffering in life is inevitable, our response is a choice. It is our responsibility to face our demons in pursuit of our greatest potential. From our lowest points, we can rise to remarkable heights when driven by unwavering purpose and self-belief.”  Hell effing yeah. 

McCastle’s other feats include running an ultramarathon while wearing a 40-pound weighted vest, attempting the world record for staying fully immersed in an ice bath, and setting the 24-hour world pull up record with 30lbs strapped to his back (5804 pull ups).  In short, he’s a bad ass who likes to raise money for great causes by suffering.  This piece about him from Outside is awesome, or if you’d like an audio version of it they also did a podcast.

What I’m Grateful For

This sunset that stopped me in my tracks on a run this past week. I just stood and stared for a while.

Lyrically Speaking

I used to walk around like they built the whole damn town
Up around me when my back was turned
But then the ground gave way and I spent a couple days
Face down in everything I had learned
There was no great revelation, there was no blinding light
I just stopped sinking in to those nowhere nights

From “Nowhere Nights” by Kasey Anderson

Kasey Anderson is an insanely talented artist who for years garnered famous fans such as Adam Duritz from Counting Crows and Jason Isbell.  He’s also a convicted felon who spent two years in federal prison for wire fraud.  You can read about his story here, but if you’re a fan of Americana music with a rock ethos you need to listen to his music.  The guy can write a song as good as anyone out there, and his whiskey tinged road-worn voice is custom made for love, loss, and despair. 

The brilliant lines above from “Nowhere Nights” should have been written by me as they describe my fall into and eventual rise from what sure seemed like nowhere.  I wrote about it a while back and damn if it ain’t good to be past that.

Miscellaneous

Why We Both Enjoy Exercise and Avoid It – “The concept we know as “exercise” would have been totally alien to our ancient ancestors.”

The plastic recycling system is broken – here’s how we can fix it – “For the plastics recycling industry, the pandemic was a bit like the tide going out”

Why the chip shortage drags on and on… and on – “Building factories takes time—and a history of highs and lows may deter some investors.”