(This is a long one, so Ill give you all a warning before I bore anyone... 
)
I know the importance of time is something most of the people surfing THIS site are probably aware of, but I wanted to share a thought-provoking conversation I had with my Father this Sunday that truly made me reflect on something many of us take for granted.
I don’t think I have ever talked about it on this site, but my Father is very, very ill. When I was a teenager, he suffered complete kidney failure and a slew of health problems that accompanied it. He has fought off cancer, calcification in all of his joints, and has been in and out of hospitals at least a few times a week for the last 10 years. Formerly built like a bodybuilder at 5’10â€, I watched a very proud man lose all of his hair and almost 40% of his bodyweight, becoming a very frail 130lbs. He very slowly began to recluse from almost everyone, and has had a hard time dealing with the fact that he worked hard to stay healthy all of his life, and hard to support his family only to get dealt a hand like this.
Very recently, his right leg became infected and having no other choice, they were forced to amputate it at the knee. As a well-known youth soccer and wrestling coach in our town, I think that was the last straw for him, as finding out he would never walk normally again was like a death sentence. He has remained strong since the surgery, but has seemed to give up emotionally now when my twin sister and I talk to him. (To make matters worse, WHILE he was in the hospital having his leg removed, his small apartment in Easton, PA was robbed and torn apart). To say he almost called it quits at that point would have been an understatement, and I think the only thing that held him up during that month was the support of our friends and family, and strangers across the country that came through for him.
Anyways, while the three of us were out to dinner, the conversation turned to how things were going in our jobs, and he began asking us about how we were planning for the future, what kinds of investments we were making, how things were going with my new rental property, etc. After a while, he seemed to start reflecting a little bit, and he started telling my sister and I how important it is to never take time for granted, and to always prepare yourself for what “could†happen. He mentioned how all his life, he had made money so easily doing different things on the side, that he always took it for granted. All his life, he had the drive of an entrepreneur in that it never “TRULY†scared him to think of starting at ZERO again, because he was sure he could rebuild from almost any starting point. He had developed an ego if you will about his talents, and knew that he could ALWAYS figure out a way to make money if he had to and that someday, ONE of his ideas was going to take off big time.
He ended the conversation with this; WHILE he was living life with that mindset, he never even FATHOMED the thought that a medical problem could wipe him off the map, and that he may never be able to work again or have the strength to rebuild things again. Because of this, he neglected to do a lot of things that adults in their 20’s-30’s, 40’s and 50’s take very seriously. He never planned ahead. He never worried about retirement or investing, or how important each and every day is while you are healthy. He never worried about long-term wealth or wealth building “machines†that could provide passive income into old age. It was all about the present time, and while focusing on his career and trying to take care of our family, he was unaware that fate was about to deal him a very cruel card.
I only take the time to type this to you guys, because it reminded me so much about things I have read on this forum (such as MJ’s thread about “being born richâ€). So many of us take for granted the thought that tomorrow will always be there, when in fact, “NOW†is all you are guaranteed in life. After seeing this unfold in my own eyes through my Father, I know now just how true that message is…
Take care of yourself guys. Think TODAY about what you are doing to live a better life, and what ELSE could you be doing to accelerate things! Don’t wait to take that next step, or to put your dreams on the map.
-Mike
)I know the importance of time is something most of the people surfing THIS site are probably aware of, but I wanted to share a thought-provoking conversation I had with my Father this Sunday that truly made me reflect on something many of us take for granted.
I don’t think I have ever talked about it on this site, but my Father is very, very ill. When I was a teenager, he suffered complete kidney failure and a slew of health problems that accompanied it. He has fought off cancer, calcification in all of his joints, and has been in and out of hospitals at least a few times a week for the last 10 years. Formerly built like a bodybuilder at 5’10â€, I watched a very proud man lose all of his hair and almost 40% of his bodyweight, becoming a very frail 130lbs. He very slowly began to recluse from almost everyone, and has had a hard time dealing with the fact that he worked hard to stay healthy all of his life, and hard to support his family only to get dealt a hand like this.
Very recently, his right leg became infected and having no other choice, they were forced to amputate it at the knee. As a well-known youth soccer and wrestling coach in our town, I think that was the last straw for him, as finding out he would never walk normally again was like a death sentence. He has remained strong since the surgery, but has seemed to give up emotionally now when my twin sister and I talk to him. (To make matters worse, WHILE he was in the hospital having his leg removed, his small apartment in Easton, PA was robbed and torn apart). To say he almost called it quits at that point would have been an understatement, and I think the only thing that held him up during that month was the support of our friends and family, and strangers across the country that came through for him.
Anyways, while the three of us were out to dinner, the conversation turned to how things were going in our jobs, and he began asking us about how we were planning for the future, what kinds of investments we were making, how things were going with my new rental property, etc. After a while, he seemed to start reflecting a little bit, and he started telling my sister and I how important it is to never take time for granted, and to always prepare yourself for what “could†happen. He mentioned how all his life, he had made money so easily doing different things on the side, that he always took it for granted. All his life, he had the drive of an entrepreneur in that it never “TRULY†scared him to think of starting at ZERO again, because he was sure he could rebuild from almost any starting point. He had developed an ego if you will about his talents, and knew that he could ALWAYS figure out a way to make money if he had to and that someday, ONE of his ideas was going to take off big time.
He ended the conversation with this; WHILE he was living life with that mindset, he never even FATHOMED the thought that a medical problem could wipe him off the map, and that he may never be able to work again or have the strength to rebuild things again. Because of this, he neglected to do a lot of things that adults in their 20’s-30’s, 40’s and 50’s take very seriously. He never planned ahead. He never worried about retirement or investing, or how important each and every day is while you are healthy. He never worried about long-term wealth or wealth building “machines†that could provide passive income into old age. It was all about the present time, and while focusing on his career and trying to take care of our family, he was unaware that fate was about to deal him a very cruel card.
I only take the time to type this to you guys, because it reminded me so much about things I have read on this forum (such as MJ’s thread about “being born richâ€). So many of us take for granted the thought that tomorrow will always be there, when in fact, “NOW†is all you are guaranteed in life. After seeing this unfold in my own eyes through my Father, I know now just how true that message is…
Take care of yourself guys. Think TODAY about what you are doing to live a better life, and what ELSE could you be doing to accelerate things! Don’t wait to take that next step, or to put your dreams on the map.
-Mike
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