The 45 Year Plan - Work Until You Die

The employee career path isn't designed to make anyone wealthy - it's designed to get us to work until we die. If we succumb to the marketing pressures, it's even less likely that we'll reach retirement with significant savings.

To break free of this "rat race" cycle, one must first take notice of it and then have the financial discipline necessary to, eventually, not require to actively partake in it. Sometimes, this means that we must forgo buying things in the immediate moment for future gains. Things, such as, streaming services, gaming services, internet, excessive hobbies, cars... could be destroying our future financial situation. It's important to identify the things that are holding us back and removing them from our lives.

We need to find ways to be less of a consumer and more of a producer keeping in mind that in a society based on consumerism, it's easier to be a consumer than a producer.

"Comfort is the worse addiction."

-Marcus Aurelius

The 45 year plan...

If you have no plans for your life then you're on, what is commonly referred to as, the 45 year plan. You start working in your early 20s, get a few pay increases until you're in your 30s where you plateau until you reach the retirement age of 65 (that may change) where you'll retire with a third of the money you barely could live off of while you were working. 

If that doesn't sound like a good plan then to you spend some time thinking about how you want your life to unfold and act accordingly, Keep in mind the following:

• You need a goal and to follow-through on them.
• Be mindful of the sort of debt you decide to take on. Getting a loan for a 4wheeler isn't the same as getting a loan for a house. 
• Have a budget that include contributions to saving/investment accounts.
• You partner must also be on board with the change. If you start saving, and your partner is spending... then it's not going to work.
• To earn more, you have to become more. Invest in yourself through self-education. Spend some time reading, watching documentaries, listen to podcast... on a wide range of self-improvement subjects. 
• Exercise and eat good food. Be mindful of your body - if it's under too much stress then you won't be able to think clearly. A healthy mind/body is more productive.
• Expand your social circle to include people that have the results that you want in life. Your life is roughly the average of your 5 closets friends. If you want a better life then hangout with people with better results. Good associations can expose you to better opportunities.

The 45 year plan doesn't have to be the plan for your life. Make the decision to move away from it.

"You don't pick your destiny. You pick your habits that in turn pick your destiny." 

-Claude Hamilton

Take Ownership of the Important Decisions

Every once in a while we have to make important decisions. Avoiding making these decisions typically means that someone else will have to make them for us.

The biggest advantage of taking ownership of these important decisions is that we get to plan out how to go about it. If we no longer can afford our house, for example, deciding to sell it in favor of a smaller one is better than having the bank kick us out. In both situations, we loose the house but one way is carried out how we want to proceed while the other one isn't.

Small decisions also follow this principle however the impact of them are also small.

To take ownership of the important decisions is to have better control over the outcomes of those decisions.

The Confident and Knowledgeable Leader

“It is sad but true fact that many men of mediocre ability get further than others who have outstanding talents, merely because they know how to act confidently.

All the great leaders of men have known the importance of acting in a confident way.”

-Les Giblin

In addition to confidence, a good leader must be knowledgeable in the areas he’s expected to lead. A confident leader, without knowledge, is a leader that doesn’t know where he’s going.

I’ve realized recently that I’ve become someone knowledgeable at work but my confidence isn’t where it needs to be for me to achieve the next level of my career. There’s some doubt in my heart that likely flows through my voice, my work, or in how I behave.

Confidence isn’t something that comes up naturally to me - it’s something I constantly have to work on. Books, such as “How to have confidence and power in dealing with people” by Les Giblin, helps tremendously.

A confident person, without ability, is more likely to achieve greater success than the person with ability but with no confidence. While confidence isn’t everything, it definitely is important.

Arguments in Relationships

While dating, the arguments that would arise were about things that didn't warrant an argument, at least not from my perspective. I find these pain points/arguments from relationships in my entourage as well and can't help but feel like nobody knows how to get along anymore. I get a sense that relationships are fuelled by emotional immaturity rather than a true desire to be with someone.

"Emotional immaturity in relationships often manifests as difficulty handling conflicts, lack of empathy, and poor communication skills. With the rise of digital communication, some argue that people might not develop the same depth of interpersonal skills as before, leading to misunderstandings and conflicts."
-Copilot, A.I. assistant

One of my mentor once told me that, in relationships, what's most important is to pick your battles - not everything warrants an arguments. The important part is to focus on the big picture. The issue with this logic is different people value different things. The battles worth fighting, for one person, may not be considered as such from another.
I remember this one instance where I had done the dishes and my girlfriend at the time came for her "inspection" and found some items that weren't cleaned to her liking - an argument ensued which I didn't feel was warranted.

Arguments in relationships aren't things that we can opt-out of. If you, or your partner, wants to argue about something then there will be an argument about it. You can't control your partner however you get to decide what your arguments are going to be about - choose wisely.

Profiting from Education & Housing is Weird

40 years ago, it was possible to land a good job with nothing but a high school education. Nowadays, a high school diploma gives you a minimum wage job. Even without considering inflation, the current educational system is a bad deal.

40 years ago, many companies offered on the job training. Now the responsibility falls on the individual to fund his own education. Sometimes, that education doesn't amount to anything.

Houses are simply no longer affordable...

I'm not going to say that education/housing are a human rights but making money off of someone's need for education/housing is odd. The only way for someone to make progress in the society that we've built is through proper education and housing yet we've locked that down behind a paywall constantly adjusted to an ever increasing inflation.

Can society really thrive in a situation like this? How many would be great doctors have chosen a more affordable path?

Should there be a cost to Education/Housing? Of course! Someone has to put that together and they deserve to be compensated for it. The problem isn't that there's a cost associated to education/housing - it's that the cost is too high and there's a need to profit from it.

Some people buy houses for the purpose of renting them out at a profit. What is the landlord adding in value to the renter or society as a whole? Is the landlord mowing the lawn really worth the 2x monthly fee paid for the house?

Owning renting properties is a legitimate step that many can take to reach financial freedom. The frustrating part is that not everyone can partake in this endeavor. The renter is, more often than not, forever stuck into the system - not able to get out of it because a chunk of his paycheck is going towards his house or to repay his education.