How to be average

Do what everyone else is doing.

On managing your money…

I read a quote from Bill Baldwin from Forbes that I just love –

“Four words summarize my view of personal finance – most wounds are self-inflicted“.

How about you?

Links in the chain of our life

Everything you do, each decision you make, and each interaction with others you have is another link in the chain of your life.  

Create a clear vision for yourself, break it down to a plan, and start putting the links together to go in the right direction.

Do you have a vision for who/what you want to be?  Do you have a plan to get there?  What do you have to do today and how do you have to do it?

A future you look forward to

Many people look to the future with uncertainty and trepidation and even fear.  The reason is because they don’t have it well designed for themselves.

Don’t be a passenger and drift around waiting to see what the world throws at you.  The fact is the world doesn’t have much planned for you at all.  

Create a clear vision of who you want to be, what you will contribute and how you want to live.  Then go out there every day and step by step and piece by piece – make it happen!

Don't pay interest, earn it

I see a lot of people who have 401K savings accounts, and then borrow money against them.  That’s nuts.

When it comes to money, debt, savings, and investment, you don’t want to be paying interest, you want to be earning it.

There’s more to say about this than I can write in one average post, but let’s look at credit card interest.  Let’s say the rate is 18% and you carry a balance each month that grows and grows. 

The Rule of 72 tells us that the amount of time it takes for the money to double is the interest rate divided into 72.  So 72/18 = 4 years.  So if you let that balance ride for 4 years you are paying double.

Let’s say you walk into a store and buy new shoes for $65 and put them on your credit card.  If you let the balance roll over and only pay the minimum, in four years you have paid $65 in interest on those shoes for a total of $130.  If you don’t pay the card off, they keep getting more expensive.

To be even more cruel, the shoes are probably worn out or out of date before you pay them off, and you have to buy another pair – on your credit card.

There’s the cost of the thing, and the cost of borrowing the money to buy the thing.

Financial ignorance is very expensive and keeps people doing dumb things and staying broke.

There is nothing wrong

Did you expect there would be no pain, no failure and no struggle in this life?  

There is nothing wrong.  It’s part of the journey.  Use it and move on with what you now know – stronger and smarter.

You make your own limits

There are limits of course, but they are WAY beyond the ones you have constructed and accepted for yourself.

Stop being your own limitation.  Take your foot off the brake.

Be the best version of the imperfect you

“We are all worms.  But I do believe I am a glow worm.” – Winston Churchill

None of us is perfect and you will not be the first.  We all make mistakes, do dumb things, and screw up.

Of course, we need to get smarter, more virtuous and more disciplined.  

But don’t let your imperfections of the past prevent you from being better today.

Follow what's inside

What have you been wanting to do?

How about this year?

Chapter Twenty One – Redemption

I made the last turn.  People lined the streets.  I could see men standing in front of the podium.  When they saw me, they erupted.  I was happy for them.  I was happy I did not let them down, for they had come so far.

I rolled up the podium ramp and they ran to me.  Bobby grabbed me and hugged me and declared the result.  “You did it!”. 

Victory.

They put the finisher medal around my neck.  On the strap, it said “Ironman”.

I became the oldest finisher, and one of only 20 riders in history to finish the Baja 1000 Ironman. 

I finished 4^th out of ten in 33 hours and 45 minutes.

Five riders of the ten starters finished, including Liz Karcz who rolled up 45 minutes after I did.

I finished in second place in the season championship points.

Tanner and I are the only father and son Baja 500 and Baja 1000 Ironman finishers in history.

I qualified for the “Milestone Award” having finished every mile of every race in the SCORE desert racing season, only the third Ironman in history to do so.

Special thanks to –

Tanner Janesky – my son and inspiration

Victor Abitia – Chase driver and friend for the entire season.

Bobby Miles and Kevin Koval – great friends who never gave up on me.

Arturo Davila – Mechanic/gentleman.

Javier Gonzalez – mechanic/driver and good luck charm.

Oscar Hale – 1000 pre-run riding mate/sage of Baja

Jimmy Holley – Hot Rod bike builder.

Chris Haines – Racing legend and mentor

Jesse Dostie and Ted Waldron – Videographers, tech whizzes, enthusiast

All those who cheered for me at home, staying up all hours tracking me, and pulling for me.  I knew you were there.

You, Think Daily readers, who compel me to get better.  It’s amazing what YOU can do.

Great friends all.

“An extraordinary life of shared experiences.”

714x

THE END (?)