A couple weeks back I received a letter from the ASIAN AMERICAN FEDERATION soliciting contributions for their 20th anniversary. What caught my attention was the last sentence of the first and the fourth paragraphs of the letter, they read: 1) ….as reported in the Federation’s 2008 poverty report, "Working but Poor", one in three Asian seniors in New York City lives in poverty; 2) Right now your contribution will count even more because all gifts that we received through December 2009 will be fully matched dollar for dollar by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (of the breakfast cereal fame, whose foundation mantra is “to help people help themselves).
The letter opened with a story on Mr. Lin, who is 85 years old and living alone in Chinatown for 40 years. He suffers from arthritic hands and knees that he developed as a cook and can’t really climb the 3 flights of stairs to his apt. He lives in seclusion and his only human contact is with a former co-worker who delivers groceries to him once a week. His story is all too common in the immigrant community. I shudder at the thought that if my father were still alive and had no children to look after him, he could have been Mr. Lin. But it isn’t about my father who could have been Mr. Lin that tugs at my heart string; it is the stunning statistics of one in 3 Asian seniors actually live in poverty in NYC. I know what poverty is as I grew up poor, but thank goodness I never felt isolated or in seclusion. But even though life wasn’t always easy, especially when I was growing up in Hong Kong and in the South Bronx, I always had a roof over my head, a meal on the table, and clothes on my back. Imagine if you have no means of putting food on your table? According to CITY HARVEST, nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers live in poverty, struggling to afford basic necessities such as rent and medical care while trying to put food on their tables. Each day City Harvest deploys a fleet of 17 trucks and 3 cargo bikes rescuing more than 68,000 pounds of food and deliver free of charge to 600 pantries and soup kitchens in all 5 boroughs, feeding 260,000 hungry New Yorkers each week! For a mere $36 (one Venti flavored Starbucks coffee daily for a week), you can help feed 28 children for an entire week! For $135 ($.37 a day), you can help feed 2 seniors for an entire year!
BEFORE you decide which non profit organization to give, analyze where your money will go and how much of every dollar you give will end up in the actual program vs. in the administrative (compensation) arena. While it may satiate your visceral need of feeling good to give base on an event or on a particular cause, do you really want to give an organization your hard earned money if the bulk of it may go towards paying someone half a million dollars in compensation to administer where your contributions will go? Check out these 2 websites that analyze various charities and read thru Form 990 to get a sense of the deployment of programs and expenses, and make your own judgment: 1) Charity Navigator; and 2) Guidestar.
FINALLY, times are difficult for everyone; there is a way to give without spending your hard earned dollars: participate in charity programs that are sponsored by major organizations. One such recently caught my eyes is the Chase Community Giving and Facebook partnership, where they have teamed up to give away $5 MILLION to nonprofits across the country. The nonprofit that gets the most votes wins $1 million, the 5 runner-ups win $100,000, and then the next 25 win $25,000. Over 500,000 charities are included in the program, and you can add to the list if the charity of your choice qualifies. Each Facebook participant is given 20 votes, first round of voting is underway and the final round will end on Jan 22, 2010, with the million dollar winner announced on Feb. 1st.
Reflect on how blessed we all are on a daily basis if we are able to afford not only the basic subsistence, but also the finer things in life.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Take Control of Your Life & Career
Of late I have been contemplating what I should really do when I grow up, now that I have taken 2+ years from the rat race. It is remarkable how time flies when you are having fun, even when you do not have any income coming in! Alas I also recognize that all the things I love doing require money and don't make any money: writing, traveling, eating and drinking! Though I would not trade any of the moments in the past 2+ years for anything else, in the recess of my brain I often felt a constant urge to go back to work to have a greater purpose in life, in addition to repadding my diminished nest egg should I live to 100 yrs old, the other truth be told!!.
But now I want to work in an environment where I will truly want to get up every morning and look forward to going there, as oppose to doing it because I have to. That, I also come to realize, is a lofty proposition and a luxury that most people in the world do not have and may never attain, for most people need to put a roof over their heads, put food on their tables, and to look after their family. I recall the latter years that I spent on Wall Street being on auto pilot, not really cognizant of what day of the week or what time of the day it was, I was just rushing from one place to another, in the name of making the most amount of revenue for the firm and in turn, hopefully for myself in the form of a big bonus. All of this because I felt I had to - to pay for my mortgages and for material things.
Now for my next chapter, what is it that I really want to do and how do I find a happy medium?
In discussing my quandary with a friend, who had at one point taken 3 years off to travel and re-energize her life, she suggests that I watch a series of workshop videos on Oprah.com , titled “Take Control of Your Life and Career” by Markus Buckingham. The opening video certainly resonated with me as the participants discussed why they were there to take the workshop, I identified with some of the responses given.
http://www.oprah.com/media/20080601_orig_151007004OCOMINTROECmix2_O_VIDEO_1
My general take away from the workshops:
1) No one has the perfect job
2) Really know your own strengths (usually things you enjoy) and weaknesses (usually things you hate about yourself)
3) You will never be great at something that you hate
4) FREE (Focus, Release, Educate and Expand) your Strengths: Highly successful people build their jobs and lives around the best of their strengths
5) STOP (Stop, Team Up, Offer up, Perceive) your Weaknesses, or suck it up and do it. You must close one door before you can open another
Though the single most interesting take away that I took from the entire segment was when Markus said: “The world is ambivalent about you and your strengths, the world doesn’t really care about you and your strengths, the world wants you to get a job done, your family wants you to get a job done… ”
So in short, while it is great to understand your strengths, but if you can’t get a job done, all the strengths and passions you have are for not, whether it is working for someone else or working for yourself.
So back to the drawing table: What is it that I want to get done with all the strengths that I have?
But now I want to work in an environment where I will truly want to get up every morning and look forward to going there, as oppose to doing it because I have to. That, I also come to realize, is a lofty proposition and a luxury that most people in the world do not have and may never attain, for most people need to put a roof over their heads, put food on their tables, and to look after their family. I recall the latter years that I spent on Wall Street being on auto pilot, not really cognizant of what day of the week or what time of the day it was, I was just rushing from one place to another, in the name of making the most amount of revenue for the firm and in turn, hopefully for myself in the form of a big bonus. All of this because I felt I had to - to pay for my mortgages and for material things.
Now for my next chapter, what is it that I really want to do and how do I find a happy medium?
In discussing my quandary with a friend, who had at one point taken 3 years off to travel and re-energize her life, she suggests that I watch a series of workshop videos on Oprah.com , titled “Take Control of Your Life and Career” by Markus Buckingham. The opening video certainly resonated with me as the participants discussed why they were there to take the workshop, I identified with some of the responses given.
http://www.oprah.com/media/20080601_orig_151007004OCOMINTROECmix2_O_VIDEO_1
My general take away from the workshops:
1) No one has the perfect job
2) Really know your own strengths (usually things you enjoy) and weaknesses (usually things you hate about yourself)
3) You will never be great at something that you hate
4) FREE (Focus, Release, Educate and Expand) your Strengths: Highly successful people build their jobs and lives around the best of their strengths
5) STOP (Stop, Team Up, Offer up, Perceive) your Weaknesses, or suck it up and do it. You must close one door before you can open another
Though the single most interesting take away that I took from the entire segment was when Markus said: “The world is ambivalent about you and your strengths, the world doesn’t really care about you and your strengths, the world wants you to get a job done, your family wants you to get a job done… ”
So in short, while it is great to understand your strengths, but if you can’t get a job done, all the strengths and passions you have are for not, whether it is working for someone else or working for yourself.
So back to the drawing table: What is it that I want to get done with all the strengths that I have?
Monday, November 16, 2009
WSJ: Have You Learned Your Lessons Yet?
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a very interesting and SOBERING survey written by Glenn Ruffenach on lessons learned in the past year during the financial crisis. It was done in a Q&A format spanning 6 categories: Bearing Up, Nest Eggs, Health, Savings & Spending, and Social Security & Looking Ahead. Some of the statistics will pose question of sample size error and is not representative of national averages, but it gives one a sense of what the future may hold in retirement planning, maintaining one’s standard of living in retirement, and healthcare, given the financial crisis and aging of the US population.
I summarize for you the findings of the survey:
BEARING UP:
1) In 2008, NOT a single asset class that is theoretically uncorrelated to stocks rose in value against the S&P 500 (-37%) and hence invalidated the theory of diversification.
2) For the 10-year period ended Sept 30, stock as measured by the S&P 500 delivered an annual average return of -.2%, while bonds, as measured by Barclays Capital US Aggregate Index, delivered an annual average return of 6%.
3) 31% of the surveyed workers (done by Bankrate Inc) said that they still plan to retire on their original schedule, in the wake of the financial crisis. 20% of the workers said they plan to leave office between 1 and 5 years later than first planned; 18% said they will never be able to retire; while 13% said 6 to 10 years later than planned.
NEST EGGS:
1) 26% of workers age 55+ have savings and investments (ex homes and pensions) that total $250,000 or more (done by Employee Benefit Research Institute in DC). 59% have less than $100,000.
2) 47% of workers ended up leaving the work force earlier than expected due to health problems or disability (42%) and changes to their company, including downsizing (34%). If these workers are taping into inadequate savings or tapping into savings earlier than expected, they will be unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
3) 80% of workers (out of 1.2 Mil workers in 1,500+ retirement plans – U. of Michigan Survey) NEVER made any changes in their 401K in the past 2 years. 11% made one trade. There is no evidence of shifting risk with age.
4) At the end of 2007 (right before the market really crashed), 43% of workers age 56 – 65 had 70% or more of their 401K funds in stocks. 22% of older workers had 90%+ in stocks. Concentration of risk is high.
5) 20% of workers age 55-64 in employer retirement programs made the maximum contribution to their acct in 2008; while 13% age 50+ took advantage of catch-up contributions (done by Vanguard with 3 mil participants).
HEALTHCARE:
1) How much savings will men and women (greater longevity) need respectively for a 50% chance of covering the cost of healthcare premiums (for a Medigap policy + Medicare B and D), and out-of- pocket drug expenses in later life, assuming one retires at 65 in 2009 WITHOUT employer health benefits, starting with $900 out-of-pocket healthcare cost in year 1? ANSWER: Men = $86,000, WOMEN = $125,000.
And if you want to cover 90% of covering healthcare cost, you will need this much savings: Men = $177,000, Women = $221,000!!! Don’t underestimate how much your healthcare expenses will cost you.
2) The age group that has the highest obesity rates in the US is between 40 – 59, 40% of this group is considered obese! Obesity will cause health complications which will eat into your healthcare costs. Start eating and exercising right.
SAVINGS & SPENDING:
1) Only 44% of workers surveyed have tried to calculate how much money they will need to save for a comfortable retirement. Same 44% said they guessed at how much money they will need in later life!
2) It is estimated that one needs 80% of your pre-retirement income to have a successful retirement; the caveat is your living standard.
3) 43% of households age 65-74 have housing debt.
SOCIAL SECURITY:
1) In retirement, Social Security will likely replace 33% of your pre-retirement income. Will your savings and assets be sufficient to generate the balance?
2) Among the best ways for a couple to maximize Social Security payments over their lifetime is for the lower-earning spouse to claim benefits early (at age 62) and the higher-earning spouse to claim benefits later (at age 70), the 62/70 strategy, depending on the couples.
LOOKING AHEAD:
1) Working longer is now the single best cure for a battered nest egg! This will maximize your social security payout and hopefully allow your retirement savings to grow.
2) The economic crisis is not really prompting major changes in strategies to help people build and protect their nest eggs; people don’t know what asset classes to diversify into.
In conclusion, Mr. Ruffenach suggests you write out a financial plan; save at least 10% of your paycheck; diversify your holdings; keep debt to minimum; spend less than you make; build a cash reserve; insure your risks where possible; and watch your health. Seems like sound advice to me.
I summarize for you the findings of the survey:
BEARING UP:
1) In 2008, NOT a single asset class that is theoretically uncorrelated to stocks rose in value against the S&P 500 (-37%) and hence invalidated the theory of diversification.
2) For the 10-year period ended Sept 30, stock as measured by the S&P 500 delivered an annual average return of -.2%, while bonds, as measured by Barclays Capital US Aggregate Index, delivered an annual average return of 6%.
3) 31% of the surveyed workers (done by Bankrate Inc) said that they still plan to retire on their original schedule, in the wake of the financial crisis. 20% of the workers said they plan to leave office between 1 and 5 years later than first planned; 18% said they will never be able to retire; while 13% said 6 to 10 years later than planned.
NEST EGGS:
1) 26% of workers age 55+ have savings and investments (ex homes and pensions) that total $250,000 or more (done by Employee Benefit Research Institute in DC). 59% have less than $100,000.
2) 47% of workers ended up leaving the work force earlier than expected due to health problems or disability (42%) and changes to their company, including downsizing (34%). If these workers are taping into inadequate savings or tapping into savings earlier than expected, they will be unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
3) 80% of workers (out of 1.2 Mil workers in 1,500+ retirement plans – U. of Michigan Survey) NEVER made any changes in their 401K in the past 2 years. 11% made one trade. There is no evidence of shifting risk with age.
4) At the end of 2007 (right before the market really crashed), 43% of workers age 56 – 65 had 70% or more of their 401K funds in stocks. 22% of older workers had 90%+ in stocks. Concentration of risk is high.
5) 20% of workers age 55-64 in employer retirement programs made the maximum contribution to their acct in 2008; while 13% age 50+ took advantage of catch-up contributions (done by Vanguard with 3 mil participants).
HEALTHCARE:
1) How much savings will men and women (greater longevity) need respectively for a 50% chance of covering the cost of healthcare premiums (for a Medigap policy + Medicare B and D), and out-of- pocket drug expenses in later life, assuming one retires at 65 in 2009 WITHOUT employer health benefits, starting with $900 out-of-pocket healthcare cost in year 1? ANSWER: Men = $86,000, WOMEN = $125,000.
And if you want to cover 90% of covering healthcare cost, you will need this much savings: Men = $177,000, Women = $221,000!!! Don’t underestimate how much your healthcare expenses will cost you.
2) The age group that has the highest obesity rates in the US is between 40 – 59, 40% of this group is considered obese! Obesity will cause health complications which will eat into your healthcare costs. Start eating and exercising right.
SAVINGS & SPENDING:
1) Only 44% of workers surveyed have tried to calculate how much money they will need to save for a comfortable retirement. Same 44% said they guessed at how much money they will need in later life!
2) It is estimated that one needs 80% of your pre-retirement income to have a successful retirement; the caveat is your living standard.
3) 43% of households age 65-74 have housing debt.
SOCIAL SECURITY:
1) In retirement, Social Security will likely replace 33% of your pre-retirement income. Will your savings and assets be sufficient to generate the balance?
2) Among the best ways for a couple to maximize Social Security payments over their lifetime is for the lower-earning spouse to claim benefits early (at age 62) and the higher-earning spouse to claim benefits later (at age 70), the 62/70 strategy, depending on the couples.
LOOKING AHEAD:
1) Working longer is now the single best cure for a battered nest egg! This will maximize your social security payout and hopefully allow your retirement savings to grow.
2) The economic crisis is not really prompting major changes in strategies to help people build and protect their nest eggs; people don’t know what asset classes to diversify into.
In conclusion, Mr. Ruffenach suggests you write out a financial plan; save at least 10% of your paycheck; diversify your holdings; keep debt to minimum; spend less than you make; build a cash reserve; insure your risks where possible; and watch your health. Seems like sound advice to me.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
3 Difficult Questions
The economic crisis has done one thing positive in the last two years – allow us to reflect on what we do, how we do, and why we do certain things. Of late I am meeting more folks who are at a crossroad with respect to their career predicament, many are unfulfilled in what they do, and more so in a downturn where one has to take on more workload with greater pressure and less pay. Alas many are simply going through the motion because it is better to glue one’s bum to a chair with crazy glue (read have a job) than to deliberate the ponderous task of what is it that we really would like to do and allow us to make a decent living, if circumstances allow us?
I invite you to answer the following 3 questions silently or aloud (however it suits you), but honestly, in your spare moments. I recently went thru this exercise with a friend, and it was much harder than either one of us expected. And after you figure out the answers, you will know tangentially at least, what direction you need to take to marry your passion and your skills to achieve your own IEFF. The path to it may be a circuitous one but that is what makes it a worthwhile journey. Now it will be tough if you have no answer to any of the following questions!! Give it a try, you may be surprised!
1) What are the top 3 things YOU are passionate about (i.e. things that you would do everyday if you had to get up for it)?
2) What are the 3 talents or skills that YOU think you have?
3) What are the 3 talents or skills that OTHER people think you have?
I invite you to answer the following 3 questions silently or aloud (however it suits you), but honestly, in your spare moments. I recently went thru this exercise with a friend, and it was much harder than either one of us expected. And after you figure out the answers, you will know tangentially at least, what direction you need to take to marry your passion and your skills to achieve your own IEFF. The path to it may be a circuitous one but that is what makes it a worthwhile journey. Now it will be tough if you have no answer to any of the following questions!! Give it a try, you may be surprised!
1) What are the top 3 things YOU are passionate about (i.e. things that you would do everyday if you had to get up for it)?
2) What are the 3 talents or skills that YOU think you have?
3) What are the 3 talents or skills that OTHER people think you have?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Who Moved My Cheese?
I have over 200 books on my book shelves in my study, with disparate titles ranging from “The Idiot’s Guide to Dealing With Difficult Employees” (given to me as a gag gift at a team Christmas dinner by a former colleague, I found it very amusing but my team did not then!) to “The Reason for God” (given to me by a friend who believes I need to understand the enormity of faith). Yet thru the years whenever someone asks me to name my favorite book or recommend one, I invariably revert back to “Who Moved My Cheese?” authored by Spencer Johnson, M.D., published in 1998, given to me as a Christmas gift by the head of a dept at a former employer during the Asian Financial crisis (he gave one to everyone in the dept).
This book is compact (all of 94 pages); it has decent font size; it is an easy read; and it is profoundly enlightening. It is a very simple parable about 4 little characters who ran thru a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy daily. Two were mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry”, and two were little people named “Hem” and “Haw”, they were the size of the mice except they act like humans. Everyday each would put on their jogging suits and running shoes, left their little homes and raced out into the maze looking for their favorite cheese. Then one day the cheese disappeared, much to their surprise, dismay and chagrin!! The story went on to describe and contrast the differences in how each dealt with the situation. Dr. Johnson utilized brilliantly the metaphors of “Cheese” and “Maze” to illustrate the things that we each want in life; where we look for them; how we define success and happiness and what we would do in the face of unexpected changes. The WHAT: a good job, a loving relationship, money, material possessions, health or peace of mind. The WHERE: workplace, family, community, etc. The HOW: is entirely up to you!
It is a uniquely delightful book on dealing with changes, one that I reread over and over through the years.
As it states on the inside cover of the book: “Written for all ages, the story takes less than an hour to read, but its unique insights can last for a life time”.
This book is compact (all of 94 pages); it has decent font size; it is an easy read; and it is profoundly enlightening. It is a very simple parable about 4 little characters who ran thru a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy daily. Two were mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry”, and two were little people named “Hem” and “Haw”, they were the size of the mice except they act like humans. Everyday each would put on their jogging suits and running shoes, left their little homes and raced out into the maze looking for their favorite cheese. Then one day the cheese disappeared, much to their surprise, dismay and chagrin!! The story went on to describe and contrast the differences in how each dealt with the situation. Dr. Johnson utilized brilliantly the metaphors of “Cheese” and “Maze” to illustrate the things that we each want in life; where we look for them; how we define success and happiness and what we would do in the face of unexpected changes. The WHAT: a good job, a loving relationship, money, material possessions, health or peace of mind. The WHERE: workplace, family, community, etc. The HOW: is entirely up to you!
It is a uniquely delightful book on dealing with changes, one that I reread over and over through the years.
As it states on the inside cover of the book: “Written for all ages, the story takes less than an hour to read, but its unique insights can last for a life time”.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Ask not what Social Security can do for you ......
About a month ago I received my annual Social Security Statement with the usual Estimated Benefits and Earnings Record, and for the first time I decided to read every word in the statement. Michael J. Astrue, the Commissioner, implored in the section that was titled: “About Social Security’s future….” in the second paragraph he wrote: “In 2017 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money only to pay about 78 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits. We need to make sure Social Security continues to provide a foundation of protection for future generations.”
Today I came across this on the internet and I thought it explains very well what you need to know about Social Security and the potential changes: http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/107761/what-you-need-to-know-about-social-security.html?mod=retire-planning
Bottom line is I don’t know of anyone in retirement right now who can live on Social Security alone. And I am certain that when I retire I can not live on it alone. And if I live to 99 (my grandmother is 99, God blesses her), I wonder if SS will still exist. Both my mother and my grandmother each gets a check for about $350 per month after Medicare is taken out, and that is their only source of income! So it goes without saying that we need to take retirement into our own hands, be it setting aside a certain contribution into your 401K, or if you are investment savvy, be disciplined enough to set up your own monthly contribution plans through one of the discount brokerages. I like 401Ks for its forced savings feature where you can not touch since it comes with an early withdrawal penalty of 10% before 59 ½. When I was working I maxed out every year on my contributions as a way to force myself to save. The 2009 annual limit is $16,500, with a catch-up contribution limit (if you are older than 50) of $5,500. Just think, if you max out on the annual contribution and if I assume the limit stays constant (it does not, the limit has gone up every year), and assuming you work another 20 years, you would have set aside $330,000 pre-tax savings. Now that catch is in your allocation of these savings to the funds, we all saw what happened through out the financial crisis and it behooves one to diversify. There are days that I wish I had allocated all my 401Ks to money market funds instead of equities. Only you know what your risk appetite and tolerance is. Hopefully over the course of 20 years the markets will give you better returns than a money market fund.
Today I came across this on the internet and I thought it explains very well what you need to know about Social Security and the potential changes: http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/107761/what-you-need-to-know-about-social-security.html?mod=retire-planning
Bottom line is I don’t know of anyone in retirement right now who can live on Social Security alone. And I am certain that when I retire I can not live on it alone. And if I live to 99 (my grandmother is 99, God blesses her), I wonder if SS will still exist. Both my mother and my grandmother each gets a check for about $350 per month after Medicare is taken out, and that is their only source of income! So it goes without saying that we need to take retirement into our own hands, be it setting aside a certain contribution into your 401K, or if you are investment savvy, be disciplined enough to set up your own monthly contribution plans through one of the discount brokerages. I like 401Ks for its forced savings feature where you can not touch since it comes with an early withdrawal penalty of 10% before 59 ½. When I was working I maxed out every year on my contributions as a way to force myself to save. The 2009 annual limit is $16,500, with a catch-up contribution limit (if you are older than 50) of $5,500. Just think, if you max out on the annual contribution and if I assume the limit stays constant (it does not, the limit has gone up every year), and assuming you work another 20 years, you would have set aside $330,000 pre-tax savings. Now that catch is in your allocation of these savings to the funds, we all saw what happened through out the financial crisis and it behooves one to diversify. There are days that I wish I had allocated all my 401Ks to money market funds instead of equities. Only you know what your risk appetite and tolerance is. Hopefully over the course of 20 years the markets will give you better returns than a money market fund.
Is IEFF Achievable?
Recently I sent an email to my friends pontificating about life and and my lofty goal of finding the Holy Grail of IEFF (Intellectual, Emotional and Financial Fulfillment) in the next chapter of my life. At the end of that email I asked a rhetorical question: What is your IEFF? Relatively few individuals have a clear answer, several friends wrote back "my children" (my heart melted when I read that), and many were in the same predicament as I am, still searching.
Rare is the occasion that one finds even one out of the three in one's life time, blessed are those who achieved all three. Is it possible to NOT sacrifice something in the I & E categories while one toils away pursuing F? My personal experience is that when one is singularly focused on one arena, something has to give in other areas. Intellectually I morphed into a finance specialist; I gave up reading anything outside of the Wall Street Journal and research reports because I had few spare hours outside of work. I allowed one exception - People magazine, where I luxuriated in living vicariously thru the lives of celebrities by day dreaming about what it would be like to become rich and famous one day while doing exactly what one wants! Emotionally I learned to shut out the world as I aspired to be a bigger rat in the corporate rat race; I got fatter along the way! I think I spent more time in the past two years bonding and reconnecting with loved ones than I did in the 15 years combined. It is not as if I didn't know that somewhere along the way I was devoid of intellectual or emotional fulfillment, but I thought one day they will find me when I make enough money (and that is always relative). Alas it didn't work like that. It is equally hard work to find I & E as it is to find F, none of them are easy. And there is never enough F if one starts comparing myself to the Jones or if one can not extricate oneself from the game, for it is very difficult to leave a well paying job no matter how miserable the working environment becomes, people tend to stick it out and loses the enjoyment from what they earned.
I am an optimist and I believe there is an IEFF out there for everyone; we just need to take a step back to realize what is important to us. I invite all the readers to share with each other any advice on finding your IEFF, inspirational stories and tools that will enrich our mind, soul and bank accounts!
Rare is the occasion that one finds even one out of the three in one's life time, blessed are those who achieved all three. Is it possible to NOT sacrifice something in the I & E categories while one toils away pursuing F? My personal experience is that when one is singularly focused on one arena, something has to give in other areas. Intellectually I morphed into a finance specialist; I gave up reading anything outside of the Wall Street Journal and research reports because I had few spare hours outside of work. I allowed one exception - People magazine, where I luxuriated in living vicariously thru the lives of celebrities by day dreaming about what it would be like to become rich and famous one day while doing exactly what one wants! Emotionally I learned to shut out the world as I aspired to be a bigger rat in the corporate rat race; I got fatter along the way! I think I spent more time in the past two years bonding and reconnecting with loved ones than I did in the 15 years combined. It is not as if I didn't know that somewhere along the way I was devoid of intellectual or emotional fulfillment, but I thought one day they will find me when I make enough money (and that is always relative). Alas it didn't work like that. It is equally hard work to find I & E as it is to find F, none of them are easy. And there is never enough F if one starts comparing myself to the Jones or if one can not extricate oneself from the game, for it is very difficult to leave a well paying job no matter how miserable the working environment becomes, people tend to stick it out and loses the enjoyment from what they earned.
I am an optimist and I believe there is an IEFF out there for everyone; we just need to take a step back to realize what is important to us. I invite all the readers to share with each other any advice on finding your IEFF, inspirational stories and tools that will enrich our mind, soul and bank accounts!
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