- RT @ramseyshow: RT @E_C_S_T_E_R_I_: "Stupid has a gravitational pull." -D Ramsey as heard n NPR. I know many who have not escaped its orbit. #
- @BudgetsAreSexy KISS is playing the MINUTE state fair in August. in reply to BudgetsAreSexy #
- 3 year old is "reading" to her sister: Goldilocks, complete with the voices I use. #
- RT @marcandangel: 40 Useful Sites To Learn New Skills http://bit.ly/b1tseW #
- Babies bounce! https://liverealnow.net/hKmc #
- While trying to pay for dinner recently, I was asked if other businesses accepted my $2 bills. #
- Lol RT @zappos: Art. on front page of USA Today is titled "Twitter Power". I diligently read the first 140 characters. http://bit.ly/9csCIG #
- Sweet! I am the number 1 hit on Ask.com for "I hate birthday parties" #
- RT @FinEngr: Money Hackers Carnival #117 Wedding & Marriage Edition http://bit.ly/cTO4FU #
- Nobody, but nobody walks sexy wearing flipflops. #
- @MonroeOnABudget Sandals are ok. Flipflops ruin a good sway. 🙂 in reply to MonroeOnABudget #
- RT @untemplater: RT @zappos: "Do one thing every day that scares you." -Eleanor Roosevelt #
Getting Out of Bed
- Image by Wha’ppen via Flickr
Why do you get out of bed in the morning? Is it so you can exercise the privilege of spending 8 hours in a cubicle?
I didn’t think so.
In Okinawa, it’s call the ikigai. In Costa Rica, it’s the plan de vida. It’s your sense of purpose–the reason you get out of bed in the morning. In these cultures, having a strong ikigai can be directly correlated to a statistically extreme lifespan*. All around the world, the plan de vida is the single factor most likely to cause someone to feel they have lived a fulfilled life.
Do you know your ikigai?
For some people, their plan de vida is to successfully raise their children, then their grandchildren. For others, it is charity. Some folks are serial entrepreneurs, always looking for the next deal, the next business. For still others, it is a collection or an urge to travel. There are even some whose sole reason for getting out of bed(other than potty breaks) is work.
The last category is most common with teachers, soldiers, and police. The problem with wrapping so much of your identity up in your profession is retirement. What do you do when your ikigai–your reason to wake up–goes away? In Okinawa, teachers and police tend to have very short retirements because they lose their reason to for living.
What is your plan de vida, your passion? What drives you to keep going? Do you live to write, or to raise your children? Do you <shudder> live solely for someone else’s happiness? When you find it, it will resonate as “this is you”. Finding it is a deep soul-searching, not a light-hearted explanation or a new fad.
Your reasons can, and should, change over time. You can’t live for raising your children years after they have grown up and moved away. Finding this one factor in your life can be the thing that leaves you on your deathbed looking back with a smile instead of regret.
What is your plan de vida?
* From The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest
Saturday Roundup – Holiday Edition
Merry Christmas.
Or, Happy Saturday, as the case may be.
T0day, we are herding all of my nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters-in-law, and parents into my house for a second Christmas dinner and gift exchange. It’s the first holiday we’ve hosted. It should be interesting.
On a side note, we’ve gotten so much snow, I’ve almost lost my grill, sitting on my deck. Another 2-3 inches, and my patio table will be just a white mound of cold.
Best Posts
Here is a great story about waking up the Christmas spirit. That’s spirit, not spirits. We’re not discussing booze.
Think you can retire on a million bucks? Think you can get to a million bucks?
I’ve recently realized that I’ve spent more time on the hiring side of the interview table than the out-of-work side. I’m nowhere close to 500 hires, though.
Oooh! Shopping for money! That’s something I’m going to look into. Nothing like turning habits into cash.
This is some serious travel hacking. 15 flight, 16 cities, 9 countries, 35000 miles for $400.
LRN Timewarp
This is where I review the posts I wrote one year ago.
The secret to fearless change? Just get started. Everything else will follow.
I also wrote a post about one of my core values. Without integrity, what can you really have?
Finally, a post on how distractions will kill your productivity.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
How Much Should You Tip? was an Editor’s Pick in the Festival of Frugality. Thanks!
Shaving for Real was included in the Carnival of Money Stories.
Anchor Price Your Salary was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend!
Sunday Roundup: Balancing Fun and Frugality
Friday was another Yakezie Blog Swap. The topic was: “Balancing Frugality and Fun.”
Here is the list of articles:
Latisha Styles shares her story about going on a shopping diet at Narrow Bridge.
Joe gives us 10 different ways we can have fugal fun in almost any city at Prairie Eco-Thrifter.
The other Joe shares with us his memories of time with his Grandpa growing up and how he taught him to have fun at Mom’s Plans.
Ashley reminds us to spend those dollars where they will give us the most happiness at My Personal Finance Journey.
I shared that making memories is what counts at Financially Consumed.
Denise tells us that any kind of fun is possible with a little planning, determination, and work at Money Cone.
Money Cone shares with us how they have become a latte sipping frugal Mac user at The Single Saver.
Jacob shares with us 5 different techniques we can use to balance frugality and fun at Money Talks Coaching.
Eric at Narrow Bridge shared 3 ways he’s found to have fun on the frugal at Retire by 40.
Hunter tells us why corporate bankruptcy isn’t fun at all at Live Real Now.
Melissa shares her story of how her family balances frugality and fun atSmart Money Focus.
Eric defines the ultimate frugalite and the ultimate spender over at Financial Success for Young Adults.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
Selling Your Car was included in the Totally Money Blog Carnival.
The Evils of a Reverse Mortgage was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Sunday Roundup: Workaholics Anonymous
I’ve had a rough couple of weeks at work. Starting on July 5th, I worked 10 days in a row and put in 97 hours to finish a major project. I’m not an hourly employee. I totally got screwed out of my paid holiday with that schedule. The worst part? When I told my boss I needed the 11th day off because the major project was done and I was feeling burnt out, he tried to talk me out of it.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
Family Bed: How to Make It Stop one the Best of Money Carnival. Crystal rocks, and I’m totally jealous that she transitioned to a self-employed pro-blogger this weekend.
Make Extra Money Part 1: Introduction was included in the Carnival of Wealth. I’m really happy with this series and I can’t wait to finish it and hear about how everyone is using it to make money for themselves.
Annual Fees: Scam or Service? was included in the Carnival of Financial Planning.
Getting Back on Track was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great week!
A Look Back
I’m on vacation this week and thought it would be nice to post a look back at some of my early posts. These posts are some of my favorites, but were written when there were only 3 or 4 of you paying attention.
Since I know you don’t want to miss anything, here are 5 of my favorite early posts, in no particular order:
1. Cthulhu’s Guide to Finance. I’m more than a bit of a horror geek. Books, movies, or games; all keep me entertained. Over the weekend, I taught my Mom how to play Zombie Fluxx and Gloom. When Cthulhu approached me about writing a guest post, I couldn’t refuse.
2. Birthday Parties Are Evil. It’s hard to remember to be cheap when your little girl is asking for a bowling party. It can run $200 to get a dozen kids an hour of bowling and a bit of pizza.
3. No Brakes. This is a post about why I had a hard time coming to grips with financial responsibility.
4. 4 Ways to Flog the Inner Impulse Shopper. Who can’t love a BDSM-themed personal finance post? Every blog needs a dominatrix mascot, right?
5. Fighting Evil by Phone. In which I share the method of convincing Big Nasty Telephone Company and their Contracted, Soulless Long Distance Provider to leave me the heck alone and stop demanding $800 they refused to admit was their mistake.
