Getting Hooked and On FIRE
Last night I played my first open mic of the Summer season in Bellingham, WA.
It was at the Aslan Depot, out in the beer garden patio (see thumbnail picture). We were set up in the northeast corner, facing directly into the setting sun to the southwest.
It was hot as Hades. I was blinded by the light. My voice got more raspy as I dehydrated in the intense heat and sunshine.
The ultimate spotlight.
I need to remember to wear sunscreen to these things.
The host was filling in for someone, and it was just him and me performing. He did one song to open the event, and then let me stay up on stage for two slots. (A typical open mic will allow you one 15-minute slot, which usually means three songs, depending on length.)
Then the host, David, did a couple more songs and invited me back up. I performed four more songs.
That’s about the amount of time a feature act typically gets before or after a headliner—roughly 45-50 minutes.
There were about 15-20 people in the audience, and most of them were there to have a beer and catch the FIFA game on the TV. Only about five people seemed to be there specifically for the music.
This is actually not a bad thing—to have an audience that is distracted and not really paying attention to your playing.
Why?
Because I notice when one of my songs, or my performance, “hooks” them.
I can feel it, and I witness heads turn.
I got some smiles and groovy head-nodding acknowledgments.
It’s not over the top. It’s not like I’m one of their favorite bands or musical artists up there. And they’ve never heard my original songs before.
So I think the positive feedback is real, and it goes a long way.
Which brings me to the second topic of today’s article.
What’s next?
What is the next One Hit Wonder I will take on soon?
As a refresher, I call a big goal a One Hit Wonder. And by goal, I mean a process goal, not necessarily a quantitative one.
A process goal is something you commit to doing for an extended period of time.
On Saturday, I was decluttering photos and videos, and I came across a video I had made in June 2024 to capture my thoughts on my focus areas for the remainder of spring and into the summer.
It was fun to hear.
I have done two of the goals I mentioned.
Meaning, I did them long enough to get the desired outcome.
One was to get an apartment in a walkable area in a city I love. Check.
The other was to relearn and be able to perform what I thought were my best one hundred songs. Check.
Both of these were completed in 2025.
But I am coming up on June 29th, which is 30 days since I set my last One Hit Wonder commitment.
These are what I have also referred to as “Big Rocks,” meaning that if your day is a large container, you want to put the most important things in first. The Big Rocks. The One Hit Wonders.
Then you can fill the rest of your time with the smaller rocks, pebbles, and sand that less important tasks take up.
I have four going right now. I have added a new one about every 30-45 days.
That means that by the end of June, or early July, I want the next one defined and in place.
Back in March, I started one of these:
Write and publish a daily blog article for a year.
In April, I added 15,000 steps per day until I reached my target weight. Then I decided to amp it up to a year-long commitment.
In May, I added “no sweets, no adult beverages” until I was back at my target weight, and then amped this up to sustaining that target weight for the remainder of the year.
I am also considering continuing the no sweets and limited drinks approach for the rest of the year.
I will say more about this in my June FIRE Metrics That Matter post next week.
In addition, I already had a One Hit Wonder going that I wasn’t giving myself credit for in the analysis and decision-making.
And that is my daily tracking and monthly reviews.
This takes time.
I track all my spending, financial accounts, cash flow, progress on goals and intentions, weight, muscle mass, and a short bullet-style journal of what I did each day.
I have been doing this for a long time.
It was a key to achieving FIRE, and it serves as my compass—or GPS—to ensure I am cruising down the Highway to Yeah the way I intended.
Here are the top contenders for the next One Hit Wonder:
1. Open Mics
Some number of open mics per week, or for the year.
I am leaning heavily toward this one because the timing is right and for several other reasons.
But I don’t want to publicly commit until I know exactly how I will operationalize it.
Last night was a good start.
2. Dancing
Yes, dancing.
And dancing without the help of alcohol to lower inhibitions.
You may laugh, but I think it is absolutely a key to joyful authenticity.
3. Daily Songwriting
Write one song every day for…a quarter? A year?
I watched a video by a professional musician and songwriter. He primarily makes his money composing for films, advertisements, and so forth.
This is typically called sync licensing.
Anyway, he was advocating writing a minimum of one song per week, and ideally one every day.
He said he sometimes gets a paid contract but has to turn around a professional-grade tune in 24 hours or less.
A daily songwriting habit allows him to do this.
I like the idea.
It was how I first got the songwriting fever.
I was substituting a daily song for a daily journal.
Why just capture my thoughts and feelings in a notebook?
Why not add a melody, a rhythm, and put those thoughts into lyrical form?
4. Daily Decluttering
Eliminate a minimum of five items per day that I no longer want, need, or that have become irritants.
For example, I do not have a good phone charger for my car.
I have a system for charging my phone on long trips, but why don’t I just pause and sharpen the saw by going out and getting a dang cord that will actually charge my iPhone?
Ridiculous what I put up with sometimes.
5. Decreasing My Spend Rate
I have some real fluff in my budget.
I watched a video by a guy who spent a little less than $18,000 last year.
It motivated me to rethink what I have and what I am doing.
I don’t want or need to get to that level, but come on, man…cut the crap already.
6. Community Building
Intentional community building and intentional connections with friends and family.
I suck at this.
This morning I got an email from a dear colleague.
It was as if it were a sign saying:
“Get serious, dude.”
7. Consistent Guitar Practice
Ugh.
I avoid it like some people avoid working out regularly.
8. Sailing the 7C’s and Having Fun in the Sun
I want to combine playing open mics with having Fun in the Sun and really exploring cool towns and cities.
Bellingham is a good example of this.
So I have started.
But again, I am talking about a public and heartfelt commitment—one I choose to say “Yeah!” to every day for up to a year.
Some of you might be saying:
“Dude, what is your problem? You have all the time in the world to take care of these things. What is stopping you?”
Exactly.
What indeed?
If you’ve been reading this blog and following the journey, you’ll know that I am already doing many of the things listed here.
But am I doing them in total alignment with my vision for a radically designed lifestyle of being Back on Campus, a Professor of the Highway to Yeah, and a Traveling Minstrel?
Not yet.
At the end of the office hours call I referred to yesterday, Todd Tresidder (Financial Mentor) reminded the group that there are three purposes for money:
To live in accordance with your values
To live your dreams
To reduce negative stress
I love that list.
I would say this is the reason for reaching Financial Independence and FIRE, too.
And I am in the mixer right now.
Let’s see how it turns out.
Stay tuned.
More to come on these and many more topics.