Zest, Mojo, or FIRE?
Ever since reading Your Money or Your Life, I have been on a path toward achieving time freedom by reaching my cross-over point: the point where invested assets produce enough cash flow to sustain your lifestyle without working for a paycheck.
Somewhere along the way, people started referring to this as FIRE.
On the one hand, I like the symbolism of the term FIRE (as in, I’m on FIRE, baby!). But on the other hand, I feel like there is a better term for what I was trying to do.
For example, I was at a party this weekend, and people were asking me:
“What do you do, now that you’re retired?”
I immediately balk at that question.
First, it feels weird and incorrect to say I am “retired.” Partly because I feel too young to retire, but also because I don’t feel retired. I am simply no longer working for a paycheck.
And heck, I am not really “working” if you consider that what I am doing with my time is focused on self-enrichment and building toward my vision of the good life.
That is why I have used the term:
Financial Independence, Recreationally Employed.
I do not mean “employed” for a paycheck. I mean it in the sense that I am employing my time, energy, and resources toward those two objectives.
So what is a better name for “reaching your cross-over point” or FIRE (in its various forms)?
Look, I am not going to solve that question here, or even try.
But I will say this:
What I am attempting to do is increase my Zest and find my Mojo.
Both of those sound closer to the mark.
Perhaps I can answer that way the next time I get the “What are you doing?” question.
Or not.
Either way, I recently heard a short presentation by Jim Rohn, and he posed two excellent questions:
What’s got you turned on?
What’s got you turned off?
I suppose he was tapping into a healthier version of what Timothy Leary and Ram Dass were pursuing during the 1960s:
“Tune in, turn on, drop out.”
Well, I took a little time to answer those questions, and I suggest you do the same.
What’s currently got me turned on?
Cutting and Choosing
Applying the ideas of Japanese Extreme Minimalism that I wrote about in yesterday’s article.
Not just to material possessions, but to how I spend my time and energy as well.
Right now, I am doing this primarily by choosing and stacking my One Hit Wonders.
Applying Dave Ramsey Beyond Money
Applying Dave Ramsey’s ideas of:
Beans and Rice, Rice and Beans
Debt Snowballs
Gazelle-like Intensity
…to other aspects of my life besides The Journey of financial independence.
That’s right—the journey continues even after you reach FIRE or your cross-over point.
Take getting back to my target weight and staying there.
My current One Hit Wonders related to getting back to my target weight are:
15,000 steps per day
No sweets
As of Sunday, no alcohol
The last two days I walked over 30,000 steps each day.
Today, I am already at 20,739 steps and it’s not even noon.
I am also literally eating beans (no rice) and other high-protein, high-fiber foods.
I am not eating out.
I am not snacking.
I am not adding creamer to my coffee.
I am Focus. Focus am I.
Resonance of Place
I really enjoyed my cross-country trip from the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest, all the places I spent time in or simply passed through.
And now that I am here—wow—I am really digging the climate and the beauty.
On Tuesday it was 80 degrees and sunny.
Yesterday it was 67 and mostly cloudy.
Today, particularly this morning, it was 51–55 degrees with a misty rain while I was out walking.
I love the variation.
I dig it out here.
What else can I say?
Quite a bit, actually.
So, you can expect a future article on this topic, for sure.
Cross-Country Challenges
I am back to this idea again.
I wrote about it in an earlier article called Further Than The Middle, but now that I have started walking 30,000 steps per day, I have begun considering a real cross-country biking or walking tour again.
So there will likely be more to come on that topic as well.
What’s currently got me turned off?
Excessive Podcasts
I am tired of being hooked on mindless listening to other people’s thoughts, opinions, ideas, and especially their influencer ads.
God help us.
In small doses, it’s fine.
But I was spending way too much time trying to keep up with episodes.
You may feel the same way about this blog, and I wouldn’t blame you.
Hopefully, though, you find something useful here from time to time.
Traffic, Congestion, and Noise
When I drove through Denver, I could barely stand it.
Way too many cars.
Too much traffic.
Too much madness.
A little bit is fine.
But I only started to breathe again once I got past I-25 and was heading through Golden and up into the mountains.
That was awesome.
The Front Range mania?
You can have it.
Waking Up With a Boozy Feeling
I don’t mean hangovers.
I mean the general sluggishness and lack of clarity that can linger even after moderate alcohol consumption.
The last three mornings, I have awakened feeling peaceful, cogent, and happy to be up.
And, like clockwork, right around 4:30 a.m.
Yeah, good stuff.
I am not sure how I would categorize these responses, but they are definitely things that are increasing my Zest and helping me find my Mojo again.
How about you?
What’s got you ready to tune in, turn on, and drop out—in the best sense of the terms?