Mr. Tako's Adventures in Early Retirement (with Kids)
If you’re reading this post, the odds are pretty good you’re looking to escape from the consumer rat-race, like I did.
Maybe at one point in life you really liked working. You were good at your job, but somewhere along the line things changed. The job ceased to be fun.
It probably happened somewhere between the endless commutes, office politics, and those ever-torturous “performance reviews”…
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OK, today is going to be an angry rant day … as opposed to the less-angry ranting I usually do.
Bear with me for a moment … I need to get something off my chest.
I want to talk about smartphones. In the last 10 years, smartphones have become incredibly ingrained in our our daily lives. You’d no sooner leave the house without your phone as you would your house keys.
The smartphone provides essential functionality for our modern lives all in one handy package…
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Back when I worked in the corporate salt mines for a living, my managers would often use the phrase “What gets measured, gets done”…. implying that if management didn’t measure employee performance, nothing would ever get accomplished.
That’s probably not far from the truth…
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Have you ever read a job description that describes a perfect candidate as, “A self-motivated go-getter with a can-do attitude…” (Or something to that effect)?
I bet you have. The phrase is so ridiculously common that it can be found on every single job description in the world (if my quick informal survey is to be trusted).
I’m sure every single one of those jobs wants that mythical unicorn “go-getter”, but most of those “go-getters” are only motivated to do well at work…
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Do you consider yourself a good listener? Lately I’ve been trying to teach my son to listen more, and it’s reminded me about the importance of listening in life.
Our oldest son just turned 4 years old, and like other kids his age, he hasn’t really learned to listen yet. It’s been a big battle getting him to follow simple directions, but we’re working on it…
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Ahh spring! Flowers are blooming, green stuff is growing again, and gardeners (like Mrs. Tako) are finally coming out of hibernation after a long winter.
Gardening is one of our favorite hobbies in the Tako household — partly because it provides a true economic output from our effort — Food we can consume!
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Do you have what it takes to retire early? Believe it or not, it takes more than just money to be successful in early retirement. (Although a lot of money does help!)
What skills are necessary to make a success of a financially independent life? This continuing series looks at the essential skills for success in early retirement…
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Ah!!! Spring is FINALLY in the air. The flowers and trees are blooming, the sun is starting to peak-out again, and the birds are singing songs about… whatever it is the damn birds sing about!
The green stuff is beginning to grow again too — Mrs. Tako is getting the urge to dig out the garden tools and scratch around in the dirt again. It must be spring!
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Have you ever had one of those projects where you just beat your head against the wall over and over again? The kind of project where you struggle at every turn, and there seems to be no hope for improvement?
Until you finally throw in the towel? Yeah, that’s how I feel right about now…
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