I'm an older man and my view of money has swung wildly, in recent years. I enjoyed the fighter pilot aspects of my career but now I wish I had retired earlier and focused on non-monetary pursuits. If I were doing it again, I'd have bought a house, built a basement suite, and moved into that suite at a young age. I could have lived free. My biggest life failure is not keeping up some important friendships. Often work friendships turn out to be baseless. The only thing you had in common was an employer. Sometimes, however, there is more substance and these friendships are one of the most important aspects of life I'm fortunate that my friends have been tolerant of my neglect and welcome me back into their lives but I view the isolationist years as a mistake. I wonder how much of my trajectory was determined by crowd think. How much did I do because it was the path presented? At least, some. How much, I'm not sure. When. I see young people move to another country or do things that seem like huge risks, but really aren't, I admire that and wish I had the courage to take control of my life like they have. Now that I've disconnected from the corporate world, I see endless possibilities to support myself without the corrosive environment that comes with any corporation. For me, it's time to be brave. I wish you all the best possible life and the courage to follow your dreams.
