One Question:
“What are the elements of your ideal life at 80 years old?”
As always, Sahil Bloom leaves me pondering.
Pondering turns to realization.
Realization turns to fear.
Fear turns to action.
When I envisioned my life at 80, I did some math.
I am 38 years old, leaving me 42 more to go. Yikes. I’m almost halfway there.
My wife is 29 years old, but since it will be my birthday in a couple of months, we’ll stick with us being 10 years apart.
When I am 80 years old, she will be 70.
My soon-to-be daughter will be born any day now (my first child, by the way).
For number’s sake, my daughter will be 42 when I am 80. Perhaps I will have a grandchild. Or two. Or three. Heck, I may have a great-great-grandchild!
A wild thought, indeed.
Shoot, one year ago I didn’t think I had a chance to even be alive, let alone have a wife. Or a daughter. Or the chance to see 80, let alone 39.
Life comes at you fast.
One minute I’m 21 years old, living life as an online poker player; jumping into age 30 going back to college, up until now; finally having a family of my own along with sobriety and happiness in a career.
My fear is that I will lose this.
I am scared to not see age 80.
My visions of this include a lake house up north (Wisconsinite here). My beautiful 70-year-old wife rolls her eyes at “Grandpa Noah” as he tells his dad jokes while tending to the day’s haul of fish.
My daughter smiles as she watches her children learn how to fillet all of our fresh-caught fish from the lake. The boat is tied up. A fire begins to crackle as the sun sets.
S’mores will follow, with mandatory scary stories to tell in the dark. Anything to keep the grandkids up all night, as Grandpa Noah sleeps soundly.
This is what I envisioned when I read Sahil‘s email this morning.
I became scared. I became emotional. I became motivated.
Life isn’t about money. It’s not about things or gifts. It’s not even about the boat and the lake house.
It’s about family. Love. The experiences and memories left behind.
Life, death, and everything in between.
Life, Death, and Everything in Between. 