Money
Is It Time For You to Take the Leap?
Is It Time For You to Take the Leap?She Thought He was in the Federal Witness Protection Program
Dear Reader,
Nine years ago this month I made a big change. After sixteen years in the money management business, I accepted a job writing about the financial markets for Agora Publishing.
My former colleagues told me I was nuts.
My former colleagues told me I was nuts.
“Nobody gets to the point where he has all these clients, all these assets and all these fees coming in and then just quits,” one co-worker insisted. “People spend sixteen years in this business to be exactly where you are now. No one in his right mind just walks away.”
But I did. I was bored.
I love the financial markets. I loved my clients, too. But I was tired of having the same repetitive conversations about their accounts every day.
I needed to re-pot myself. And, when my friend and former colleague Steve Sjuggerud decided to step down as Investment Director of The Oxford Club to start a hedge fund, I had the opportunity.
There was one drawback, however. The starting salary I was offered was only a small fraction of what I was currently making.
There was one drawback, however. The starting salary I was offered was only a small fraction of what I was currently making.
I left anyway. And I’ve never regretted it for a minute.
Doors opened up that I could never have imaged when I first took the job. I’ve traveled the world, from Europe and South America to Africa and the Orient. After years of being chained to my telephone and my “quote machine,” I was free at last.
Last summer I made another leap. After twenty-eight years living in central Florida, my wife Karen and I decided to move our family to Charlottesville, VA – just to try it out.
“You’ve only been here seven months?” a woman I met last week asked. “So your job brought you here?”
“No,” I said.
“You have family here in Charlottesville?”
“No.”
“You had friends here?”
“No.”
“Really?” she persisted. “Who did you know here in town?”
“No one, actually.”
From her expression, you’d have thought she’d just identified someone in the federal witness protection program.
There were plenty of good reasons we moved here, of course. Unlike Florida, there are four gorgeous seasons. (Well, three. I’m still not crazy about that last one.) Charlottesville is a charming town with tons of culture – thanks to the University of Virginia – and no big-city problems.
The majestic Blue Ridge sits just west of town, providing spectacular sunsets. In twenty minutes, I can be hiking the Appalachian Trail. And I have family in Staunton less than an hour away.
It hasn’t been a completely smooth transition, of course. There’s no major airport here. We’re renting a furnished house. (And learning just how little of “all that stuff” back in Florida we actually need.)
The toughest part was leaving friends we’ve known for most of our lives. But we still go back to visit. And we’re already making new ones. It looks like we’re here to stay.
People we meet often tell us they dream of doing something like this. Only money holds them back, they say.
But I read an inspiring column by my old friend Steve Sjuggerud this week and it reminded me that while a lack of money can dictate your choices, it doesn’t mean they have to be poor ones.
If this sounds counterintuitive, read his essay below and you’ll see what I mean.
Carpe Diem,
Alex
Alex Green’s article first printed in his newsletter at Spiritual Wealth
P.S. Most of Steve’s columns are about the financial markets, not “the good life.” But his investment insights are excellent. If you’d like to read them, feel free to sign up for his e-letter Daily Wealth. It’s free.
It’s Never Too Late to EscapeAn Artist Who Re-Painted His Life
Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
You have to make some major changes in your life, right now.
Fortunately, making those changes doesn’t have to hurt…
My friend Grant Pecoff made big changes in his life. He and his wife Layne used to live in San Diego. They had a nice three-bedroom house, three cars and every modern convenience. But he got tired of trying to keep up.
He realized he didn’t need all that stuff.
Today, the Pecoffs have a one-bedroom house. And they share one car. But their quality of life is outstanding…and they’re much happier. They’re living on the water, on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. My wife and I visited them over the weekend.
“A lot of people don’t realize that you can choose your life,” Grant told me.
“We realized that we had lost our priorities along the way. So we got out of San Diego to reconnect with what’s important to us. It’s a lot less stressful here in the Bahamas, and I get lot more work done.”
Grant is an artist. He lives in the Bahamas, but he still has his gallery in San Diego. Other galleries feature his art as well, like the Wyland Gallery in Key West (where I first saw his work).
While life as an artist might sound glamorous, it’s stressful. Just think about it… Mortgage payments and car payments are fixed. But art sales vary… Your income goes up and down. So Grant did the smart thing. He got rid of his old fixed payments.
Grant told me taking that initial leap and moving was huge. “That initial leap gave us the confidence to take more steps – to make more choices. When you think about it, the definition of leap is that there is some moment where both feet are off the ground.”
He told me, “Here, you can choose to never put shoes on all day… or to shower outside naked… or to walk for hours on the beach. It’s up to you. We don’t have fancy restaurants here or a hundred channels on TV. But they’re not important to us.”
The Pecoffs’ new lifestyle is not for everyone…The house sits on a point, with water on two sides. But when they bought it, it had no electricity or running water. Even now, if you want a hot shower, you have to wait until the afternoon, when the sun has heated the water pipes on the roof. There’s no air conditioning…You have to rely on the sea breezes. When it gets too hot, you take a dip in the ocean.
Grant’s life is different than it was in San Diego. He made the leap. He made wholesale changes. He got rid of the anxiety. He got rid of the need to keep up with the neighbors.
If you’re stressing right now about money, you ought to consider making some changes. With Grant Pecoff as an example, the changes you make don’t necessarily have to hurt as bad as you might think.
Grant escaped this market. He went down from three bedrooms to one… and from three cars to one. If you want to remove the anxiety, if you want to improve your quality of life, consider following Grant’s lead.
You don’t have to move to the Bahamas or go without electricity. But keep Grant’s words in mind: “You can choose your life.”
Take a moment to reflect on your priorities and see if you’re living by them. If you’re not, consider what changes you should make.
Then…
Leap!
Steve
Editor’s Note: Steve Sjuggerud’s Daily Wealth is a free e-letter published five times