Seize The Moment – Epic Financial Journey

Fall is upon us.

This time of year means so many different things to so many different people. For coffee-lovers, fall is the official start of pumpkin spice latte season. For parents & kids, fall is the end of summer and signals the start of a new school year. For sports fans, fall means the return of football and hockey, but perhaps more notably, Major League Baseball playoffs.

As a Pacific Northwest native, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that my favorite baseball team is the Seattle Mariners. For the 99% of readers who either don’t follow baseball and/or don’t know much about the Mariners, the team’s recent slogan & rallying cry has been “Seize the Moment”.

After hearing this phrase used so many times recently, especially after the Mariners made it into the playoffs, I started to think about implications and applications beyond its specific baseball intent.

Origins of a Rallying Cry

So what’s up with this phrase anyways? Where did it come from? What does it even mean to “Seize the Moment”?

Long-time Mariners player & recent Hall of Fame inductee Ichiro Suzuki had his uniform number retired by the team this past August. During the ceremony Ichiro not only thanked former teammates & the fans, but he also delivered a message directly to the current players. He encouraged the team to recognize the great opportunity they had in front of them to not only finish the season strong, but to also make a strong push into the playoffs.

Ichiro’s intent was to provide inspiration for the team to make the most of their present opportunity. “Seize the moment” is a rallying cry to embrace the pressure, perform their best, and not take their skills & talent for granted. Perhaps most importantly this phrase is motivation to live in the present and focus on the situation ahead, rather than being burdened or negatively influenced by any past failures.

Life Seasons

At this juncture all non-baseball fans are probably wondering what the point of this blog post is and what the heck it even has to do with personal finance/Financial Independence?

Great question my dear readers.

The answer is…

It has EVERYTHING to do with personal finance, Financial Independence, and life in general.

Let me explain…

Each baseball season eventually comes to an end in fall and a new season inevitably begins the following spring. Although the cadence doesn’t change, each season is totally unique. Each year comes with a different set of players, a different set of circumstances, and ultimately a different outcome. Although past seasons can be an indicator of what the future holds, there are absolutely no guarantees of how things will actually turn out.

Similar to baseball, each of our individual lives are composed of persistently progressing “seasons” based on our own distinct circumstances. All of us are constantly changing – not only are we changing physically due to increasing age & declining health, but other aspects of life are also evolving such as changes in marital status, having kids, differing financial situations, career development, exploring new hobbies & interests, etc. Each of these changes can be considered a different “life season” that lasts for only a very finite period of time.

Perhaps the most scary part is that unlike baseball where seasons have a regular tempo, our lives are completely unpredictable and can change on a dime. No matter how hard we try and no matter how much we resist, these changing “life seasons” are always a one-way street; there’s no going backwards. While we can’t change the past, we can unquestionably shape our present and future.

Lost Opportunities

For much of my adult life I was just like the majority of other people; I let the seasons of my life listlessly pass me by. Most of the time I was just so focused on work that I ignored so many great moments in my personal life. When I did come up for air every now & again, I always justified putting things off by telling myself that I could always do things “later” or that there would be many more chances “sometime in the future”.

Some of the many opportunities I missed out on included: spending more time with my kids when they were younger, cultivating friendships, traveling, and establishing life-long hobbies. Sure, I can technically still do all of these things now, but alas, today’s version will never be the same as what I missed out on…

My kids are older now. Although I still have some years left before each of my kids leaves the house, I missed out on so many experiences with them at younger ages that I’ll never get back. These include such things as volunteering more at their schools, taking them to Disneyland when they still believed in all the “Disney magic”, and even simply spending more quality time together instead of all that time I spent working.
Friendships have deteriorated over the years. Similar to growing delicious fruits & vegetables, it takes a certain amount of time, effort, & attention to cultivate meaningful relationships. But like an incompetent farmer who grows inedible produce, I did a poor job at maintaining many of my personal connections and lost many friendships over the years.
Travel is more restrictive. As a young adult I always had a desire to travel the world. Unfortunately while many of my peers did take once-in-a-lifetime trips to exotic locations, I never did. Nowadays travel options are much more restrictive because of having a family – it’s obviously more expensive & more difficult to plan for 4 people, plus we’re beholden to the school calendar. Add in the fact that the world is constantly changing and some travel locations are no longer even accessible anymore (due to natural disasters, government restrictions, etc).
I have no significant hobbies or interests. Especially when meeting someone new, I frequently get asked the question “what are your hobbies”? I always pause and sheepishly respond “I’m not sure, I don’t really have any”. I always get a little envious when people list-off all the hobbies & activities they enjoy. It’s honestly very cool to observe what interests people, no matter how absurd it may seem to others.

Seizing My Moments

Since the past is the past and there’s nothing I can do to ever change it, I try not to dwell on it too much. The only thing I can do is to acknowledge missed opportunities and do my best to prevent similar things from happening again. These days I strive to actively live in the present moment and take advantage of life to the fullest, so that I never look back again with any regrets.

Broadly speaking, my outlook has changed and I’m more open to new opportunities – I’m always on the lookout for unique activities or events, I try to say “yes” more often than not, and I’m more comfortable experimenting with new things & taking (calculated) risks. And perhaps most importantly, I’m very conscious of how I spend my time to ensure that it’s intentional instead of mindlessly frittering away my days.

Specifically I am trying to make up for some of those lost opportunities from my past. (For any old-school sci-fi nerds out there, I feel like a real-life version of Dr. Sam Beckett from the TV show “Quantum Leap”, continuously “striving to put right what once went wrong”).

Spending more time with my kids. My goal is to be there for my kids as much as possible and spend as much time as I can with them. Whether it’s mundane tasks like driving them to the bus stop, supporting their hobbies & activities, or engaging in fun & exciting events (such as vacations, concerts, or sporting events), I want to be there. In fact, I’ll know that I’ve done a good job as soon as my kids start complaining about how I’m always around and never seem to leave them alone.
Rekindling old friendships and creating new ones. I know intellectually that all broken relationships can’t be fixed, but I’m still trying my best to salvage what I can. I’m trying to revive friendships that have dwindled over the years by actively reaching out & purposely seeking to reconnect. At the same time, because I know how important relationships are to our well-being, I’m also deliberately trying to grow my friend network to include both those inside the personal finance/FI community and those outside (mostly those in my local community).
Exploring the world. I’m finally fulfilling my long-time yearning to travel and see the world. While some of this travel includes only my wife & I, the best part is that most of the time we travel as a family. Not only do I get to visit destinations & see historical sites that’ve always been on my bucket list, but my kids get to experience them with me which makes it so much more special. As an added bonus, since I am older now with a larger net worth, sometimes I even splurge on more expensive travel options & experiences that I may have passed on at an earlier (and poorer) point in my life.
Testing out new hobbies & interests. I’m still looking for those 1 or 2 things that really light me up & that I have a passion for, so I have a ways to go on this one. On the other hand, it’s been so much fun exploring & trying new things. One thing that I’ve always been interested in is podcasting and in the past couple years I’ve gone from a general listener, to a podcast producer, and now to a podcast editor. What does the future hold… perhaps a podcast host?! (Stay tuned on that one…)

Seizing Your Moments

Every single day holds a unique opportunity for each of us to shape our lives. The past is a guide, but doesn’t necessarily dictate our present and what lies ahead. The future is built on choices & actions taken today, so decide now to live a life that won’t be looked back on with a long list of regrets or “what ifs.”

Resolve to be intentional with your time, say “yes” more often than not, and actively lean into the opportunities immediately ahead.

Just as Ichiro encouraged the current Seattle Mariners team, I offer the same encouragement to all of you…

Go forth and #SeizeTheMoment

Links/Resources

Reader Questions

Do you have any past regrets or missed opportunities? If so, have you let them go or have they been a continuing burden for you?

Leave your answers or comments below – or email us directly at info@epicfinancialjourney.com