The Value of Now

Came across a couple of wonderful examples of living one's dreams.  They make me think about the value of doing things now versus waiting.  Check out these two photos of boats in the same bay in the Bahamas.  The small boat has a couple on it and their dog.  The big boat has a crew plus a couple and some friends.

 

The thing that I think is interesting here is the small boat can be bought for very little money (or bought and fixed up for even less) and then, poof!, you're off living out your dreams - now (in your 20's, 30's, 40's).  The big boat (unless Daddy left you that trust fund) will take many years to earn pushing you well into late 50's or 60's before you head out to enjoy your dreams.

 

Now the little boat is a lot smaller and it doesn't come with a crew.  However, it is very funky and cute - and, most importantly, very comfortable.  It's got a great deck on the back, perfect for diving from, dining alfresco and just watching the world go by.  That size also comes in a price range that many people can afford with some work, savings, and a little effort.  You can have the little boat now.

 

The big boat, well, it has everything - big screen this and electronic that, plush everywhere and lots of space.  It also has the associated big price tag.  You can have all that, but you have to work for the next 20 years to get it.  Are those things worth 20 years of your life?

 

The financial advisors and writers we read suggest that you need big chunks of cash in order to retire, big chunks of cash that will take until you're at least 65 to earn.  I think that's a myth designed to keep the consumerist economy chugging along.  You are conditioned to have more, more, more rather than to realise when you have enough (remember, Steve's Concept of Enoughness - what is enough for you?  Never mind what everyone else thinks is enough for you!).  There are plenty of people (besides us) who aren't waiting, who are having their ideal lifestyle now.  All too often we put things off because we want the 'big one', the big house, the big boat, the jet-set lifestyle, but have a think about it, is it you that really wants that or have you simply been told that you want it / must have it so many times that you believe you do?

 

And don't forget, along with waiting 20 years, there's also the issue of health and physical capability.  There is a difference between what you feel like at 46 as compared to what you feel like at 66.  All those advisors neglect to mention that if you put your dreams on hold for 20 years you might not be (physically) able to pursue them - heck, you might not even be here!  (As you may have noted, I do not find the idea of putting things off until later appealing, this is a big reason why!)  How many people do you know who have reached the age of 65 or 68 and find that they (or their partner) are no longer capable of doing those things they've dreamt about and saved for for so long?

 

Is it worth the wait just so you can have the bigger _______ (fill in the blank) or would a smaller _______ suffice if you could do go now?  Would a smaller _______ work if you could have it for 20 extra years?  (Hmm, let me think, would I want 20 extra years cruising the Bahamas or a bigger boat?  The word DUH comes to mind!)  It's certainly worth considering, don't you think?

 

So what's the value of living your dreams 20 years early? 

100 Times the Cost, the View is the Same

There is an absolutely gorgeous sailing yacht anchored behind us today. It pulled in last night just as the sun was setting. It must be 80 feet long, dark blue and of the 'sailboatus elegantus' variety. Minimum crew of 5 and looks like it hails from the Marshall Islands (South Pacific). Probably one of the most beautiful examples of the species. Called S/Y Tenacious.

Steve figures it must have cost about 100 times more than our wee sailboat and the running costs are probably about 100 times more than ours.

We've been having a very interesting debate and a bit of analysis on these lovely palaces of the sea. There's been a lot of discussion of the differences between the two experiences, what would be different aboard an 80 S/Y versus the 41'6" version? Well, obviously space would be a big difference, interior 'poshness', and crew / wait staff. I guess it really comes down to what you like, space would be nice, but actually we have plenty of space for two with two 'stories', two bedrooms, a living room and a 'conservatory'. And 80 feet, twice the size of ours, with 5 more people on it, would it be more crowded? Probably not, but that's a lot of people in quite a small space (1 person per 11.5 feet versus 1 person per 22 feet on ours). The staff does the sailing, cooking and cleaning on the big boat, but we like to sail and cook (the cleaning could be done by someone else, but it takes all of 30 minutes to clean the boat from end to end so it isn't really much of a bother).

I think part of the reason there has been so much discussion about this is there is still some of that knee jerk, consumerist reaction, in me particularly, that when I see something nice I say, "Ooohhhh, I want that!" And it takes some time to analyse and thinking through to realise that, no, actually I don't want that. Steve and I have a debate about this, but I think if we wanted one of those big boats we could have one, but at what price? Probably another 15 years of work, another 15 years of going to the office, 14 hour days and being road warriors.

But when we sat up on deck last night, next to S/Y T, our view and theirs of the lagoon, the white sandy beach, the crystal clear blue water was exactly the same. If someone were to give us one, we wouldn't refuse it, but working for 15 years? I'd rather pass on the poshness, have the extra 15 years and be here now.

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How Much and How Long?

Came across a couple of really interesting quotes:

"In the context of losing wealth and job security, more people are choosing to seek the experience of being alive." (Attribute to follow)
"Real Wealth – What are you worth when you don't have any money?" (Anonymous)

These quotes remind me of two things – the Mexican Fisherman story and Steve's Concept of Enoughness

The Mexican Fisherman story comes from a book called The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich and goes 'something' like this:

There once was a Mexican fisherman mending his nets on a dock A Harvard businessman walked up and and started talking with the fisherman and asked him what he did all day. The fisherman replied that he does a little fishing, spends time with his family, plays guitar with his friends in the evening.

The Harvard businessman rubbed his hands together and said, "I can really help you, have you never thought of expanding, getting a couple of boats and catching more fish?" The fisherman replied, "Then what would I do, Senor?"

The businessman said, "Well, if you got even more boats, you would catch even more fish and you could set up your own canning plant and really make some money!" "Yes, but then what would I do, Senor?" asked the fisherman.

The Harvard businessman was really rolling now, "Then you could expand even further! You could open a chain of fish restaurants and go public and make a fortune!" The fisherman thought about this for a moment and then asked, "But then what would I do, Senor?"

To which the Harvard businessman replied, "Well, then you could retire to a little village in Mexico, do a little fishing, spend time with your wife, play guitar with your friends…"

The key thing that strikes me in this story is that a critical step is missed when one pursues financial wealth without knowing specifically what you want it for. "I want to be rich." But what are you going to do when you have more money? Is it the same thing you do today? Well, then you don't need to work for years and years to be rich, because you don't need that much money. This is a missed step in the constant push for people to keep going until they are rich. If you are going to do the same thing or something that requires a similar (or lower) income, why waste your precious years working rather than living?

And this is exactly where Steve's Concept of Enoughness comes in. When he said he wanted to 'give up serious work' (i.e., retire), I was concerned about two things – what would we do all day when we didn't fill the time with work (we've managed to fill the time) and how could we do it, we weren't rich. That is when Steve introduced the Concept of Enoughness, he said, "Well, what would we do?" And we talked through and came up with a list of all the things we would love to do if we weren't working – walking trips, learn to dance, sailing, motorbiking, spend time with family, spend time with each other, etc., etc. As we went through the list, I realised that none of the things we were talking about required a fortune to be able to do them. They did require some money though and we had to do some work to get there. Essentially enoughness is understanding what it is you want to do and then working to get to the point where you have enough to do it, and working no longer.

I think there is a critical step that needs to take place before one works for years to become rich. This is not taught at school, the consumer culture doesn't share this little insight, and without it you will never know when to get off the treadmill. How much time do you want to work and how much time do you want to spend being alive? That first step is critical, defining - what is it that you want to do and how much is enough to do it?

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