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Welcome to my blog.  I’m not one for small talk, but I should probably tell you a few things about myself.  First, the important things.  I love food, hiking, soccer, traveling, my family, and God.  I guess I should add real estate and personal finance to the list, hence this blog.  I’d also say I am a perennial second place finisher. Just in case that’s helpful information.

From a career perspective, I started out in public accounting for a couple of years, got my CPA license, and then immediately did the most sensible thing, which is leave accounting.  I headed over to the sometimes greener pastures of finance as a financial analyst for a decent sized company that sells asphalt to paving companies.  I now know a lot more about asphalt than I ever imagined.  Let me just say, it’s far more complicated than you might think.

Moving on, as someone with a sizable appetite for risk, I’ve dabbled with several businesses on the side.  Real estate being the main one but also several other ventures which I’ll get into in future posts.  Bless my wife’s heart for putting up with the ever changing and expanding list of “business ideas.”  Hopefully it pays off for her.  No promises that it will.

Speaking of my wife, she’s wonderful.  I did well.  She is currently working full time as an Occupational Therapist for children.  No, that is not the same as Physical Therapy.  Here is how I keep the two straight in my mind.  PT’s focus on a patient’s ability to move and function.  So if someone has a shoulder injury, a PT wants to rehab that shoulder back to strength.  OT’s focus on a patient’s daily living and the activities or occupations that are important to that individual.  So in our same shoulder injury example, an OT will look at what daily tasks the patient values being able to do but can’t currently and will then come up with strategies to make those tasks possible.  That was more than you probably bargained for but I needed to prove that I am a good husband who listens.

One more thing about my wife; she’s almost 38 weeks pregnant with our first child!  Baby boy will be arriving soon.  Pretty crazy.  Maybe I’ll have a section dedicated to fumbling through fatherhood.  Let me know if you think that would be a worthwhile endeavor.  We are truly excited to be parents despite not feeling fully ready.  Is anyone ever fully ready though?  Maybe my one buddy who’s about to have 3 kids under 4 years old.  Regardless, I’m stoked.

So a little bit about the vision for this blog.  First, I want it to be a record for myself, for family, and anyone who cares of what I’ve learned.  But I’m also hopeful that it can give a more realistic picture of what it looks like to try and figure out life as you stumble through it.  I’m not a guru who has the key to get rich quick.  I also know there’s no one size fits all approach to life.  Just because something worked for me does not mean it will work for you.  But maybe you’ll still find my perspective helpful.

I have a general idea of the topics I want to hit on, but I’m also flexible.  I know that my interests may shift to different areas in different seasons.  I’m hoping that within the broad categories of this blog, I can hit on things that are relevant to you and add value to your life.  I’d love to learn too.  I’m aware of the Grand Canyon sized gaps in my knowledge, even in areas I’m passionate about.

While we’re on the Grand Canyon, let me tell you a quick story.  Back during Covid times, I did a cross country road trip with my buddy Colin.  My grandfather was moving from California to the east coast to be near my parents and needed his car brought across the country.  Colin and I agreed to fly out there and drive the car across the country for him.  We took our time with the trip stopping in places such as San Diego, Zion, Grand Canyon, El Paso, San Antonio, and Nashville.  

I had never been to the Grand Canyon before and let me tell you, it was brilliant.  We got there at sunrise and I remember looking out (and down) at the massive canyon that lay before us.  We were at the southern rim and planned to hike way down into the canyon that day.  And way down we went.  The view from the top was beautiful but being way down in the bowl was a different experience.  It felt like a different world.  We had spent hours working our way further and further down to now be met by a quietness and the June heat.  But we weren’t done.  

There was an overlook of the Colorado River that we wanted to hike to.  The rest of the trip was a flat trek across the bottom of the canyon (or so we thought).  When we got to the overlook, we were met with another large chasm with the river at the bottom.  I remember distinctly wondering “how could it still go so much deeper?”  I had mistakenly thought I was near the bottom.

I say all that to suggest that when we think we’ve really figured something out, there’s likely so much more to learn.  If you can instead build a love of learning, you open yourself up to endless opportunities.  Challenges turn into opportunities, failures become stepping stones.  The new knowledge not only enriches your personal journey but also empowers you to contribute to the world in more meaningful ways.

Would love to hear what topics you all are interested in.  Looking forward to diving into the meat of things soon.  Thanks for reading!