Another Year Down...

Enjoyed a great birthday today. Co-workers took me out for lunch. Wife and kids took me out for dinner. Wife and daughter baked a birthday cake. Between all the eating...received some great presents. Gifts centered on my favorite things...

Movies...some goodies for movie nights at the Taylor House.

Music...received the iPod Nano...and loving it. Can't wait to get back to music during my working hours. Bring some calm to the ADD. Serenity Now!

Coffee...all kinds of great flavors. And a few trips to Starbucks are in my future.

With another year in this world notched in my belt...what have I learned? What wisdom can I share? Well...

1) Moving your wife and kids out of state...miles and miles away from home, family, and friends...is easier than I thought it would be. Of course, we went into this move 100% committed. And chose a great city to live, company to work for, and people to work with.

2) Moving away from your home state draws you closer to your home state. Make sense?

3) Winters are cold in the Midwest! But, the snow is fun! Still upset I found the best place to sled on the last day of the last snow.

4) I miss living in the country...the quietness...remoteness. But, city living sure has its perks. A Starbucks a few blocks away is one of them. ;-)

5) I still don't know why every Fall and Spring when the weather is beautiful...I want to hop in my truck...grab a cup of coffee...throw on some Charlie Robinson and look for houses to fix-up. What's even stranger...a friend of mine noted the same feeling to me today. Maybe it's a guy thing? Or maybe it's because I spent the last 8 years fixing up houses. This is the first year I don't have a fixer-upper to fix-up.

6) So much time is wasted on the market. I know...I've wasted it. But, this wasted time is the filtration process of learning what's important in investing. The more time wasted and time wasted acknowledged...the closer you come to what's important.

7) Learning is hard. Scary. Stressful. And very rewarding. Of course...

"Learning is not compulsory...neither is survival." -- W. Edwards Deming

8) Life is up for grabs. Whatever you want...it is yours to take. It's usually not the brightest, best, or most deserving person that gets the job...raise...or whatever opportunity you wanted that they now have. It's usually the person who wasn't afraid to take it that takes it. The person who won't let things such as not being the brightest, best, or most deserving from getting what they want. One of the most amazing things in life is...Momentum Builds. And as long as reasons prevent you from taking that first step...you'll never get anywhere else than where you are right now.

9) Great mentors are another amazing thing in life. If you don't have one...seek one out. I think this was one of the biggest problems in my life. I attempted to do everything on my own. And this works up to a point...until you get stuck. And when you get stuck...mentors have the ability to...

"share their hindsight which can become your foresight."

10) And finally, birthday's are just another day. Unless you make more of them than that. They are after all...the day you started Life University. And each year marks your progress towards your chosen degree. You do have a chosen degree don't you? Otherwise, how else are you going to graduate? ;-)

Later Trades,

MT