Everything Is Connected to Everything
"I don't get how you do that!" exclaimed a friend. This is a sentiment I hear often, about lots of topics, from lots of different people. In people's defense, when I live such a public life (with the blog and podcast), it's not a surprise that it results in many questions and conversations. I never take offense when people want to discuss one of these topics; it's actually an intended consequence of broaching such topics with readers and listeners. I want to open a dialogue!
Back to my friend. "I don't get how you do that!" I often get this type of comment about a myriad of topics:
Leaving an amazing career (and my family taking a 90% pay cut doing so).
The new and unique career I’ve created.
Living with zero debt
Sarah staying home and spending her time volunteering.
The family trips.
Publishing 365 blogs and 104 podcast episodes per year.
The frequent international travel.
The sharp bend toward generosity.
Saying "yes" to odd opportunities.
"I don't get how you do that!" My friend was confused. In his opinion, I live a weird life. I get that word a lot. "Weird." I never take that personally, and in fact, it's become somewhat of a badge of honor.
I immediately asked my friend: "How much do you spend per month on your house and car payments combined." He thought for a moment, doing the mental math. "Maybe a little more than $5,000. I think $5,200. What does that have to do with anything?" I told him my house and car payments combine for $1,700 per month. Now he looked confused.
Next question: "How much more do you spend on other debt payments?" Again, he took a moment to think through some numbers. "Maybe a thousand or so." I told him we had none, and he looked skeptical.
We live in the same town, not far from one another. Our kids are a similar age. We do similar activities and attend similar events. Our lives are not all that different.....except they are. His house, cars, and consumer debt cost his family $6,200/month, whereas ours cost us $1,700. We might as well live on different planets.
I shared my philosophy with him: "Everything is connected to everything." Components in our lives don't live in a vacuum. Every decision has consequences, which create new decisions, which create new consequences. I admit that our family's life is quite weird, but that's intentional. When everything is connected to everything, it allows us to string together decisions that have a ripple effect on our journey.
When we live the world's way, it creates a ripple effect of living the world's way. It's a predictable and linear path. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it is what it is.
On the flip side, living in a weird way creates a ripple effect of living a weird way. It's a shockingly unpredictable path, and it creates as many weird opportunities as it does uncertainty.
Everything is connected to everything, and that's a good thing. To me, it means we have more control of our journey than we often like to believe. If that's true, don't be afraid to seize control.....and maybe live a little weird.
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