Category: Mindset
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My Father’s Words Series My father said a lot of things that stayed with me. Some of them I understood immediately. Some of them I had to grow into. And some of them hit me like a ton of bricks in the moment, even when I couldn’t fully explain why. This was one of the…
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“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” — Albert Einstein I was looking at a photo I made at the rookery — a spoonbill, full wingspan, carrying nesting material — and something about the shape kept nagging at me. I couldn’t place it. Eventually I did. The Chrysler Crossfire. That long…
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I’ve been saying it for years: I’ll work until they make me mad. It started as a principle. Or at least that’s what I told myself. My wife didn’t take it as a principle. One day she was frustrated with her job — really frustrated — and she looked at me and said if that’s…
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A few weeks ago I found myself in a car with my niece, Yasmine, during a college visit with her sister. We had time, we had miles, and she wasn’t going anywhere. My father used to tell my mother that if she needed to have a real conversation with one of us kids, she should…
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Someone asked me how I was doing the other day. I said what I always say: “Good. No complaints.” I mean it every time. It’s not a deflection. It’s not politeness. It’s something I actually believe — because I’ve trained myself to measure my life against the right backdrop. “What separates privilege from entitlement is…
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I noticed movement in the water beneath the trees. Something registered immediately — that’s not birds. I picked up my camera to see what it was. It was an alligator, and it was eating something. It took a second to determine that it had an egret. The birds don’t end up above the alligators by…
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In June 2017, my sister received her Master’s of Nursing degree. We made a weekend of it — the ceremony was out of town, so the family traveled together to celebrate. The spot at the base of my neck isn’t visible when you’re dressed. It sits low enough that a collar covers it completely. But…
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Chuck Jaffe used to say it on his podcast: one day 65-year-old Chuck will be here and ask where his money is. I heard that and thought — that applies to more than money. Most retirement conversations stop at the finances. How much do you need? What’s your number? When can you quit? Those are…
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I’ve been thinking about retirement lately. Not because I have to — but because I’m turning 55 in June, and the question keeps finding me. The first time I understood what retirement really meant, I wasn’t thinking about it at all. I was early in my career, working at the Louisiana Department of Social Services.…
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When I think back to that conversation with my cousin — the one that started all of this — what struck me most wasn’t what he did or didn’t know about investing. He was doing his research, watching YouTubers, putting in the effort to figure it out. That part wasn’t the issue. The issue was…