December 2025 marks the 21st anniversary of this site. Every year about this time, I think to myself: “How crazy! It worked!” I’ve been able to choose my work (or not to work) on my own terms for a while now. However, I keep going because I feel that the sharing and writing itself provides both myself and others an ongoing benefit. Writing for others makes me research more thoroughly and improve my understanding of the topic. While it may be trendy to mock “content creators”, I continue to love learning new stuff from online communities and individuals.
Another of the substacks I follow is Sketchplanations by Jono Hey, which explains complex ideas using simple sketches. Topics may include everything from vocabulary words to scientific theories. Apple and Ideas illustrates the following quote often attributed to George Bernard Shaw:
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.
In another sketch, Three Bricklayers Story does a great job explaining the “Three Bricklayers parable” about the power of having different perspectives in your work.
In that way, I think that each of us, sharing our own ideas with others, even has a greater purpose. Everyone can help each other move forward a little bit. I truly believe that everyone has something valuable to share about what lights their fire. Perhaps you post occasionally to an online forum, or just pass things along to close friends and children. Even sharing a mistake, what not do, is valuable. Making a mistake also means you at least took action, took a risk. I’m a shy person, but I’m always amazed that I always learn something even after short, casual conversations. Sometime just a quick side comment can turn me onto a hugely important concept.
Finance still intrigues me, but it’s also fun to be a beginner again; I consider myself a curious novice in running, triathlons, and woodworking.