Thoughts and reflections form the past week or so from my own financial independence campaign.
Progress on my goals
Boat life
I’ve stopped calling this “boat plan” as it’s now five months in and we’ve pretty much adapted to living on the floaty boat.
Toady we bedded in the port side stanchion posts, mirroring the starboard side we did a couple of weeks ago. I’ll need to tighten the bolts again tomorrow and then I can put the cupboards and other stuff back together.
We’re in the process of modifying a fishing rod holder to slot the Starlink dish into. At the moment, our Starlink antenna is on the deck, right in the way of all the mechanisms and lines that make our boat actually sail.
OK for winter, but no good moving forward.
Speaking of which: if we can get the port side stanchion posts re-bedded and watertight this weekend, during the bank holiday, we’re looking to push the boat out both figuratively and literally for our first real 2-man sail.
OK, technically we’ve motored her a few times with just two of us and moored her twice, but this will be the first time with just a pair that we actually raise sails and catch wind.
So that’s exciting! And, also, terrifying. We crash, we go homeless. I’m more than a little aware of the high stakes.
Why is this such a big deal?
Long term, the plan is to do some serious ocean voyages. Really get out into the world.
Buuut we don’t have a lot of experience doing that. Sure, we crossed the English Channel – which is apparently a bigger deal than I thought at the time, even though I felt like a badass – but we haven’t done anything that puts us out of sight of land for more than an hour or two.
So the start of the journey is getting to grips with sailing short-handed and on day trips.
I’m sure there’s an instagram-friendly cheesey tagline that I could use to make this point. How about “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”? “Live, love, laugh”? Pass.
Distractions and detours
Writing class
Handwriting is the winner!
I’m finding that having a pen and paper and a 30-minute session to get an idea out is exactly the right combination of pressure and friction I need to write a short story.
Pens and paper have no loading time. There are no distractions, you can really connect with the tactile and kinaesthetic experience of writing. It’s a bit easier to get into a flow state than it is with typing. Sure, you’re not as fast, but the process is much more enjoyable.
Thanks to Neil Gaiman and Tim Ferriss for this idea – I stole it from Tim’s interview of Neil. I’ll link to the YouTube below.
Writing is seriously enjoyable and I’m coming to the conclusion that I’d like to spend more time doing it when I hit CoastFI. Sure, maybe I could make some money off of it (I actually did that with my naughty side hustle…) but it’s the joy of the moment and creation that drive me.
That’s a bit arty-farty, I get it. Fair criticism, good point. Just be happy for me! 🙂
So I’d say as investments go this has been a great one. When I complete the course around end of May/early June, I’ll do a write up.
Actually, I wrote a story about FIRE as an exercise to see if I could write in the second person (you know, “you did…” rather than “I did” or “they did”). It’s came out a bit dark, but I might post that up here for your reading enjoyment.
Non-FIRE goals
My guitar rock god quest (AKA learning to play)
We took the view that Can I Play With Madness? may have been a bridge too far for now.
I’ve been put onto a grade version (I.e. simplified teaching version) of a Joe Satriani track instead. I… forget what it’s called. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great bit of music and I’m happy to play it! I find instrumentals can be a little hard to connect with by name, I kind of remember the movements of the music and the feeling of it. Kind of like electronic dance music, you remember the sounds and the vibe but you don’t always remember the creator’s name and/or the name of the piece.
We’re focusing on timing and use of metronomes. I struggle to play along with metronomes, so I’ve been shown to tap my foot along to the metronome timing before I start and this lets me play in time with my tapping, which is a lot easier. Then it’s a case of using the metronome to calibrate that. I’m improving!
Fitness
I regret nothing about new gym subscription!
Getting back to basics with a structured weight training and cardio programme is exactly what I needed. I feel like I’m reconnecting with my past military self, and it’s fantastic.
Oh, I’m not lifting anything like I was back then, nor training as hard. Can’t really do that and do a desk job and do the other things that are important to me.
That’s not the point though. The point is: I’m back to being the guy who shows up. Who is disciplined. Who does the thing rather than just talks about the thing.
Technically I was doing that with running and cycling anyway, but it didn’t really feel the same. I’m not sure if I can explain that, but it was just ticking along and going through the motions, rather than a meditative practice.
I’m never going to be Arnie. No Mr Olympias for me, I’m not really up for it. But I can at least be fit and capable, and that’s an empowering feeling.
Final thoughts
Boat life is going well, if messy, and now we’re getting close to launching out into sailing for the summer season.
Exciting!
The investments I’ve made into myself are paying out wellbeing dividends. I’ve haven’t felt this energised and empowered for a while, it’s fantastic. Maybe I’ll never be a real writer, maybe I’ll never get those fabulous abs back, but I’m happy to be doing the things and cracking on.
My financial independence campaign continues!
