Poor Roger

Max Cardio Conditioning

47 out of 47 minutes. Not as easy as it was last week, but I finished the damned thing and that’s what is important. Heart rate was exceptionally high at the 17 minute mark so I had to stop for a minute and regroup. Next week I go for the trifecta: Max Interval Circuit, Insane Abs, and then Max Cardio Conditioning. If I can do that for three weeks in a row, then I am finally DONE with Beachbody Insanity.

On Wednesday night I decided to drive up to spend the night with Melanie. Along the way I once again had those feelings to about-face and cancel, but I figured I should go through with it. It turned out to be a great night of fun but I don’t see myself doing that again for a while. After the first hour, sex became more of a routine than anything else. My body was sore but I didn't want to complain or stop because I talked a lot of shit to Melanie leading up to that night. The cost of dinner, a hotel room, and gas for the trip was just under $200. My wallet can't handle that every week, even if my body can.

During one of our “breaks”, we would talk about different things. Talking to Melanie is kind of cool because we have much in common and there’s nothing but honest talk. We both dealt with having cancer at a young age and we both feel the same way about people in general. Anyway, she brought up the fact that it had taken me so long to come up to see her and that I work too hard. I started to talk about why I work so hard and my plans. Melanie then cautioned me not to work too hard or I may end up with nothing, especially considering that I’ve “put all my eggs in one basket” (real estate). She started talking about how I need to take more time off and invest my money into different things like mutual funds and CDs and other things.

When I got to work the next morning, I was told that the janitor that used to work at the bank job had died Wednesday night in his sleep. I wasn’t really concerned with his death, except that it reminded me of Melanie’s words of caution when it came to working hard for nothing. The janitor was in his early forties and had worked hard all his life. Now he’s dead and will barely have enough to pay for his funeral (his job was sub-contracted, so no life insurance). I started to wonder: Was Melanie right? Am I turning into Robert Kiyosaki’s “Poor Dad”? Will I end up making the same mistakes as people like the janitor who worked to death just to pay taxes and bills? Shouldn’t I take more time to relax and enjoy life instead of working so hard for a plan that may not even work?

Well, the answer to all those questions is NO. I use the money I make at these jobs and the rentals to purchase properties, increasing my monthly income. I do believe in diversifying a portfolio, but not at the cost of purchasing property. If I put away $250 a month into a mutual fund, it will yield maybe a total of $200 extra by the end of the year. That’s 3000 less dollars a year that would have to purchase a property that would yield me about $2000 PER MONTH. Buying properties is my initial investment. Through that investment I can increase my annual income, and then I can start making deposits into mutual funds and the like.

Poor Dad worked only to pay bills and die. The janitor at the bank job paid bills and died. My plans have me paying bills but also buying more properties and increasing my annual income with an end to paycheck work in less than two years. No more jobs. Just buying shit, taking vacations, and free time to do whatever I want. Melanie was right that I’m working hard and maybe a little too hard. But it’s temporary and, unlike Poor Dad, I seen financial freedom in my future. There will be a time for me to go out and have a good time, but now isn't it. Work first, play later. And should I pass away before I get to realize my goals, at least I did it my way.