I Love The Strenuous Life, But Don’t Want To Have To Work
My Intrepid Journey: January 2022
“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil…” - Theodore Roosevelt
I vividly remember the first book I read about Theodore Roosevelt. As a nine year old, I was changed by that book. Theodore Roosevelt became my hero.
Roosevelt preached and exemplified a strenuous life. He began his life as a sickly kid plagued by asthma and poor eyesight. His life’s trajectory changed the day his father challenged him, saying, “you have the mind, but you must build your body.” He launched into a relentless pursuit of boxing, sailing, hunting, marital arts, horseback riding, and a myriad of other physically demanding hobbies. Roosevelt maintained a rigorous lifestyle for the rest of his life.
According to the critics of his day, Roosevelt lived in one life what most men could only live in three. It’s hard to believe that Roosevelt was a cattle rancher, prolific author, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, volunteer commander of the Rough Riders, Vice President, President, and explorer of both the South American and African continents. All this despite the fact that in his early twenties his doctor told him his heart was so weak he needed to end all physical activity.
But Roosevelt was committed to “the strenuous life,” and he went on to live a fantastically dynamic life. The list of his accomplishments makes modern Netflix-watching, couch potatoes look like, well, couch-potatoes. (Don’t be a couch potato!) Theodore Roosevelt has inspired many people to live life to the fullest.
Roosevelt’s influence on me is undeniable. He inspires me to make the best use of every day. Like him, I endeavor to fill my time with strenuous work, treks in the outdoors, quality relationships, good books, continuous education, exciting adventures, and public service. I admire how Roosevelt didn’t passively let life happen to him. Roosevelt’s example encourages me to square up to challenges with courage and a grin.
My life’s adventure led me here - to writing this newsletter. I’ve always been passionate about freedom, courage, and critical thinking. From an early age, I’ve studied the lives of men characterized by these traits. Along with Roosevelt, this list includes Winston Churchill, George Washington, and William Wilberforce among others. I decided to create The Intrepid Life because I believe our culture needs more men who boldly live out these virtues.
Admittedly, I hesitated to write this newsletter because I didn’t want to come across as claiming to be an expert. I simply want to pass along wisdom that I’ve learned from others.
I don’t know where, or how far, this newsletter will go. It might go nowhere. Perhaps the only person reading it regularly will be my dad. (Thanks Dad!) If nothing else, I’m excited that writing down what I’m learning will reinforce my own growth - as they say, the best way to learn, is to teach. My hope is it will be helpful and enjoyable for you as well!
Every other month, in a “My Intrepid Journey” post, I’m going to share insights into my own journey. I want to authentically share my setbacks and victories on my way to living courageously, thinking critically, and building my lifestyle of freedom. I hope my experiences will be educational and motivational.
So here’s a look into my current intrepid journey.
As we enter a new year (today is January 1, 2022), one of the biggest challenges I face is the high probability of losing my job, due to a medical issue. I’ve been working through this for months so it’s not a surprise. Although not ideal (because my current job is super cool), I realize this challenge could be a huge inflection point in my life and provide amazing opportunities.
A goal in 2022, whether I lose my job or not, is to deliberately build a more free and resilient life by creating my own income streams. Here you might be thinking, “This dude just wants to be rich.” That would be incorrect. In fact, my goal is not to be rich, my goal is to be wealthy. (Now you’re certain I’m a greedy miser!) Before you judge me harshly, realize I define wealth the way Buckminster Fuller defined it:
“Wealth is the control of time.”
In his excellent book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki paints a stark picture of the average American worker’s plight - get good grades, get a good job, get a good pension or 401K, all in order to live a good life in retirement - he calls it the rat race. I don’t want to be a rat-racer!
Kiyosaki recommends exiting the rat race by buying, or building, cash-flowing assets. (Asset: something that puts money in your pocket. A car, for example, is not an asset. A rental house that produces income is an asset.) He says extra cash should be spent buying assets that produce more cash. That new cash should then be plowed into more cash-producing assets. These assets could eventually produce enough income to live on. That’s the goal.
I can sense that you may now think I’m a lazy bum who doesn’t want to work. That would also be incorrect. The truth is, I don’t want to have to work. I want to be financially free and to be able to use my time and talents how I believe God wants me to. That is true wealth.
For me, financial freedom is a central pillar for living an intrepid life. I’ve seen too many men fail to stand courageously on principles for the fear of losing their jobs. I also find it hard to consider myself truly free if someone else tells me where and how I must spend eight hours of my day. Financial freedom doesn’t mean never working a 9-5 job, it means you have the flexibility not to. But hey, this is all just my opinion.
Reaching financial freedom in one year is unlikely, but concrete progress in that direction is my goal. There you go, you now have your first insight into my intrepid journey, and I expect you to hold my feet to the fire!
As you look forward to the year ahead, I encourage you to live deliberately, strenuously, and intrepidly. If you don’t, life will just happen to you and you’ll look back wondering what happened.
Now get out there and live a courageously unsafe but good life.
P.S.
For fun, with every My Intrepid Journey post, I’ll also include a behind the scenes look into the progress of this newsletter. If you’re going to join me on this adventure, I think it’d be cool for you to know the details.
Below are the stats from the first post on 20 November 2021 through today:
Articles published: 6
Total views: 1,374
Email subscribers: 39
Shares: 1 (Thank you. I appreciate the help! Feel free to click the share button below and share it with your 3 best friends!)
New website visits: see chart below
Happy New Year!