Washington DC, FinCon, Planes, and Dinosaurs!

Yeah, I still have to write the conclusion to my August Fitness Challenge. Last week was insane (I came thisclose to buying a house and then I didn’t), so I didn’t have time to write. I’ll fill you in on fitness and lost homes next week.

I’m in Washington DC for FinCon. I love DC! The first thing I did upon arriving was jet over to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian to look at beautiful flying machines:

But this post isn’t about museums and planes; it’s about you.

FinCon used to be a conference just for financial media creators, but now there’s a Community Pass. The Community Pass is for folks who aren’t creators; for those who just want to hang out. I find this fascinating. Are there any other conferences where folks who aren’t interested in the core conference material come for the hallway conversations? I doubt it. But it makes sense too.

I feel that many of us are lost souls. Ask your uncle what his net worth is at your next family gathering and you’ll probably get a dirty look. Money is more taboo than politics or sex. However, I’ve had people in the financial independence community tell me what their net worth is 5 minutes after I’ve met them. And there’s a good reason for this.

We realize that while money is important, it’s also just the starting point, not the end. Here is how you should do it:

1. Get a good job and hustle a little.
2. Learn how to invest and pile money away as early as possible.
3. While you’re doing 1 and 2, never forget to enjoy the journey. Continue to live simply, but live an eclectic, thoughtful, and driven life. Enjoy the journey.
4. Once you’ve achieved your FIRE number, you’re in a position to optimize your life for 100% happiness. If you love your job, stay there. If not, quit. Do what you love from this point on.

So money is important, but it’s really just a key that unlocks the handcuffs and lets us live with a little more freedom.

It’s also true that if you have money in common, you probably have a lot of other shit in common. We’re a crowd that embraces:

• DIY (let’s build some shit!)
• board games
• good conversation
• backyard parties
• work (on our own terms)
• exercise
• mental and physical challenges
• travel
• family

Sometimes, it’s hard to find people to relate to. I know from experience.

Normally, I’m an introverted weirdo. There are people I’ve known all of my life that I’m still uncomfortable around. However, get me in a crowd of a bunch of money nerds and I won’t shut up.

That’s why I go to FinCon. And that’s why the Community Pass exists. We’re all looking for meaningful connection.

See You At FinCon?

So anyway, I’m in DC this week at FinCon. If you’re here too, I hope you say “Hi!” Besides planes, I like dinosaurs too so I made up a shirt so you can find me:

I have extra shirts with me. You can’t buy one, but I’ll give you one.

Ummm, anyone?

**crickets**

Sigh.

See you in DC!