The glass ... is it half full or half empty? My answer to that is: half full. If I had to describe my life right now, I would say I am in "an upward-trending pattern of consolidation." By comparision, due to a temporary lack of clarity, earlier this year was "a period of consolidation."
The last intense period of integration and growth in my life happened in mid-2000 when I resolved many outstanding issues in my thought and wrote the July 2000 letter.
Since then I have turned my thoughts and energies to a slightly different field, one of investment. Having dabbled with various investing techniques and combinations since 1996, it was in 1999 when I stepped up the pace. By late 2000, with the implosion of the US stock markets, I saw so much opportunity in front of me that I purposely quit traveling (of which I was bored for the most part) and decided to return to Canada. I have been here for one year now, laying the foundation for the next surge of growth in my plans of personal development.
I have to say, my path of investing has been one of the greatest adventures of my life thus far. In a sense, I can compare it to my first traveling tour in 1994 & 1995 ... where everything was fresh to my senses, full of curiousity and wonder, trying to make sense of the mystery, struggling to define and understand.
At the end of 2001, after the collapse of one of the biggest market bubbles in the history of capitalism, after investing in some of the most hyped, bashed and volatile stocks in history -- the Internets, after watching trillions of dollars being wiped out of existence in the market at large ... I'm still here. Make way for the second generation of Internets ... and the battle-hardened survivors are those that will make the dollars to create shareholder value.
True, in the here and now, I am not where I want to be yet. But I see the right building blocks, the correct stage design and props being positioned, that I can extrapolate my present situation into the future ... and thereby expect the achievements I so desire.
Part of my 2001 strategy meant carrying forward a certain level of debt, something I'm not used to doing. However, during these last couple of months I have started to turn the tables by focusing my resources to pay down this debt, a trend I expect to continue into 2002.
On the social front, I don't have much to report. I let my purse strings loose for two months in June-July, then decided I was getting ahead of myself. So I shut everything down and sealed my purse.
Why? *sticking raven feather of sagaciousness in my hair* If one does not disturb the waters with splashing and commotion, then the waters remain calm and clear, allowing one to see with greater vision and insight into the depths that be.
*removing raven feather of sagaciousness* Translated this means: during a time of transition and self-transformation, most of which no one sees at this point, I need to be focused so that I may correctly plan and lay down the foundations for my "second decade of thought and action", my thirties.
This, to me, is currently more important than a night on the town, a warm drunk, a one week stand, a daytime social meet, etc. Whether one agrees or not, being social generally requires capital expenditure ... and that cash is something I choose to focus elsewhere. To be brief, in the present day there are much greater opportunities to be grasped. In doing so, I demand all the capital, energy and attentiveness I can give myself.
Do I think or feel I'm missing out on anything by minimizing social contact? No. Put into context, after having seen so many people (of the world), I understand I am living a life that 70-75 % of present-day humanity can only dream about, with another 10-15 % too hesitant or afraid to take the risks to do what they dream. When it comes to my financial pursuits, I am having the adventure of a lifetime -- and I know it.
The social contacts and emotional touches I desire will evolve over time. Once these social relationships come about, due to the patient, methodical and comprehensive thought I have given to things in my life, I anticipate such relationships to be all the more rewarding and long-lasting.
Most of my free time I spend plugged into my computer and the Internet. It's by far the best value for my money. I can work on my website and chart my life, trade and bank online, read financial news, browse stock boards, chat with peeps via mIRC and ICQ, and/or whimsically search and browse the net to pursue whatever should be my fancy and interest. More than enough to keep me busy, informed and entertained.
"Intelligent and low-maintenance" -- two traits recently used to describe me. I have to say I like these defining qualities.
That's me. That's where I am in November 2001.