“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Most of you will recognize that quote from the timeless movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And if you don’t? Please go watch it. Now. Seriously. Go.
This line from a light-hearted comedy has turned into a seriously deep quote about life. Today I wanted to share what this quote means to me.
Life is happening right now. Look around. These moments will never happen again. We only have one life, and we don’t know how long it’s going to last.
I’m 26 years old. By all accounts that still falls into the “young man” category. I don’t know how long I’ll get to enjoy this wonderful life.
In February 2017, my college roommate and one of my closest friends Jimmy Watts passed away unexpectedly at the far too young age of 22.
In March 2018, my younger brother Casey Mullooly was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia at the age of 24. Though it is treatable, and Casey is currently doing well, it sent shockwaves through our family.
In October 2018, my close high school friend Kyle Janeczek passed away unexpectedly at the age of 25. I miss him every day.
I’m not sharing these stories with you to scare you or make you sad. I’m sharing these stories with you to drive the point home that we don’t know when our last day will be. You have to enjoy your life NOW.
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting one of my favorite musicians/people in the world for the first time. Mike Posner has been writing hits for himself, and many others in the music industry, for over a decade now. I spent much of my high school years, with my close friend Kyle Janeczek, watching YouTube videos of Posner and have been following him ever since.
Posner started his Walk Across America in Asbury Park, NJ on Monday April 15th. He is walking from New Jersey to California. Why? As he outlines in his music video for his single “Move On”, because he WANTS TO.
His father passed away, as well as his good friend Avicii, and it hit Posner that life is happening right NOW. He had a list of things that he wanted to do, and decided to stop putting them off and DO THEM.
A friend told Posner: “It’s like you’re giving up a year of your life to do this.” He replied, “It’s like I’m taking one back”.
Posner specifically told me in the few minutes we chatted on Monday: “Death is a funny thing. The grief tends to hit you at the worst times, but it’s also a great reminder to go out and do the things you want to do in life before it’s too late.”
We talk all the time about the importance of financial planning, and the importance of saving for retirement and planning for the long term. What gets lost in the message sometimes is that you still have to be able to enjoy your life now.
Friends ask me all the time if they should start saving for retirement, or start investing their money. Taking the numbers out of the equation, the answer is usually: if that’s what will make you happy and if that’s what you want to do, then yes!
I don’t want to create a financial plan for someone that is going to limit their potential to enjoy their life in the moment. The goal is to find a balance between living your life to the fullest RIGHT NOW, while also making some smart decisions along the way that will set you up to CONTINUE being able to live your life to the fullest down the road.
For people in their 20’s, the most important thing you can do is master your cash flows and figure out what your goals in life are, and which are highest priority.
Douglas Boneparth, of Bone Fide Wealth in NYC, said it perfectly:
“Without the right goals, we become forever stuck in a purgatory of survival mode, earning enough to stay alive but never enough to live.”
If you take one thing away from this post, have it be this: You only have one life. That life needs to be lived NOW, not later. By getting a grip of your finances early in life, you can maximize your potential to spend/save your dollars in the absolute best way possible.
One more thing: If you have friends/family/spouses in your life that matter to you, tell them. Tell them today. You never know when you’ll get the chance to again.