About Me
Who I am
Who am I? I’m a guy who has a great family, a good job and longs for personal freedom and independence. I’m opinionated and I’m not afraid to tell you about them. In the last five years I’ve had some significant paradigm shifts that have been and will continue to radically change my future. I love to read. Authors who have influenced my paradigm shift include: Robert Kiyosaki, Tony Robbins, and Mister Money Moustache.
These guys have shown me that the traditional path is for suckers. W-2 earned income is just about the worst that you can have, yet all of the traditional wisdom and upbringing push people toward W-2 type income.
I’m a businessman. Together with my wife Kara, we own three businesses. Our residential real estate company has one single family residence in Cedar Rapids, IA that we rent. We’ve owned that for two years. Another company is a commercial real estate company. It owns a laundromat, car wash and strip apartment/storage unit building in our town. Our third company is an operating company that runs the laundromat and car wash.
I’m also an investor. I have IRA and 401(k) accounts, but I also have a brokerage account where I invest in index funds. It’s small right now, but it has begun and we make regular contributions.
My job is as a trainer and consultant for a higher education software company. It involves a great deal of travel that can be difficult for the family, but we manage. I enjoy meeting new people and seeing different ways that the same endeavor can be done. I get to go to many places, but unfortunately, I don’t get to see much when I’m there. I have to eat, and usually try to save dollars and calories for a good dinner at a local establishment.
I’m a Christian. I attend a small rural church. That means that I’m pretty heavily involved and I like that. I feel bad sometimes when I take on more than what I should and don’t get things done on time, or maybe don’t do the best job that I can, but I like it.
I’m a husband and a father. Like most, we have good days and bad days in our family, but overall we’re good. We love each other and try to do right by one another. Even though I’m a Canadian and know how to say sorry, I don’t always do it when I should. I’m trying to raise my kids to buck the conventional wisdom and go their own way; that they don’t have to follow the same path to sucker-dom that most everyone else will.
I’ve done many things and been to many places in my short time on earth. I look forward to adding to both lists in the future. Articles that may be posted here will include personal independence and wealth, theology/philosophy, value of hard work, travel, what it’s like to be an expat (I’m a Canadian living in the US) and probably a whole lot more. I hope that you won’t be able to peg me into any particular camp, because I don’t consider myself to be firmly in any camp. I’m able to see the good and bad in many camps. I like to take the good, and leave the bad, and not be so concerned with what kind of capital I am.