Is that necessary?

Occasionally I need to zoom out enough to ask, “Is that really necessary?” Learning the difference between want and need is exactly the opposite of what Madison Avenue intends for you. The whole purpose of marketing is persuading you of the necessity of stuff. That’s reason enough to zoom out every now and then.

The most expensive part of my hobby is time. There are plenty of adults telling you to get your schoolwork in when you’re young. The logic is ironclad. Your time will never be worth as little again. Once you get a first job, you have job experience. Suddenly, you have a kind of capital you’ve never had before. The longer you work, the more you’ll be worth per hour. Suddenly, spending those hours in school is expensive. Spending those hours learning a hobby, ditto. Start early.

If you fall in love with flight, you may end up paying for pilot training and maybe an aircraft. That’s certainly a risk. There are worse ways to spend your time and money. I’ve never met a pilot that regretted having that skill.

It seems to me, there are two secrets to living a great life. First, appreciate the little everyday things; the perfect paper airplane flight, the sound of a creek, a hummingbird hovering, a good meal and good friends. Second, find something you like doing, and do all if it you possibly can. I said doing; not having. It’s the doing that makes a life complete. It’s the difference between having a story and just being a punch line; living richly or trying to be rich.