5:07 a.m., My TV Interview, One Person Away from Jack and Elon, Sushi, Wisdom from Mr. Altucher

"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry."
— Jack Kerouac

Good morning, 5:07 a.m., up early to catch an UBER to the airport. I think our Florida journey is over. It's been a great run, but I'm ready to get home. We fly to Austin with a quick layover and then to Indy; we should be home by 6:00; we will get our pup and chill. Cousin left for Mexico at 4:00 a.m.; it's just my wife and me now, the house is quiet.

Another exciting day yesterday, we worked at the house until 11:00 and took a 2-mile walk to our favorite restaurant Casablanca for one final lunch. As we walked across the bridge, I got a LinkedIn message from an executive producer at the Indianapolis Television station stating, "we read your post. That is excellent. Would you be open to a Zoom interview?"

I shared with my wife, WTHR wants to interview me? Did she say why? I said I think they read my blog? So I responded, "Of course, happy to Zoom, in Florida now, heading to lunch, let me know when. And then I asked a key question, which post are you referring to?" She quickly responded, the one about you renting your house for $8000.00. I thought, oh no, that post was a little braggadocious.   

But I thought I had a good story for the citizens of Indianapolis and the world, so I agreed to do a 2:00 p.m. interview. So we got done with lunch; on the way home, I gave a homeless man $20.00, his name was Mike; I also handed another young man my uneaten but very delicious Mahi fish taco to another person in need.

We got home, and I worked a little; at 1:55, I sat up my Ipad at the pool and got ready for my first television interview. The young lady was beautiful; she was intrigued about how it came to pass that we could rent our house in Indianapolis, Indiana, for such a staggering amount. How did you get $4000.00 a night? What is the back story?

I shared that since we live in Colorado, we had decided to begin Air B and B'ing our home. We had been renting our house since June when not home. But when the Big Ten Championship occurred, my Air B and B manager called and said, "I just rented a home in your neighborhood for 7K. Are you interested in renting it out?" So I said, "put it up for 10K and see what happens." I'll stay in a Hampton Inn if I can get  5K a night! 

It did not rent, no worries, but when the NCAA Football Championship was set, he called again; I'm pretty sure I could get 8K. So I said, "do it!" Sunday, he sent me a text and said, "We got $7800.00," and you'll need to vacate by Saturday. So for clarification, when I say 8K, I'm rounding up!  

The interviewer asked if we were surprised with our good fortune; I said, "no, I think we will begin renting our home for all major events. We have another opportunity in March with March Madness, the month of May for the race, GenCon, many other opportunities. Our normal rate is $500.00 a night, but for "major events," we will increase the rate to $2000 to $5000 a night. I shared that anyone living in Indy should consider doing the same thing; why not use your investment in one of the greatest cities in the world?

We talked for about 20 minutes, it will air tonight, and I think on the website. So if you are interested in watching, give a Goog to WTHR Indianapolis, and you can see me chatting about our experience. I went back to work and wrapped up about 4:00, Cousin, my wife, and I sat by the pool at 5:00 our company arrived.

Bill and Steve are friends of Cousin; I heard Bill used to work at Twitter; I asked him if he knew Jack Dorsey, he said, "I worked directly under Jack for one year, I did not enjoy it, and so I quit. I asked him if he had ever met Elon, and he had; he had a phone call with him about a job, shared unlike most wildly successful people, Elon called on time, the call was short, he was a candidate for a job at Space X, it was not a good fit, so the call ended.

Some other friends came over, we hung out by the pool, I ordered some Sushi, and we all dined together; the company left about 8:00, we watched the last episode of Yellowstone again before going to bed. Another epic day in the books, I live a very blessed and charmed life.

I got an email from my Colorado friend Barrett; he shared something that resonated. I'll share it with you to wrap up this soup; I need to jump in the shower to prepare for my 7:30 scheduled UBER to the airport. 

You're the average of the five people around you BUT: 

- you are the average of the five pieces of content you consume

 - the average of your five favorite foods

 - the average of the five things that inspire you

 - the average of the five things you think about the most

Last year, I did an Instagram Live every day about Covid and the news. I had to do a lot of research every day to figure out fact versus fear. 

I never read a single news article for the ten years prior. People said to me then, "But aren't you uninformed?" No, I was never uninformed. I knew exactly everything I needed to know. 

Then when I started doing these Instagram Lives, I intended to help people understand all of this confusing news coming out. Instead, all of the information is designed to make people afraid. 

I ended up feeling depressed and irritable from it all. "Why would they write this!?" "You have to be kidding me!" 

It added up. I added it up with my mental calculator. I felt like the world was lousy and became depressed because I was the average of my content. 

Please don't do it. 

The way you do anything is the way you do everything. 

It's almost a cliche to say "Make your bed" as advice to be a good person. 

"Making your bed" is practice. Practice being clean. Practice in the discipline. Practice spending time for yourself instead of being immediately grasped into the strong tide of the rushing day. 

I read a story recently (and I'm sorry, I forgot where I read it) about the British rowing team for the Olympics. They had not won any medals since 1912. 

For an entire year, for every choice, they made, "Will this help the boat go faster?" "Will this donut help the boat go faster?" "Will this party make the boat go faster?" And then, of course, they won the silver medal. 

[Ahh, I remember where I read it. Benjamin Hardy's book, "The Gap and the Gain." Please read it.]

So I do it now. Not just for small goals ("Will playing one-minute chess make me a better chess player?" Answer: NO!) But for everything. "Will calling my children make me a better person, a less stressed person?" ANSWER: YES. 

Please do it. 

Peace

My son told me a story. One Christmas during World War I, the British and the Germans were in their trenches, and each side started singing Christmas carols for each other. 

Later that day, they called a truce so they could play soccer. A British barber cut hair for both sides. They exchanged coffee and cigarettes with each other. "I wouldn't trade that day for anything," one soldier wrote home. 

There was peace, and deep down, these young 18-year-olds touched the truth about war, even if they had to return to the lie later. 

Right now, many households have parent against child, brother against brother. As a result, people don't speak to each other because of the most stupid, base issues. 

Suppose two countries at war can stop to shake hands. So can two people who are in a family. So can two people who don't agree on something long forgotten. So can two people who have experienced many loving moments only be outweighed by something trivial. 

You are all brothers and sisters. 

Please do it. 

-         James Altucher

Well, I'm a little past my 1000 word threshold, but I thought Mr. Altucher had a good message, and it needed to be shared. So, I will return to snowy and cold Indiana today, and I must say I'm excited; Florida is great, but I love my home, family, and community. As long as I'm with my wife, I'm happy, and I encourage you to find a mate that you enjoy. Life is better when living and loving someone other than yourself.

"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry."
— Jack Kerouac