Comments on: A little off the top, please …

By: Adrian

Adrian — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:21:01 +0000

@ Diane – Yep, sounds like you and Scott are on the same page; and, you and I are of (approx.) the same age ) My point to Scott on his last post making the same point: aim for your Number, Date … by the time, you ‘unwind’ your active affairs and turn them into passive, you will probably ‘overshoot’ anyway …. else, I agree with Scott: we want to delay gratification and build a ‘buffer’ into our Number so that we can weather 50% market downturns.

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:20:06 +0000

P.S. I was 24 twenty-four years ago today. Makes you think.

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:19:08 +0000

I wasn’t disagreeing with you, Scott. I was pointing out to the younger readers (20-something year olds, if they’re reading this)that when we’re young, we all think we have plenty of time.

Actually it’s all relative. When I was younger, an hour could last a month nowadays and here I can blink and 3 months has gone by. As the song goes, “Time is Fleeting”…3 points for guessing the next line?

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:49:57 +0000

Diane, I think you misunderstood me. What I meant from my comment above was to keep cranking out your growth engine longer(if your date is in 5 years, don’t stop at 5. Delay gratification a couple more years and then end with 3 or 4 times your original number.) Not take any breaks, or coast. The opposite, actually. Keep the pedal to the metal a little longer.

Not that i’m suggesting anyone do this. Heck, you only have one life and i’m sure you want to start living it according to your life’s purpose ASAP!

But the old principle of delayed gratification is mighty powerful and awfully tempting! To me at least. Every wonderful thing or attribute I have in my life was product of delayed gratification.

Does that make sense?

By: Adrian

Adrian — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:02:38 +0000

@ Diane – Compounding curves require just as much return on Day 1 as on the second last day, so you are right … time IS of the essence.

By: Diane

Diane — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:44:14 +0000

I think delaying also lends itself to delaying action, thinking there is plenty of time. I myself would be more willing to wait at the end of my time period if I feel I am on the right track, knowing I worked hard to get there, than to find myself two years later at the same position because I had dallied the first two years…which, given the compounding exercise above, really would not have me in the same position (waiting two years to start). Does that make sense? The younger we are, the more time we think we have. It is only as you get older than you realize time is relative.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:11:01 +0000

You know, i’ve struggled back and forth with both increasing and decreasing the time i’ve planned to reach my number. How great would it be to get there sooner! But how great would it be to wait just a little bit longer and double, triple or quadruple the number??

I know if I can delay gratification just a bit longer, the number goes up so darn much so fast! It’s awfully tempting sometimes, lol.