Clarity

Just to be completely clear with myself, i need to make one major point here.

Long, long ago, maybe thirty years ago, i decided that for me, the definition of "rich," as in am i rich or poor, was:

- Do i have a roof over my head each night that doesn't leak?
- Are there still people 'out there' that call me a friend?
- Do i have enough money left over at the end of each month to buy a few beers if i want them?

And that is it. If all three of those get a check mark, then i am rich. Period. It's not that if all three are true, i can convince myself that i am rich, but if they are, i know to the core of my heart, i don't need anything else — hence, i'm rich.

I don't know where i came up with that definition, i no longer have a 30 year memory, but if i had to guess, i would guess that i came up with it sometime after my first reading of the best book ever to be published in the English language, bar none: Arthur Gordon's A Touch of Wonder. (My only commercial plug on this site. Buy it, read it, and memorize it. Learn all about the Deadly Art of Non-Living, among other gems. But be warned, even though the first 4 or 5 readthroughs may not hook you, after that, you will be hooked.)

So, am i unemployed? Yes, of my own choosing. Do i think it is going to be very, very difficult to get another job equivalent to what i had? Maybe impossible. Am i going to be closer to poor than not for a while? Yes.

But, i am debt free. I am healthy, and have health insurance just in case. I live in a house that i own with a roof that doesn't leak. My income covers my expenses each month with extra left over. I can certainly buy a couple of beers each month. I know without doubt that there are people out there that would call me a friend. And the list could go on.

There is no doubt, no denying it, no uncertainty, not one iota of ambiguity... i am a rich man. Very rich, when i think about it.

I'll finish up with my fifth conversation soon, and will then have answered Jim Rohn's challenge to understand my own 'personal philosophy.' To follow that, i've been working through The Passion Test again over the past few days. I went through the process about a year ago, but decided that this is the time to revisit it. More on this later.