What Would You Do With 1.6 Billion Dollars

What Would You Do With 1.6 Billion Dollars

Let's start with my wife. For sure she would be buying more shoes and handbags. She probably would want a larger house so my Man Cave would be further away from her when I'm watching a very noisy action Blow-shit-Up movie. Currently, she is planning to trade in her Lexus (she doesn't like their new styling) for a loaded Honda Accord. I would assume she would get something more expensive.

BTW, the money would never change the sweet smart person I love now.

What about me. I have to really think about that. I already have enough clothes and shoes for the rest of my life. I already love my house and my Man Cave. I already love where both Ellen and I live. I love my Honda CRV and would probably get another one. I would like a 75-inch TV in the Den and a 65-inch TV in my Man Cave. We already travel first class and maybe we would do it more often, but my bad back would restrict how much we would travel. Maybe we would travel more if we had a private jet (we both hate airlines).

BTW, I will always be the good guy I am now. As you know (from my blogs and books), I grew up poor so I already have more money than I ever dreamed of having.

I think the biggest expense Ellen and I would spend our money on is the people we love and the foundations we would create to help people in need. We would want to see where our money is going and see the faces of the people we help.

Sooo, What Would You Do With 1.6 Billion Dollars? 

The Good Old Days

The Good Old Days

Ah, remember The Good Old Days - I do. However, if I really think about The Good Old Days and compare it to today, I'm not sure the Good Old Days were as good as I remember them. Our brain wants to remember positive things. The brain tries it's best to suppress the negative things. 

For example, if any of you have broken a bone (I have broken three) you remember it was very painful. However, it's almost impossible to relive that pain. The brain protects us from many bad things that happened in the past by not letting us to relive a bad episode. Therefore, the brain remembers The Good Old Days as a really great time in life.

When I take a step back and truly think about the Good Old Days, I remember there were no supermarkets where I lived. To get meat I went to the butcher store. To get groceries I went to the local grocery store. To get candy I went to the local candy store. To get fish I went to the fish store or the fish market. Today, I can do all of that in one supermarket. In that sense today is better than The Good Old Days.

In The Good Old Days, I had three good restaurants (Italian, Chinese and a Deli) in a ten mile radius. Today, I have almost twenty good restaurants (with all kinds of different foods) within five miles from my home. The Good Old Days just didn't have the selections I have today. Maybe The Good Old Days weren't as good as I remember them.

In the Good Old Days, I had a car that I had to pay extra to get a radio. Back then my car got ten miles to the gallon of gas. Today, my 2016 CRV has sooo many features that driving is safer and more fun. I get thirty miles to a gallon. Soon, I won't have to drive at all because the car will take me where I want to go without me driving it. Maybe The Good Old Days weren't as good as I remember them.

In The good Old Days there was one hospital within fifteen miles of my home. Today, I have three hospitals within fifteen miles. Also, in The Good Old Days the average cure for illness was take two aspirin and call me in the morning. Today, there are so many cures for so many problems that living longer through medicine keeps getting better and better. Yah, I know the cost of health care is out of control, but given the choice I choose today over The Good Old Days.

Life was simpler in The Good Old Days and making good friends was easier, but after thinking more and more about today as compared to The Good Old Days;

I Choose Today

Physical Pain

Physical Pain

Any kind of pain sucks. There are three kinds of pain - mental, physical and pain in the ass pain. This blog is about physical pain. 

Physical pain comes in different flavors. A pin prick hurts, but is gone in an instant. Breaking a bone or tearing a ligament is very painful and can last months. However, some pain lasts forever. I have two bad disks in my lower back plus an arthritic condition in the same area. I've been in pain most of my adult life.

There is only a 50% - 50% chance an operation will relieve my pain, but there is also a 50% - 50% chance I will come out of the operation worse than when I went in, sooo I decided to live with the pain. As a matter of fact, the pain shooting down my leg is part of my life. I've embraced it instead of hating it.

I sometimes have fabulous dreams that all my pain is gone. That dream only lasts until I wake up in the morning. I don't like taking pain pills so I do all I can to keep my weight down and going to the gym to build up my core and the rest of my body to minimize the chances my back will go completely out which leaves me in the worse kind of pain - which is debilitating pain. 

Debilitating pain is pain that stops you from living your life. When that happens to me I have no choice but to get a steroid injection (it's an anti-inflammatory) in my back from my Pain Doctor. If any of you have debilitating pain, I feel your pain.

At one time in our life, we all have pain of some kind. The older we get the more chances we will be in pain. The old saying: "getting old is a bitch" is sooo true. However, how we deal with the pain will determine if we're going to live life to the best we can make it or if we are going to live a life saying: "woe is me."

Life is too short to let pain of any kind (including mental pain) to steal the life we deserve. If it's short term pain, understand it will eventually go away. If it's long term pain, find a way to see the pain as part of your life not the end of your life.

My last blog was called: "LIFE IS GOOD!" The alternative to not dealing with the pain is a lousy life. Sooo, ask yourself: would I rather live life with the pain or let the pain ruin my life. Those of you that are in pain now have a choice. 

I Choose Life Over Pain

LIFE IS GOOD

LIFE IS GOOD

LIFE IS GOOD. Baseball season is almost over - I can now get out of my coma, My LA Rams Football team is in first place, Basketball is about to start and my LA Lakers look like them may make the playoffs, Hockey season is starting and my home team the Las Vegas Golden Knights are still a really good team - LIFE IS GOOD!

LIFE IS GOOD. I went over my finances with my Financial Advisor and if we stay on budget, we can live out the rest of our lives without the worry, I have great car, health and home insurance, I have Long Term Health Insurance just in cast our health puts us in an assisted living or nursing home and I have an umbrella policy to protect us if we should get sued for any reason (except doing anything illegal) - I FEEL SAFE - LIFE IS GOOD!

LIFE IS GOOD. Our health is good (except for our bad backs) and we are able to work out at the gym and do all the things we want to do at our age - LIFE IS GOOD.

LIFE IS GOOD. I have a great wife, we have really good friends and family here in Las Vegas and around the United States, we also have a few good friends that live in Europe which makes it fun when we travel - LIFE IS GOOD!

The best part is I'm really loving writing this blog:

LIFE IS GOOD!