I have no clue what that title means, but my aging Czech grandmother once used the phrase to describe my mother’s crazy Jack-Russell terrier, who also happens to be my arch nemeses.

Anyway, two months ago I up and left the Midwest and moved to California to spend time with my grandfather who has Alzheimer’s. I’m 28, and this may be my last opportunity to spend a significant chunk of time with him. Which sucks. (What doesn’t suck is that my income doubled while I was away and that I have the freedom to move wherever and whenever I want; especially during times like these).

But tomorrow I fly to Orlando to hang out with Ed Dale and his gang, hanging with sketchy Internet marketers :-), and get in a couple alligator fights.  I’m also thinking about visiting this funky ice bar while I’m there. And on the 29^th I move back to the very cold Madison, Wisconsin (which, believe it or not, will likely be cooler and more alcoholic than the ice bar :-).

At any rate, I wanted to leave you this message before I start zigzagging my way across this crazy country for the next 5 days.

Stay turned next week for alligator stories and a big upcoming announcement.

Your pal,
Clay

This is a video blog post. Click here if you can’t see the video.

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By the way… I’m back to being a people lover :-).

[A Note from Clay: This article -- by Kent Thune -- is one of the most remarkable articles I've read on the topic of work/life balance and lifestyle design for a long, long time.  It's well written, it speaks to the heart, and it's filled with uncommon wisdom.  And I'm not just writing this because Kent graciously allowed me to post his article (although I'm ridiculously thrilled about that).  At any rate, I highly recommend reading this post in its entirety and then visiting Kent's blog].

Clay’s idea of “Financing Your Freedom” is especially interesting to me – not only because I believe in it but because I have lived it; I am living it; and I point clients and blog readers in the same direction.

Since there is not one best path to follow, please allow me to humbly share my own, not that it should be yours, but with the hope that something here will shed light on your own path…

“I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person.” ~ Socrates, as quoted by Plato, ‘The Death of Socrates’

To paraphrase a modern book author, Mitch Anthony, “life is not about making money – money is about making a life.” I learned this lesson recently, not from an ancient philosopher; not from a modern author; and certainly not from a blog…

I learned the lesson from a 4-year old boy…

When my first-born son was four years old, I was extremely busy “climbing the corporate ladder.” As any curious child might inquire, my young son asked me why I was away from home so much, and specifically, why I was missing important things like “trick-or-treating” on Halloween and Christmas plays. Just as any normal, dutiful father would do, I replied that I was “working hard for our family to earn money for all the things we have…”

Without a moment’s hesitation, my four-year old son said, “I’d rather have my Daddy than money.”

I was speechless as my heart hit the floor…

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