A good exercise to put yourself on the path heading in the right direction is a little game we'll call, "What would I be doing if I won a million dollars?"
I like the phrasing of this question better than, "What would I DO with a million dollars?" which indicates using the money as a corrupt tool, perhaps to buy things or people, or people's land, or their water supply. Whereas "What would I be DOING with a million dollars," at least to me, indicates a more proactive relationship with the winnings, and managing THEM rather than them managing YOU.
If I were to win a million dollars, what would I be doing?
Well, I'd probably be doing the same thing. Saving frogs. But really, I've been thinking about my future, and I want some things that it seems money is a small hiccup in getting there. Like kids. If I adopt, I would have to wait a while until I'm stable. And right now I have no job, no house, and no, well -- money. I'd really love to invest in property. Something in the states, maybe a rental in a college town, and a horse property, with land for a garden and flowers and trees. Then I would have another house in a foreign country. Something charming, with character.
My school loans would be paid off, but I don't want my brain to get flabby, so I exercise it with education. I would go to vet school, and get my PhD in a dual program. I would do research on oxytocin. The happiness chemical. I would research the brain's untapped potential. Also, I would get trained in a specialized field like Equine Massage or Chiropractor, and open my own facility. It would probably be non-profit and have a program for kids & adults with disabilities.
Before all that, I'd meet with a financial advisor about investing, and get bustling on making my money make money. I would live with a small carbon footprint, and advocate for a change in dependence on fossil fuels, not just petroluem which is running out, but on natural gas too, and at the least, build my house green. Who knows what that fracking is doing to Mother Earth? Our sacred Pachamama.
And give back. Even though I've spent my life "giving" I'll just keep "giving," or better said, "paying it forward." Because even though humans are violent and destructive creatures, and I had lost hope in humanity at one point, I still believe there are good people out there. I see it in small acts of kindness. I see it when I expect the worst from people, and have my guard up, and something is out there, insisting I don't give up on humanity.
I would make sure my family is secure. And that everyone comes 'round to visit my children, adopted or biological, or combo. And I'd get a hiking dog. And I'd train wild mustangs. And I would live off the land, the way we were meant to do it, sustainably, in sync with nature.
I would have to be very careful that millions of dollars wouldn't corrupt me.
I would somehow repay the people who have taken care of me in my life. Those who have given me food, shelter, love, advice, and so much more. Some of them family, others strangers, and others who were strangers who became my family.
This amazing video that a friend sent me:
And the day before that, an RPCV I met a the Magnolia Inn (where I met my 50-year-old Self) emailed me. We had been talking about my next career moves and she sent two pieces of information: 1) a course description from her Alma Mater, called "The Pursuit of Happiness" and 2) the bio of a classmate of hers who recently passed. Several points of interest:
"Doug dealt with life on his own terms and created his own dream job as owner
and sole (or soul) guide for International Collegiate Expeditions (1978-2001);
guiding hundreds of U.S. college students on adventure (or in his words kick-
ass trips to Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Egypt and
Alaska. He identified himself and his adventure buddies as 'fun-hogs' and once
wrote that he was, a self-admitted cardiovascular lunatic, all-terrain mountain
boarder, bicyclist, snowboarder, mountaineer, and traveler (49 states and 23
developing nations). ... He will also be remembered for countless small and
sometimes big, crazy, and selfless acts of kindness shown to people throughout
his life.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the charity of your choice. He
loved animals and the indigenous peoples he worked with, he treasured the
wilderness and giving young people the opportunity to experience the rest of the
world (as the Peace Corps had done for him), if that helps."
It would have been an honor to have met this man, and I can see my path going in a similar direction. The donation suggestion in lieu of flowers sounds like something I would request. I recently told my sister that after living in Peru and being able to buy bouquets of fresh flowers for less than a dollar, I would never buy overpriced florist bouquets ever again.
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