keep to the center, dodge out the way of all drama and unnecessary heartache, keep low key and navigate life with caution.

When I was young, I came so close to dying so many times I became sure I was going to die young. The wise thing to do with my time, then, wasn't to apprentice to the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union for public utility workers, like linemen), work a career for 20 or 30 years while saving money for my retirement, because I'd never retire, never live that long, and all that deferred gratification would be without reward.

No, the smart thing to do was to live now, to party like there was no tomorrow, and that's what I did. For a while I had no actual residence, no place to live, because I just went from party to party providing services. To keep the show going the party throwers and party goers provided fresh clothes, sofas to crash on, showers and meals, etc. That probably came nearer to killing me than driving off cliffs in cars and motorcycles, TBH.

Not until I was ~30 did I realize I wasn't going to die young - and only because I wasn't young anymore.

I am a walking advertisement for retirement savings today, because I don't have any. When I managed to put something together and pay off my compound innawoods I homeschooled my sons on, I managed to lose everything - and that was not the first time everything I owned was taken from me, but perhaps the last. Only since then have I purposed to avoid assets, like real property, retirement accounts, IRA's, 401K's, and etc. Because I have serially failed to retain my assets, I have undertaken to build kind regard instead.

I cannot recommend to you that you follow my footsteps. I must recommend you forge a path, however, that you expect to be able to follow that ends up in a place you want to end up. Whether you contribute to an IRA or 401K retirement plan, or spawn a flock of offspring you spoil enough to still love you when you need your diaper changed, plan to live with sufficient means when you become frail and addled.

I go into surgery in a week, and my beloved son is stepping up to ensure I won't be recovering in hospital, or a hotel, since I won't be able to drive home, or do anything for some time after getting hacked and slashed on. Best damn retirement plan EVAR!

Get rich. Better than wealth, however, is love. Being loved is better than being rich.