Why on Earth Am I Starting a BLOG?
I’m not lost. I just don’t know where I am at the moment.
This first blog post is basically a long-winded explanation of:
Who I am.
How I’m just like you.
Why people keep telling me to write a book.
What I hope to accomplish with this blog.
I know … This isn’t quite a book …. But it is free. So you’re welcome!
Who am I?
Hi there. I’m Adam, and I’m your friendly neighborhood Sasquatch. I’ve wandered a bit off the beaten path in life. As of this writing, I’m 34 and retired. I retired about two years ago and never looked back!
Yes, you did the math right. I retired at 32. You might be thinking …
Oh, this guy must’ve worked at Google or something making the big bucks. We don’t need another techie telling us how easy this F.I.R.E. (Financially Independent Retire Early) thing is.
If that were my story, I’d 100% agree with you. There wouldn’t be any reason for me to write this blog. In reality, I was a project manager in the manufacturing sector. While I made a decent living, I want to share my story to show you how you can FIRE too, even if it feels like the odds are stacked against you.
(Also, I was forced into this by a list of friends the length of my arm.)
How am I just like you?
I am legally blind.
Mica
My guide dog, Mica. He’s ready to roll!
I don’t just mean I’m clumsy. I drop stuff a lot, but I am actually legally blind. I even got a “free guide dog.” Sometimes he gets so excited that he runs into the sliding glass door, but he’s still a pretty great dog.
I wasn’t always blind. When I was young, I had better than 20/20 vision, I was the kid that could spot a dime on the football field from the stands. However, as I got older, it started to slip away. Starting with trouble seeing things at night, the progressing to more severe tunnel vision. by the age of 26 I turned in my car keys.. (That was the moment that sparked FIRE in me and realized time was running out I had to do something!) My diagnosis is Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). It means my retinas are slowly dying. It starts with loss of night vision. Peripheral vision is next. Then colors. Eventually, I’ll lose my ability to read. If I live long enough, I’ll likely become totally blind.
Even though I’m considered legally blind, I can still see some things. I’m currently in the stage of losing my color vision. I can only read out of one eye. Imagine seeing the world through a drinking straw. don’t get me wrong I’m grateful that I still have any visual function. But it’s very limited, the best way to explain it is I have just enough vision to get myself into trouble.
Fun Fact: 9 out of 10 legally blind people have some usable vision. Naturally, this leads to some challenges in life. We’ll poke fun at these throughout this blog.
I’m an open book. If you have any blind life questions, feel free to throw them in the comments below!
I’m also hard of hearing.
What did you say?
That’s right. I’m missing not one but both of my primary senses. I once had a doctor tell me “Looks like you got hit by the unlucky stick.” Gee thanks, doc! Lucky for me, he was wrong on that count.
The genetic condition I have is called Usher Syndrome, which is a subset of RP. I wear hearing aids. They help a ton, but it’s still a challenge. This was especially true when I was younger. Technology wasn’t as good as it is today. I would miss a lot of important stuff. Also, I was the odd man out. Wearing a radio receiver on your belt as a little kid isn’t as stylish as the doctors try to tell you! I learned all the tricks: sitting in front of the class, lip-reading (I still had good vision then.), and mimicking-such as laughing with other kids to try and fit in, even if you aren’t keeping up with the conversation.
How does this make me like you? Because I’m sure you’ve found yourself feeling like the odds were stacked against you at times too.
I have a lot to be thankful for too! I want to make one thing very clear. Everybody has challenges. These happen to be mine. There are as many hardships in life as there are people in the world. I have to take a moment to acknowledge the many ways I have been blessed.
I have an amazingly supportive family and understanding friends.
I’m a quick study and have a work ethic that won’t quit!
I perform well under stress
And my superpower is getting shit done!
Too many people get stuck on the things that aren’t working in their life. Sometimes the solutions to their problems are hiding in the many things that are going well for them. They just haven’t learned how to look for them. I have, and I’d love to share that ability with you.
Why do people tell me to write a book? What do I hope to accomplish with this blog?
A lot of people are a bit blown away when I first meet them. They can’t imagine living my life, yet alone doing it blind and hard of hearing. Their first reaction is, “You should write a book!” In truth, I probably have three good books in me …. maybe someday.
I’m no wordsmith, but the journey I’ve taken through life gives me a unique perspective to share. I’ve picked up more than a few tricks that can help you reach your goals too.
My 3 main goals with this blog are:
1) Share all things F.I.R.E. I’ve done it. You can too!
2) Teach you how to make your own luck. To the untrained eye, I seem to have a never-ending string of good luck. In reality, I am lucky, but it’s not because of dumb chance. It’s because I’ve learned the formula for making my own luck. Now I can’t magically come up with winning lotto numbers, but I can show you how to become a millionaire.
This is really the core purpose of my blog. I’ve shown that it works by overcoming some challenges that many people can’t imagine dealing with. I know there are things holding you back from your personal goals. Let me show you how to work through them and make your dreams a reality!
3) Have fun along the way too! Being blind lends itself to some good stories. Ever talked to a mannequin in a store? Broken a $4,000 vase in a museum? I have! :)
Now the ask… Isn’t that the way these things always go?
My goal is to publish an article about once a week. Subscribe so you never miss a post. I promise not to bomb your inbox with spam and sketchy sales pitches. (You’ll notice I don’t even run ads on this blog.)
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