I have always been looking for a creative avenue to share some thoughts, reflections and insights that might possibly make a difference to someone and to give me a sense of accomplishment.

But then life takes over and the day job kicks in and before you know it you raise your head and it turns out you are just that little bit older. In my case a few years on top of that little bit, but I would never and could never change anything in the past so why should I bother to give it much time and energy.

I have found that reflection is cathartic in that it gives time to think and to understand what is grabbing your interest at that time and to decide if you are enjoying that thing and then to make some changes if you are not.

Reflection for me was always more in the moment and it was recently kicked more to life by stumbling onto a book after listening to a podcast during one of them more challenging moments in life.

A note; through time I will share many a book on this site and share thoughts and reflections as I enjoy learning and reading and as my father would say ‘learn your opinion’.

Why did this particular book capture my attention?

I thought, when I read it, that I would have like to have been the person that wrote the book. It’s that simple.

The reason I would like to have been the person who had written this book is because I found it very useful and it made me stop and think about my life in an immediate and in a longer term planning way.

The author is from England and lives in Glasgow and I caught a bit of his thoughts on a podcast, I liked what he was saying and then bought the book.

The interesting thing is that it has opened up a whole new world of thought to me, which all great books should do wither it be fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, text book or whatever. This book has introduced me to the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement and of all the affiliate groups and conversations about how to plan for a future that you would like to have rather than the predicted and pre-designed typical path to old age.

It sparked my interest in part for my own journey but in truth, more so for the journey my kids would face as they are now entering adulthood. The reality is that the world that they will grow old and retire into will be so very different to the world I will retire into and so I wanted to get them thinking now about how they could plan for that life.

As I explored what their future would be like I realised how many other people had not thought much about a plan either. I have now made it a bit of a personal mission to help agitate the thinking of others on this subject matter and also started to reflect on the other thing that this books bring to mind.

What do you do when you have the financial means to choose what you do with your time when work is optional?

I guess what I have always done, innovate, create and try something new but with time on my side.

Welcome to my new work order.