There are two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other direction. The older fish nods and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?”
The young fish say hello and continue swimming. Soon after, one young fish looks at the other and asks, “What the heck is water?”
This is water. The journey is water. Life is water.
(Quick story before we get to the Secret of Life)
The Fab five was in Mexico last week. Me, Bride, Kid one, two, and three. We had a glorious time. Pictures can be located on the real estate good life website.
The weather was incredible. Sunny each and every day with highs around 82 degrees.
We met an interesting cast of characters at the resort.
It started from the very moments after our arrival. Madison (Kid1) and I were on the patio area of our suite. We were both reading as Stacey (Boss Lady Bride) unpacked and organized.
I know what you’re thinking, why weren’t you helping your bride unpack?
Well let me tell ya, I’ve tried many many times. Several times, dozens of times over the years. Stace prefers to do the unpacking. She allows me to schlep the bags but not unpack the bags. She’s an expert at it.
Anyway, so me and Kid1 are on the patio reading.
I’m reading The Good Neighbor – the life and times of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King. And Madison is reading Quiet: the power of Introverts in a world that can’t stop talking by Susan Cain.
All is quiet and peaceful and then we hear a big splash. Someone had jumped into a pool nearby. Now picture our suite at this resort. Walking down the hallway inside of the building, our suite is at the far end of one side. Approaching the room we have two doors and two room numbers, 3104 and 3105.
Inside room 3105 is a large living room with a dining table, couch, and entertainment area. To the left is the master bedroom with a king sized bed, huge closet, desk area, full bathroom, and sliders to the back patio. The living room also has sliders to the patio. To the right is the girls room with two queen sized beds, desk area, entertainment center, a full bathroom, and sliders to the patio.
So this patio is one long narrow area accessed by all three rooms of the suite. On the patio are two tables, chairs, and chaise loungers for sunbathing. The patio from our suite overlooked beautiful greenery and hedges to the right, very natural setting with lush mangroves and tall trees about thirty feet away from the building and directly in front of us. Over the hedges you can see one of the stone walking paths that meander throughout this resort.
Directly in front of us, separating the patio and the lush golf course like grass is a private pool. The pool is about eight feet wide and thirty feet long. It’s longer than the width of the patio area. Hopefully you are able to picture what I’m describing because I’m beginning to confuse myself.
So we hear this loud splash, followed by an outburst of laughter. Like a pack of hyenas. The laughter is getting closer. And then there’s another splash. Like fat cold skin slamming down on watery concrete. Sounded like a belly flop. The laughter is now at a fever pitch.
Next thing you know there’s a Russian dude wading through the right end of our private pool followed by a band of Ruskies on the walkway on the other side of the hedges. The polar bear looking Russian sees us and tries to wade as fast as he can while making a break for the pool wall.
He heaves his rotund torso up out of the water while driving his hands and arms in a downward motion on the pool wall trying to eject himself from the pool. As his porpoise shaped milky white body exits the water, his swim trunks exit his bum!
Mads and I are each holding our books in one hand and holding our gaze glued to the Commies pinko buttocks.
It’s one of those moments when you’re having a hard time believing that this is really happening.
Everything slows down. The sounds are almost muted.
On his first attempt Drago was unsuccessful. Hard to eject your drunken waterlogged vodka soaked pig shaped body from a body of water, especially when your trunks are playing peekaboo with your sputnik.
On the second attempt he springs himself from the pool, rolls out like a baby seal, his exposed buttocks attracts a crack full of mulch and dirt as he rolls to his feet like a ballerina, tugs his loose swim trunks over his crescent moon, and makes a beeline through the scratchy hedges. All while laughing like, well, a drunken Russian.
After he made it back to the safety of his friends and rounded the corner, Mads and I gave him a standing ovation. He stopped turned towards us, raised both meathooks in the air and yelled something about Long Live Mother Russia.
And that was the start of our fun filled vacation.
During our stay the Fab5 met many amazing people.
We met a cool dude from Columbia. Him and I had an interesting conversation about my favorite drug lord, Pablo Escobar. The man who terrorized the entire country of Columbia back on the 1980’s.
We met a backpacker named Brody who Mads loved talking with. He has backpacked all over the world. Including Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Bali Indonesia. Mads has these delusions of grandeur that she is going to backpack the world after she graduates from college.
We met a cool cat from Canada named Austin who played catch with the football in the pool with me and Kid3. He had just finished his construction job for the season and will now be laid off for four months.
We met G from Korea, whose husband passed away nine years ago and now she travels the world. Spending weeks at a time at places like the resort we were at.
Good times, the good life, living a modestly glamorous lifestyle. Not a bad way to spend a week with the family.
Enough about me, let’s talk about you. Let’s talk about your epic journey to the good life. Your pursuit of personal greatness. Your freedom, your autonomy.
As you know, autonomy is defined as: freedom from external control or influence. Remember this definition, we’ll touch on a statement later, that when I read it, gave me chills from head to toe.
We must also discuss the most important aspects of the Why behind our building a lovable business. There’s got to be a rhyme and a reason behind our business.
There has to be a pursuit, a worthwhile pursuit. It cannot be just about the money. It cannot be about mansions and Rolex watches.
There has to be a worthwhile why. A lovable why.
And that why is freedom.
Freedom is everything. (this is not the secret to life… keep reading)
Freedom is everything and it’s the very first principle in the list of the Good Life Principles I’m about to share with you.
We must live a principled life. We must have a philosophy to follow. To fall back on, to refer to as we are making our journey. Our hero’s journey.
If you’re a reader of my emails, and you should be, you’ve heard me start to discuss the Hero’s Journey.
(get on the email list at www.realestategoodlife.com)
As we pursue personal greatness, the good life, and freedom – which all encompass the hero’s journey – we must have guiding principles.
So now I’d like to share those principles with you. Principles that support our why. Principles that have our back. Principles that guide us to the Good Life.