Hi Evan,

Thanks for the Reply. Sorry for delay, but still catching up from 3 months absence.

*** below

Scott

On 3 14, 16, at 9:20 PM, Matt  Lane < ———-> wrote:

Hi Scott! Good to hear from you! Oddly enough I have been thinking about you lately and writing to you has been on my to-do list!

I have been very well! d After we parted ways I went to the Western portion of the Thai peninsula, to Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and Ao Nang/Railay. I really enjoyed Ao Nag and Railay Beach. The scuba diving in Koh Phi Phi was incredible, 

but other than that it was a soulless tourist trap with nothing but drunk British 20 somethings so it really wasn't my favorite place. Phuket was like Vegas with nothing but tourists and massive hoardes of prostitutes so it wasn't my favorite place either.  

*** The more I travel the more I draw distinctions between places & experiences. People often ask, “What was your favorite place?” I try to decline to answer the question explaining that I go for the total experience whatever it is. Invariably it is a mix; the tipping point up or down. I also try to take everything in its context. I remember a small desert landform in Chile, that a small tour guide ooh-ed & ahh’ed over. I realized it was an absolute throwaway in the context of the American West’s Four Corners National Parks. But I was in Chile and in THAT context is WAS special. I try to see things that way. I don’t always succeed. So, for you the scuba diving was great and you NOW know about Phuket etc. You’re ahead. 

It is politically (socially) incorrect to be judgmental about people and things. I defy the intelligent aware human brain to avoid being judgmental. That's what our brain’s do constantly every second (probably in dreams also in a even more bizarre fashion.) Judging everything is how we evaluate our existence and ourselves in the context of the world we live in. It helps us define what we are and want to be. Drunk "British 20 somethings” define a negative direction, so we readjust our compass away from that direction, if necessary, and move on. Thanks for the TIP Brits!

Myanmar was definitely my favorite part of the trip. Good company too!

*** Yes, I enjoyed meeting you.  Myanmar was special in the above context for me, also. A definite mix. I saw & did amazing, exciting things (for an old man) as well as experiencing some appallingly negative things. In Yangon I wandered thru the glittering historically revered Shegodon Pagoda complex; afterward,  alongside the very edgy, grimy, all-but-abandoned railroad tracks and what I call the post-apocalypse streets of downtown Yangon.

In Bagan I drove my electric scooter through a landscape filled with 600 yr old temples, stupas and pagodas along dirt roads and paths devoid of tourist and past locals harvesting crops. And then back at my hostel room I cleaned the pigeon crap that littered those temple floors off my feet at the end of those days.

After a lazy boat ride up the Irrawaddy River to Kipling’s Mandalay, I visited spectacular beautiful religious sites, in varying stages of restoration and deterioration (Yes, I realize the contradiction). I also wandered the dirt, sewage lined backstreets to experience, or at least to see how people really lived in that hectic, loud city. It is irony that I must use my acting skills to mask my internal reaction to some places I visit so that the locals see only my open curiosity & friendliness and are hopefully pleased that I am curious enough to visit them in their context. But, that may all be my fantasy.

In the rapidly exploding tourist mecca of Inle Lake I hired a now-traditional ear splitting, non-mufflerred, diesel truck engine driven boat constantly needling my guide to avoid the other tourist boats & authentic lake villages on stilts that funnel a stream of tourists thru a series of village shops dominating quasi-authentic craft museums UNTIL finally to his relief and mine, he took me to his quiet village home on stilts to share tea and a bite with his family. 

Laos was similar to Myanmar, but at a slightly higher standard of life. Luang Prabang’s tourist area is just that, but worth visiting quickly until you can migrate away from into the ‘other’ neighborhoods. I visited the Plain of Jars 2500 year old archeology contrasted by the thousands of acres un-useable because of the 80 million remaining leg shearing bomblets dropped by US planes lurking just below the surface awaiting the next unwary footfall.

I made 2 -   3 day solo Honda Wave motorcycle trips into the interior of Laos which was  exciting (last time I rode motor cycles was 40 years before). I relish the flexibility to stop  anywhere or explore off road; all thru some spectacular karst mountain scenery. Some solo bike rides on jungled back roads thru quiet villages, past dormant rice paddies and ambling water buffalos and skittering chickens. Trip highlights, indeed!

While C & N Vietnam, to be frank, was cold, rainy & overcast for most of my 1+ month and my experience reflected that. Hanoi was loud, congested and “touristy cynical” — to coin a phrase worthy of more explanation at another time. The satelitte tourist spots - Halong Bay & Sapa - perhaps beautiful in better weather, were unfortunately “touristy cynical” also. But, in sum, all was a part of the “mix” of true travel IMO; a ‘beautiful, dramatic’ search is false travel and wallowing in the unpleasant is cynical. Always the ‘mix.”

Such a mix of experiences that you are/will have traveling in the future will have the added benefit of recycling thru your daily conscious for the rest of your long life. I envy that. 

I got back from Thailand just before Christmas. Since then I've been focusing on career/work stuff, catching up on my reading list, taking classes, and enjoying time with friends. I just started oil painting again so that has been a very good thing to bring back into my life as well. Life is good!

*** Yes, it can be for those like yourself who see ‘life’ as profound potential — a giant container,  as yet mainly, unfilled -- that you have the self-privilege and authority to fill to your own satisfaction. I have always held as a standard of personal aspiration what I call the Renaissance Man (Woman) epitomized by Leonardo da Vinci and a vast lineage of other thinkers in history. Of course, pragmatically, we also have to eat, so our pursuits cannot aways be lofty aspirations, but we can still  ‘find’ the loftiness in what we must do. 

For me the concept sums up the personal desire or obsession to consume as much worthy knowledge and experience as possible; aspiring to be a well rounded person, interested in everything even if my pursuits are transient and sometime superficial. That is, in part, why I became a lawyer at 38, quit a year later, and moved on. Quoting Steve’s early Apple bumper sticker, “The Journey is the reward.” It is why I would gladly live another 200 years because I can’t imagine running out of exciting things to encounter. 

Fundamentally, I think it boils down to ‘self worth.’      When, for whatever the reason, you place a high value on your own existence i.e. the opportunity that ‘your life’ offers you —, then, the fullest maintenance and use of your body and mind becomes your over-arching goal. Such people protect, maintain and nurture their body because it is the physical vehicle that sustains and literally transports our greatest prize  —  our brain.

Some people, IMO, delude themselves into believing that bubble-gum-for-the-mind activities like endless hours of political news or soccer or Phuket drinking is ‘relaxation’ they are entitled to. While I simply shift activity or subject matter to ‘relax.” For Example, when I work too long at reading anything -fiction or non-fiction — and I feel it becoming a ‘downer’, I go for a hike or a bike ride. And while hiking or biking I begin thinking about the next thing I find exciting to do on my return.  Am I right or wrong? I don’t know. Just this man’s viewpoint! You will define your own. 

I do wax on…………...

( Incidentally, I am getting burned out on writing right now, so I will pause for a few hours or days and come back later to the next very important part off your email. )

You might like to know that our conversation about personal finance had a profound impact on me. I bought several books on the list you gave me and just finished Rich Dad/Poor Dad not too long ago. Since then I've started a savings account that is steadily growing, a Roth IRA, paid off a lot of debt and I'm educating myself about markets and investing!

*** I am flattered that you reacted to that part of our conversation. But more importantly, I am pleased that that direction of thought may profoundly change your life for the better. For that, my self-worth can ratchet up a notch! Thanks.

Most people are financially ignorant thanks to an educational system designed to create docile, lockstep employees with almost no concern for the actual quality of their over-all future lives. Few people can retire or do so with optimism simply by working hard and relying on retirement benefits - corporate & government. More so in the future as both demand more employee co-pay.

Most people squander all they earn, usually incurring debt to live a more elegant or exciting life while younger; fancier cars, clothes, restaurants & rental apartments. I remember in my 20’s how I envied the guys who got the hot chicks for their weekend trips to the Colorado River water skiing or Mammoth Lakes winter snow skiing while I labored at my little home repair side business and maintained my rental apartments. I recall the really ‘smart’ woman who shifted boyfriends according to the seasons.

Fortunately, I was to paranoid about my financial future and too excited about the financial opportunities I saw to waver, even though there were some very scary times being cash poor & land rich. Every few years I would informally calculate my growing net worth and feel slightly reassured in my paranoia. I never stopped reading the investment & tangential books or talking to knowledgable people - builders, real estate agents, bankers etc. All at a low level, but informative for me.

NEXT MAJOR TIP ---- Jim Cramer’s Mad Money

Over the 1^st 30 years of my adult life I loss slightly less than a million dollars in the stock market because I had no good source of information I could trust so I trusted brokers or worse, myself. Brokers, in the main, are mere sales persons for their stock brokerage research teams who ‘guess’ like benevolent oracles about the future of individual stocks often underwritten by their stock brokerage company. Those stocks are then promoted by the sales brokers just like a used car salesman promotes used cars with just about the same level of expertise and ethics.

Fortunately, they have been substantially replaced by low fee online brokerage firms that DO NOT offer financial advice. All they do is allow investors to buy/sell stocks quickly, efficiently and inexpensively online. I use Scottrade.

This change is good & bad. Good for the above reasons. Bad because ‘Now where do you gain the knowledge with which to invest in stocks particularly when the imbedded mythology (created by guess who) says that you cannot possibly succeed as an individual stock buyer WITHOUT the advice of a broker?

After I lost more than ½ million in 2001 and admitted to myself that the loss was entirely due to MY ignorance & arrogance (no worse traits in any investor), I still believed that there had to be a way to be successful to some degree in stocks. I started listening to Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV show, read a couple of his books and really tried to learn from him. …………. And I did.

I learned, but not in a ‘back to Jesus moment” way, but slowly over weeks and months. At first his Robin Williams-like high speed electric, brilliant brain’s, nasal tone and fast talk just seemed to bewilder me. But slowly over time listening every day to his show I began to understand some of the concepts and words. I read his books to wallow deeper. I researched those terms and words on the Internet. Gradually, over months I bagan to understand what he was saying and where he was going in his nightly commentary.

I also grappled with the industry & media’s snide attacks including a supposed misstep he made early on. A close friend couldn’t stand his nasal voice and it irritated me so I stopped listening for a while, but migrated back when I realized I was drifting again. People ridiculed his clown-like antics and sound effects. But I quickly reflected on my own teaching 180° turn metamorphosis from classic ‘memorization-based’ teaching to fun, engaging student learning when I taught high school classes. I realized that humor was a superb way to counteract the otherwise boring and heavy subject matter in a ‘light’ environment so that the pill was easier to swallow. Exactly what Cramer was doing.

I took serious note of his willingness to admit he had been wrong on a few stocks ‘he got wrong.’, called out the incompetent CEOs who were hurting their stockholders; placing these CEO’s on his Wall of Shame until they stepped down which they invariably did. He called out the analysts who were wrong and then failed to admit they were wrong in order to perpetuate their phony cred.  He light heartedly mocked himself - his baldness, his age, etc in an endearing manner. He showed profound respect, empathy and confidence - in the range of novice to sophisticated investors who called in to the show, the CEO’s he invited on the show and his family. I have encounter few human beings in the public forum that embodied these traits. And this is a show about stocks, not juicy political humor or gossip.

SO, …………..  Every weekday watch Mad Money or listen to the podcast (free download; 1 day delay) RELIGIOUSLY, as religiously as you show up to work & on time because ……..your financial future IS your 2^nd job. The job you need to become successful at so you can retire early and do what you want. (Read Robert Kyosaki’s book The Cash Flow Quadrant)

Particularly, focus on the days he is out of town. How do you know that? When actually doing the TV show live he 1^st comments about the market THAT day. When not  live (usually out of town; summer at NJ beach house or traveling elsewhere) he starts off with some discussion about investing knowledge. It may be an entire show directed at the new or young investor (YOU) including how to start, IRAs, ROTH’s, etc. . These are critical to you. Download those podcasts and save them in your phone --they are the most concise synthesis of his thinking on those topics.  Listen to them frequently until you have done what he says.

For example, in part, to the new investor --- 1) pay off all credit cards (& stop using them irresponsibly), 2) pay down all other debt (stupid to make money on stocks and then pay those profits to the credit card companies & banks in interest).3)  Accumulate $10,000 in cash in bank and forget it (your emergency reserve) NOW you can start seriously thinking about buying stocks. Just what you are doing now. That should up your self-worth a notch!

BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t THINK about buying stocks NOW. You can start a ‘false’ portfolio by pretending to buy, research (“do the homework”) & follow stocks that interest you. Listening & reading Cramer will help you orient toward the correct philosophy of investing, risk tolerance and thus the kinds of stocks as well as the specific stocks that would be right for you in YOUR MIND.

As you go thru this learning curve and then investing process feel free to ask me questions. BUT always remember that ONLY YOU are responsible for your decisions. If you get married (or significant other), I would suggest you add to the list of required nature driven attributes (pretty, nice body etc) and rational attributes ( intelligent, compassionate, etc) add to the later category “an interest in and willingness to be involved in the your/hers/both of yours financial investing future. Women may too often think that security for she & her children (nature driven) is reflected in house, car, your job title when Rich Dad, Poor Dad suggests otherwise.

I haven't purchased any individual stocks yet, but at least now I am paying attention.

*** See above …….. and dead on!

It feels good to finally be taking some ownership in my financial future/security, and your words of advice and wisdom in that area were instrumental in this change in mindset for me. For that, I will be forever grateful :-) 

*** You are welcome.

My motivation? To see a young intelligent, worthy individual jump-start their financial life at your age and avoid a great deal of the trauma, failure and losses I experienced. You will have your traumas, failures and losses no matter how hard you try to avoid them. At the end, the gains must out weigh the losses - hopefully by a great deal. 

And to finish as did one of my other gods, Steve Jobs, almost at the end of his bi-annual product presentations, “Just one more thing! Don’t forget real estate particularly apartment rentals.” Read any version you can find (may be out of print, … again) of “How I made $1 million (or $5 mill) in Real Estate. This area of investment powered the flexibility I had in my dramatically changing career path as well as currently providing more return than I have use for. Feel free to call me on this one, when/if you wish.

What about you? How was the rest of your trip? Where did you go after we parted ways?  I know you were staying over there for much longer than I was so I'd love to hear about your experience.  Are you back in Jackson now or Arizona?

*** AZ, but leave 1^st Apr for hiking in New Mexico and Big Bend NP, TX. Then, early May start N to Jackson by unknown route at this time.

On another note, I just finished a book I thought you might like. It is called Prisoners of Geography, by Tim Marshall.  It basically argues that the geography of a region challenges political leaders with many of the same challenges and pressures that peoples of those regions have struggled with (or benefited from) throughout history--and will continue to do so into the future.

*** Hmmmmmm. Sounds interesting. I’ll order it from AMZN (stock symbol). Thanks.

I'm sure a lot of it is probably information that you already know as a former geography teacher, but it is a good survey of world/regional history, as well as current geopolitics.

It was very eye opening for a guy like me!

It was great hearing from you! I hope you are well wherever you are and I'll look forward to your response.

Take care,.

… and you also. PLS stay in touch

Scott