Lessons Learned From 5 Years Outside The Maze

Five years ago when I started this site, I was questioning an unhealthy view of work in the USA. I was motivated by a realization that there is a broad misunderstanding about the relationship between money and happiness. I noted that most of us live better lives today than kings and queens used to. So why don’t we feel that way? I asked how much money and how much success is enough. Rather than focusing on being rich, what if one just focused on having enough? Why do so many feel financially powerless even in the richest country in the world? I had learned myself that by spending a little less, earning a little more, and investing the difference one can create financial independence through the miracle of compound interest. This can transform one’s life. The message felt like a revelation to me at the time.

The Evolution of Life Outside the Maze

I wrote about this first for myself like a sort of manifesto to clarify my thinking. It then became the first 10 articles on this site. However, I didn’t know if anyone would read it and I didn’t know how the world would change. I never ran any ads, never did any paid marketing, and never made any income from this site over the last five years. Just a dude writing and living. Still, in the last half decade Life Outside The Maze has reached hundreds of thousands of unique readers all over the world! It has been read by people from 184 different countries. Holy crap! Also, to that one reader in Vanuatu, thanks for looking me up. I have enjoyed connecting with many of you and meeting lots of people along the way. A few have even reached out and shared that they have made substantive life changes over the last five years inspired by this little website. Some have built financial security and some are actually now financially independent. It is really cool to be even a part of that source of empowerment and independence in someone’s life.

The World Changes in Five Years

When I started this site my oldest son was a 10 year old kid in a backwards baseball hat. He would dramatically gag if you asked him to eat eggplant or squash. Now he is in high school and learning to drive! When I started this site, we were 9 years into the longest bull market in US history. The mood felt optimistic. Since then there was a recession and then a rebound to new highs. We went through a pandemic, lots of social movement, and a whole lot of political division and increased anger in the USA where I live. My point is that the world was actually different five years ago and much has changed.

I have also changed. I started this site as a guy in his 30’s on his victory lap after achieving financial independence. Back then I knew so much less but I felt so much smarter. Funny how that works. Today I am in my 40’s and have experienced more adventures than some do in a lifetime (feeling fortunate). I have seen a lot of the world and even dabbled in teaching some college courses. I am also coming on being 1.5 years cancer free. I never would have predicted that in my story (not so fortunate). So as I set the clocks back an hour and take in the last of the fall colors, let’s take a look back at lessons learned from this year and then at my progression over the last five years to explore a broader message.

Lessons From the Fifth Year Outside The Maze

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. Going through cancer and chemo changes you. I am currently 1.5 years cancer free. What of this last year was learned from this versus being 5 years post financial independence? Late last year, I had an urge to do a public speaking event. I felt like I had a message to share that would help others and also mark a milestone for myself. In early 2023 I had the opportunity to speak at a really cool event called Camp FI. Stephen who runs these awesome retreats all over the nation, was kind enough to let me share the following video of my talk. If you get nothing else from this post, I urge you to watch the following video. It is one thing to read words on a page but another to hear someone’s honest truth in their own words. Bonus you can see Mr Maze tear up a little and face some of his own challenges in front of a live audience:

I really want to thank Mindy (Bigger Pockets Money Podcast), Jordan (Earn & Invest Podcast and author of Taking Stock), and Carl (1500days.com and host of Mile High FI) for encouraging me to give this talk and Stephen for the opportunity to do so. I highly recommend Camp FI and will likely return again. Special shout out to Carl who actually flew to Florida and joined me over the weekend where we saw gators and got to tour Tom Petty’s make out hole together in Gainesville (long story). Additional shout out to those from Camp FI that came by to visit on your way through my town over the last year (hi Maggie, Sarah, and Heidi).

If you want to hear more about the cancer learnings part of this talk I was on the Earn & Invest Podcast together with my wife in 2023 talking about whether security in life is an illusion. If you want to hear more about the adventures and life part of this talk, I did a podcast in 2023 with Ordinary Sherpa about Experiencing Childhood Dreams.

What I Have Been Doing Over The Last Year

Over the past year I have continued to try to get outside as much as I can. This means lots of hiking, rafting, camping, and fishing with family and friends. I have again used my National Parks pass thoroughly. I also took up mountain biking a couple of times per week and have even done some harder 30+ mile sort of black diamond rides through the mountains. I tried ice climbing for the first time, have taken up gourmet pizza making, and started doing some weight lifting. I did some treasure diving again over the summer, back packed around Austria and Hungary with my wife and kids, attended the world premier of a play that my uncle wrote, and visited the Magic Castle in Hollywood which has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I have been writing music and also just finished a class and workshop on screen writing where I learned about the craft and re-wrote my own screenplay. I rehabbed and sold all of my rental properties, brewed some beer, and drove my kids all over the place all of the time. I travelled to visit family many times and celebrated the life of my uncle who passed away.

I jammed all of these things into one paragraph for a reason. It is not each individual thing that matters to me in year five. It is the chance to have time and health to dip your cup into the stream of possibilities in life and drink a whole bunch. I have also hardly written about any of it on this site and hesitated to even include the photos above. Why? Because it is not about making my life look awesome. I am just a dude with shortfalls and struggles like anyone else. These never end, I am always a work in progress. However, it is about applying one’s self and staying engaged. That is my broader message here in year 5.

Thoughts on Money in My 5th Year Outside The Maze

Over the past year I have sold all my rental properties and become more interested in treasuries. I still manage my portfolio of investments but I don’t think about money all that much. In fact it seems each year I think about it less and it is less a factor in my decision making. To me this is a win. I bought a nice guitar this year after having played a cheaper one for over 20 years. I finally bought a new car after driving my manual transmission 2006 accord over more than 200K miles. This is to say that money for me remains a tool. These 2 larger purchases bring some value for me. Sometimes I splurge a bit on travel and adventures. However, I am not trying to optimize some spending equation with the idea it will bring me a more fulfilled life. I don’t believe that it will. This discussion about money in year 5 and the discussion above about what I did this year are part of a larger message I have about being 5 years into this.

The Larger Message Reflecting on 5 Years

Every October I write about my learnings over the prior year. In the first two years I focused quite a bit on the euphoria and exploration of life outside of traditional work. I also worked on personal growth and refocusing. In the third year I started to reflect on what it takes to be successful while living an alternative lifestyle. I looked back on how my view of money and finances had changed and also questioned the role of this website in my life. Then year four was dominated by cancer and I find myself here in year 5 looking to what is next.

If you look back at the number of articles I have written each year on this site the graph looks like this:

Believe it or not this is a good thing. This is part of my broader message. I did not set out to be a financial expert or happiness guru with this website. Rather I set out to chronicle what it looks like when a guy starts working for himself for happiness rather than working for others for money. I learned that so much of what I was thinking about overlaps with the broader financial independence community. I really enjoy being a part of it. However, the more I learn the less I get from each additional article or podcast. This too is a good thing. It means that I have learned quite a bit along side this community. However, exploration is growth. For someone who writes, there is the additional risk of being stuck in the identity that your audience (or perceived audience) expects or writing because you feel you should. I know other content creators out there can likely identify with this. Instead I plan to write when I feel it and also have something worthwhile to share. I hope that this broader message makes sense and helps you think about your own life and focus areas, exploration, and growth as well.

It is the last days of another beautiful fall here in Colorado. Every year for me it marks a time to think back on the year and forward to what I am minimizing, what I am maintaining, what I am exploring, and what comes next 🙂 Be well,

-Mr Maze