Good morning everyone, I hope you’ve been having a good week!
Today’s post will be a little different, as it’s something very close to my heart. It might not fully “gel” at the start… but maybe it does, in a quiet way.
With that, let me share with you a story about Rexy, our late family husky.
Rexy was with us for 15 years. Loyal, expressive, independent, and stubborn in that very specific husky way. He passed away in 2021, and this story takes place a little before that, during his final stretch of years.
As he got older, Rexy began facing more of the typical age-related issues that show up in senior dogs - weaker joints, slower movements, a bit of cloudiness in the eyes. One of those things was a recurring ear infection. At first, it seemed like nothing, a bit of scratching here and there.. but it got worse.
Until one night, his ear started bleeding badly. His head tilted to one side, and he couldn’t sleep from the discomfort. Seeing him suffering like that really pains my heart and I broke down then.
And here’s the truth that hit me hard: I hadn’t taken care of him the way he deserved.I hadn’t been paying attention. I’d brushed off the signs, told myself he was fine. Convinced myself there was no need to spend extra money on treatments or vet visits.
I focused on cost - not care. And only when things got serious… did I act.
That’s when the question hit me:What’s the point of working so hard for all this money, if the ones we love end up suffering for it?
The regret I felt was deep. It still lingers sometimes. Rexy eventually got better for a while before passing on, he was such a fighter! And that moment changed how I look at money, and why we chase it in the first place.
So how does this tie into investing?
Most of us want to be rich. And when we say “rich”, we usually mean financial wealth. I used to think that way too. When I first entered the workforce, I was obsessed with earning more. Took on side hustles. Traded time for income. I just didn’t want to feel financially trapped.
And to be fair, that mindset helped me a lot in building different income streams, one of which through stock and options investing.
But somewhere along the way, I started to notice something - not all at once, but slowly.
The more I focused on money, the more I unintentionally sacrificed the things money was meant to protect.
The irony huh?
Imagine happiness as a bucket. And we pour money (water) into it, thinking one day we’ll feel happy & secure when it’s full. Sometimes, the bucket feels full. But beneath it lies a leak. The happiness drips out. So we pour in more. And more. And more.
But maybe the hole isn’t about not having enough. Maybe it’s about missing the point of what money is for.
I’ve seen this in people I coach. They hit their income goal, sometimes double or triple what they thought they’d need, and yet… the anxiety doesn’t go away. The chase continues. Because the void doesn’t get filled by digits in a bank account.
Don’t get me wrong - I still care about building wealth. I still want to grow my income, and coach others to invest wisely. But now, I try to see money for what it really is:
A tool. Not a destination.
It’s here to serve the life we want, not replace it. And that life? It’s in things like:
Time with people who make you feel seen
Caring for your health, your pets, your peace
Reading, learning, growing - without a productivity goal
Helping others, with no return expected
Moments that don’t need to be posted
That’s what I think we’re all really trying to build. Not just wealth. But a life that feels full.
Bob Marley once said:
Reporter: Are you a rich man?
Bob Marley: What you mean rich?
Reporter: Do you have a lot of possessions?
Bob Marley: Possession make you rich? I don’t have that type of richness.
My richness is life. Forever.
Finally, here’s a very old picture of Rexy and young me during my secondary school days :)
Till the next post, ciao!
Patience builds wealth,Bjorn