The roller coaster of life contains tons of up and downs. The financial and emotional turbulence can be nagging. We all feel it, often. Yet our idea in this chapter is to harken back to one's happiness level. Can you achieve your own unique happy?
Sometimes I wonder if richer citizens are happier than the middle class, and the poorer class of society. Are they? Are the luxurious and affluent lifestyle and house living residents truly happier, than those neighbors and fellow stores patrons that are less rich? My current residential city of Austin, Texas is and has been overgoing some massive changes during just the past 5 years. Historically, my local city was known during the 1990's time period as a sleepy, cheap, and alternative College town. A cultural example would be Richard Linklater's movie titled, "Slacker". A slacker type resident is a person who simply does just enough to get by financially on their own. Slacker lifestyle folks would rather spend time existing, just being, or engaging in activities pleasing to them. Slackers are not income-monsters and prefer to exude their own unique non-sales breath aura into the world. I don't want to stigmatize slackers as being lazy, yet honestly wouldn't you love to be lazy yourself, occasionally? I know I have an inner lazy inclination feeling sometimes. Their called Saturdays. Yet if a slacker is functional, healthy, and not hurting others, then I vote for them to go for it. If practicing a slacker lifestyle is your thing, and induces natural happiness, then grab a bean-bag chair.
I've recently read a few articles where both young couples and retired couples have decided to sell their property and quit their jobs. Why? It is so they are free to buy a travel RV or Motor-Home and simply travel and live life on the road. I've personally never spent the night or stayed in an RV park. Have you? Are they cool? Thus, these newly baptized vagabond citizens have left the rat race, in order to pursue travel, new experiences, varied geography, and life diversity. Now, that does sound liberating, doesn't it? If their happy witnessing life on the road, then I vote for them and their RV, Mobile home happiness.
On the flip side, in today's modern times, my local city of Austin, Texas is raging with economic activity, jobs, work, and vigor. For your information reader, the winter temperature in Chicago as of this writing, our nation's third largest city is Negative 13 degrees. Chicago's projected low-temperature tonight is -19 Fahrenheit. Yo! The Midwest and Northeast is even more frigid than normal. The frigid North USA winters re-enforce my decision to escape from NYC, Kurt Russell style, and go back to warm and friendly Austin, Texas circa 8 years ago.
Austin, Texas is no longer slackerville and today lives, breathes and appears as money injected Richville. That's the energy and new development I feel and walk past. Austinites and perhaps the nation, in general, is extremely focused on capitalist, money-making ventures and opportunities. Every industry exudes this money making, constant drive. For example, new restaurants & food concepts arrive, while the failed restaurant closings get media press release coverage too. Real Estate Agents such as myself are guilty of neighborhood speed gentrification, demolitions of the old homes to make way for new 2 Unit Condo in-fill developments, and for advertising high rental prices. It's my job to work for clients best interest and test capitalism's limits. I personally still consider myself a proud, honest and service oriented worker. I keep my head up. The Technology industry and money making is roaring in Austin, Texas. The legendary Apple, Inc is expanding their workplace campus in Northwest Austin. The Domain Development is a resounding commercial success. My girlfriend just got a brand new job with WP Engine and according to their website's google description, their business's purpose is to..... "WP Engine provides managed WordPress hosting for mission-critical sites around the world. Amazing support, enterprise-class, & optimized for WordPress". Congratulations to her, her new company, and Austin's thriving technology industry and overall scene. But here's my question, does all this money, capitalism, strenuous work, and activity make you happy? Yes? No? Maybe?
I mean, are we as Americans' going to become so work and income producing crazed, that we assimilate into Japan's unhealthy work culture. I just researched the suicide rates for Japanese citizens and it is scary and appalling. Japan even has a "suicide forest" located in the sea of trees in Aokigahara. Ask infamous and ridiculed Logan Paul about it. Definitely not a work culture, America should emulate.
For example, today while I was biking home from a real estate networking event, noticed a unique fellow Austinite on my same side of the sidewalk. This twenty-something male had a complete speaker-set on his ears, displayed closed dancy eyes, was sporting entirely disheveled unkempt hair, and wearing camouflage pants and a dirty shirt. "Keep Austin Weird." This chemically enhanced human appeared to be just as happily meandering about the day, as the worker bee car drivers stuck in traffic to our right. I wondered, would I be happier if I was on, what he was? Probably not, but worth a thought.
The synopsis of this chapter is not to forget about your happiness level. Is it important and critical for oneself to work and provide for the family? Yes. Just please don't forget about your own personal happiness. Remember no matter how much real estate, money, cars, possessions, stocks and business interests you collect, you can't take them with you to the grave. You can gainfully pass them down though, after the government dead taxes you. But I think it is important for each human to carve out some of their own methods for happiness too. That's why I watch Comedies and Not Drama. In the words of Oscar-Winning Actor, Matthew McConaughey, "Just Keep Livin."
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