To say this year was abnormal would be an immense understatement. We have all been affected in different ways. Jobs lost, routines upended, schooling disrupted, jobs found, new routines established, plans changed (and changed again), new routines changed, lockdowns, loosened restrictions, more lockdowns, social distancing, quarantine, masks, and much more. Today’s post will largely be a wrap up of my year.
Blog
This is my 50th post of the Rat Race Off Ramp (not including any updated posts). My first posts were right at the end of March, smack dab in the middle of the chaos that has been 2020 and the global pandemic due to Covid-19. It has been a lot of work, and like everything it has had its ups and downs. Sometimes words just flow, and other times I get the dreaded ‘writer’s block’. There are times when I don’t want to write and just want to throw in the towel. And other times, I write a post that resonates with readers well. I started because I wanted to help people, and that is still my goal. I will keep at it and hope to help more people in 2021 than I did in 2020. A big part of helping people comes from readers, so if you have a question or a topic you’d like to read about, please send one in through the Contact Us page.
Reading
Aside from starting Rat Race Off Ramp, one area I personally improved in during 2020 was reading. Even though I read quite a bit, I have read more in volume and more purposefully in 2020 than previously in my entire adult life. In total, I read ten books, listened to two audiobooks, and read the entire New Testament. My goal was to learn and improve my productivity. It’s not that I wasn’t productive, but I wanted to learn ways to become more efficient. Two of the books I read and one of the audiobooks I listened to have been particularly eye-opening, while also being incredibly informative and helpful. The most influential books I read (and listened to) this year were:
Atomic Habits by James Clear – As the title says, this book is about habits, but it doesn’t just stick with habits necessarily. There is a strong focus on how to establish habits, and the power of incremental gains that add up over time.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain – As an introvert, this book resonated with me. It also explained, in detail, how our society pushes extroversion and how that isn’t necessarily a good thing. One major thing I learned from the book was how to handle my introversion in extroverted settings and how to ‘reset’ my introversion after those times.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth –A book that dives into the research and studies showing how grit is a major factor in the perseverance and long-term success of individuals.
In an upcoming post, I’m going to dig a little into each of these books, and point out some of the specific points that I have taken from them. Two other books that I would highly recommend from what I read in 2020 are:
Latte Factor by David Bach – A fictional story that follows a professional through her personal finance journey. The lessons she learns take her from being in debt and living paycheck to paycheck to a place of financial security and stability. It is a quick read and one that could help put your personal finances in a different perspective.
Trillion Dollar Coach: The Bill Campbell Story by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg & Alan Eagle – From Columbia football player to football coach to Kodak to CEO to Silicon Valley, this book follows the career of the late Bill Campbell. As a mentor in Silicon Valley, Bill Campbell was a ‘coach’ to many of the highly successful executives in the tech world. Even as a brash and challenging man, he adjusted his approach for each individual, doing everything he could to help his mentees and advisees make the best decisions for themselves and their businesses.
Investing
One thing I’ve always been passionate about has been the financial markets. There are many ways to invest and for people that are active investors, not buy and hold investors, they have to find out the best way for them, individually, to invest. Although I was very apprehensive at the bottom in March, I did follow the strategies I had in place to preserve capital and grow my investments over the long term. One major benefit from the stock market volatility in 2020 was my ability to continue to develop the investment strategy that fits me best. I have developed a mixed strategy of buying and holding smaller companies with potential for immense growth over a long-term investment horizon (likely 10+ years) alongside a conservative income producing strategy on larger companies using options. Yes, options can be very risky, but they were originally designed and can still be used to reduce risk when investing. I’m applying a strategy to reduce risk. Every single investor will have their own strategy based on how much risk they want to take, their investment time horizon, and even though it seems to have taken an incredibly long time, I think I’m finally honing in on the method that will work best to fit me.
What’s Ahead
With everything that 2020 has brought our way, I think 2021 may be even more disrupting for my family. We will be moving for the third time since 2017. I will continue with the Rat Race Off Ramp, but may have to lighten up on content while we move. I will continue my purposeful reading and will also mix in some lighter reading. I’m currently on the third book in the Harry Potter series, and I plan on finishing the series in 2021. I will also start reading the Old Testament. My purposeful reading in 2021 will focus on technical analysis of the financial markets, a method of investing and trading in the stock market. Whatever lies ahead for you in 2021, I hope you use it to learn and grow.
How did your 2020 turn out? And what is in store for you in 2021?
Happy New Year to all of you! I hope everyone has a great 2021, and thank you for being a reader of Rat Race Off Ramp!
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