The Great Escape

Back in 1997, I was done.

My plan was to quit my job as an attorney in a large law firm. I’d move to Costa Rica and do… I don’t know, something else.

It wasn’t the most detailed escape plan, but I was serious about it. And then I met the woman who would become my wife, and my escape plan was happily thwarted.

Two years later I was married, running my own small law firm with an internet startup on the side. In an ironic twist, one of my legal clients was running an internet business from Costa Rica, and that was the context of my first visit to the country.

It was then that I realized the perfect escape route was to have a business I could run from anywhere. The seed of a better escape plan was planted.

Two year after that, I had ditched the first startup idea and started a virtual real estate brokerage. It was powered by a website that was similar to Zillow (except four years before that company existed), but it was definitely tied to a specific geographic area that I needed to be in.

It wouldn’t be until 2007 that I achieved the true ability to make a living from anywhere on Earth. But by that time my wife and I had two kids, and we lived in Dallas because that’s where her family lived.

I only managed to make it as far away as Boulder, Colorado, and that’s where my kids grew up. I wouldn’t trade that time for anything.

But now, the children are (alleged) adults and out of the house. 27 years after the initial desire to leave, and the escape plan is finally ready to be hatched.

Our mid-50s are often a period of time when we buckle down to catch up on retirement savings, but for what? Yes, it’s much more affordable to live overseas, and often way more enjoyable. But what’s not enjoyable is worrying that you’ll run out of money.

I’m not interested in waiting 10 more years to live the life I want, and I have no interest in retiring in my 60s regardless. The perfect solution is to keep generating income from work I love while exploring the world with a location-independent business.

I’m finding more and more people my age who feel the same way. I may have been thinking about it for longer, but ironically it’s more doable than ever these days to escape. In fact, it now looks like the prudent thing to do instead of a wild dream.

What about you?

Further Exploration:

Want to Move Out of the US? These are the Best Places to Live Abroad, Expats Say

Keep going-

Brian Clark

P.S. New to Further? Join us here.

Muscle Foods

The first thing to realize about recovery and muscle building from strength training is you have to eat enough, which can be a challenge if you’re eating quality whole foods instead of pizza and ice cream. From there, you can refine your food choices.

Eating These Foods After Working Out Can Improve Recovery and Rebuild Muscle (USA Today)

Eat to Sleep

You’ve got to eat right to build muscle. And you need sleep to build muscle. Combine the two in the right way and you’re well-rested and buff. Or maybe you’ll settle for just getting some good sleep.

What’s the Best Diet for Healthy Sleep? (The Conversation)

Ill Communication

While aging isn’t a disease, some want to categorize it as one because the process leads to the age-related diseases that ultimately kill us. Rather than reversing aging, the first step is to push back or eliminate those age-based ailments.

Is Aging Without Illness Possible? (Science News)

Planned Obsolescence

Saying that Gen X is going to have a harder time retiring than Baby Boomers is a massive understatement. The silver lining may be to look at the Boomers who can retire, but don’t want to.

5 Gen Xers Share What It’s Really Like to Plan for Retirement: ‘My generation is going to have a harder time than Boomers’ (Fortune)

A Full-Brain Workout for Better Mental Fitness

By Trudi Roth

You don’t have to be a smarty pants to know that brain health becomes a big deal as you age. Most of my friends worry losing their keys or leaving the supermarket without the one thing they needed signifies waning cognitive ability (🙋‍♀️).

This concern isn’t unfounded, as research shows over time, parts of your brain shrink, neurons can become less effective at communicating with each other, and blood flow to your brain can decrease while inflammation increases.

The good news is it’s not too late to mitigate age-related cognitive challenges. For example, learning and speaking a foreign language can help stave off Alzheimer’s disease by up to five years. But don’t stop there, because lasting cognitive wellness requires you to put your whole head in the game.

That’s Using Your Noggin

Proud of your Wordle streak? Me too (98% win), but first things first: it’s not enough, according to neuroscientist Daniel Amen, MD.

When most people think about mental exercise, they think about crossword puzzles and other word games. This is a great start, but it’s only one piece of a total brain workout.

The baseline is a commitment to life-long learning (or, as Brian calls it, long-life learning). From there, you must get in the reps necessary to work each part of your brain.

Amen recommends considering each area’s primary functions when designing a brain training routine:

• Prefrontal cortex: Executive function (i.e., problem-solving) —  practice meditation, play language-based games, or combine weights with aerobic activity
• Temporal lobes: Mood stability, temper control, memory, learning, auditory processing — memorize things or learn to play a new instrument
• Parietal lobes: Sensory perception and integration, spatial awareness — play math-related games (i.e., Sudoku), golf, or use a map (no GPS!)
• Basal ganglia: Movement, learning, forming habits, emotional processing — do activities that require balance or synchronization (i.e., yoga, pilates)
• Cerebellum: Coordinates movement and balance, influences cognitive functions — play sports that require coordination (i.e., pickleball, table tennis)

While the list of brain-boosting activities may include things you do here and there, the trick is to make optimizing your neuro health a daily priority.

Playing Those Mind Games Forever

According to Amen, to make new experiences a habit, start by dedicating at least 15 minutes daily for exploration. On top of that, find ways to stretch your mental capacity, like taking classes online or at a community college, picking up a hobby, cross-training, and switching up your routines, like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

The point is to engage in whole-brain fitness every single day. When you think about it, the ultimate flex is to keep your brain strong until it tells you it’s time to take your last breath.

How A Neuroscientist Strengthens 5 Key Brain Regions Daily (mindbodygreen)