Denver Broncos story

         Most of my friends know that I am a big sports fan, especially of college football. Despite my affinity for college football, I do not follow the NFL very closely at all. For whatever reason, the NFL never had the same appeal to me as college football.
         One of the best players to ever play for my alma mater was Steve Young. Once he graduated from BYU in the early 1980s, he bounced around from a defunct football league called the USFL, then went to a terrible Tampa Bay Buccaneers team before eventually being traded to the San Francisco 49ers. In a lot of ways back then, the 49ers were a model franchise with a great team overall.
         Steve Young became Joe Montana's backup quarterback and eventually took over for him and had a hall of fame career. Since Steve Young was so successful, many people from Utah where BYU is located adopted the 49ers as their team. Consequently, the 49ers apparel was being sold all over the sporting good stores in Utah.

       Of course, Steve Young ended up retiring eventually. Correspondingly, the level of interest from the State of Utah fans waned and the apparel sales seemed to suffer as a result. I don't know if all the stores got the memo right away that Steve Young was the sole reason that people from Utah were wearing 49er apparel.
        This is where I re-enter the story. It was a couple years after Steve Young retired and I was shopping in Utah where I found a very nice 49ers Starter brand jacket that are normally very expensive for about 90% off. Despite the fact that I didn't follow the 49ers, I snagged the jacket and put it into my wardrobe. I didn't really need it for a few years while I lived in Florida.
        Fast forward a few years later to 2006 when I had moved to Denver for graduate school where it is very cold in the winter. I would wear my 49ers jacket here and there and nobody ever commented on it. It was warm and it looked it looked something like this:

         That's not me in case anyone is wondering;)
          One particular day I wore my 49ers jacket was on New Year's Eve in 2006. I was traveling that day and had just come back from the airport. There were numerous people giving me dirty looks in the terminal and especially on the parking shuttle. Finally, one of the persons staring at me spoke up and told me about an NFL game between the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers that had just ended. The 49ers were double digit underdogs with a losing record and the Broncos only needed to win to make the playoffs. The game apparently went into overtime with the 49ers ended up winning the game in a heartbreaker. The Broncos got knocked out of the playoffs. That was the source of everyone's ire! I knew nothing about any of this until just then.
       This is the game recap: http://espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=261231007
       I stopped wearing that jacket for the rest of the Denver winter. The irony was 6 months later, I had landed a job in the bay area and the 49ers jacket fit right in. That's life.
 

The top 12 places to travel to in Europe

         In the last two weeks, I've received a couple of requests to provide my recommendations where I'd go in Europe. Similar to my Africa list, there are way too many great places to visit to put into this blog post. Therefore, I will just write about my twelve places I either have been or I'd really like to see.

12) Lake Bled in Slovenia - This has often been a setting for the world rowing championships, but the scenery should be enough to lure you in at other times of the year. That's a church on an island in a lake, which looks fantastic!

11) The Fjords in Norway - I haven't been to Norway, but I have a reliable source that told me that a summer trip is a must. The trifecta of Iceland, Norway, and Finland makes for a solid vacation. There are a lot of camping and hiking opportunities along the fjords, but a cruise may be the way to do. It's pretty far north, so unless you bring heavy winter gear or want to visit Lapland (in Finland) you'll probably want to target the warmer and lighter months. It stays light much later in the summer.

10) Plitvice Lakes, Croatia - This is on my short list of places to visit. My brother went earlier this year and found some legit waterfalls and incredible scenery. It's not super easy to get to, but appears to be well worth the effort.

9) Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany - This is known as the Disney Castle located in a beautiful valley in southern Germany. It's very central in Europe, although not that close to anything. I've been to this place 3 times and it's interesting every single time.

8) La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain - Somebody started building this place in 1882 and have it planned to be complete by 2026. It's the craziest looking building I've ever been to and a very interesting place to visit. There are a bunch of other places that are must-sees in Spain like Alhambra and Seville.

7) London, England - There are too many things to visit to list in the title. Buckingham Palace (and the changing of the guard), London Tower and Bridge, Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. As a bonus, they speak English and drive on the wrong side of the road. The downside is its an expensive city to visit.

6) Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany - I lived in Berlin for a few months back in the day, so I'm pretty familiar with the area. Berlin has a ton of history due to it being divided into sectors and having a wall dividing it for several decades. Most of the historical stuff is within walking distance downtown near Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburg Gate.

5) The Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France - There are a lot of things to see in Paris, but nothing more iconic than the Eiffel Tower. I'd also go to the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, and then stop by the Palace of Versailles. One of the downsides to France is the French aren't always friendly to tourists that don't speak French. Nonetheless, it's still well worth visiting.

4) Prague, Czech Republic - There are lots of things to see in Prague. Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, Vyšehrad, and Old Town Square are a few of them. Eat some svickova. Go to Cesky Krumlov if you want some place to visit outside the city.

3) Grindelwald, Switzerland - I challenge you to find a more beautiful place on the planet. Northern Italy, Switzerland, and southern Germany are all incredible, but I give the nod to the Grindelwald in Switzerland.

2) Budapest, Hungary - Budapest is easily one of the best cities in Europe to visit. You'll find bath houses like the one below of interest (Gellert). Széchenyi is another popular one. St Stephens Basilica and the Parliament are worth a stop by.

1) The Coliseum and the Vatican in Rome, Italy/Vatican City - The list is a mile long of things to see in Italy, but the two biggest in Rome are the Coliseum and the Vatican in Vatican City. These belong at the top of anybody's list. The canals of Venice, the Tower of Pisa, Pompeii are all worth visiting in other parts of Italy.

I realize I excluded places like Austria, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, the Ukraine, Sweden, and others that legitimately belong on the top places to visit depending on your priorities. I've been to all of those except the Ukraine and recommend all of those countries too along with many others. Europe can be an endless exploration venture, but you have to start somewhere.

The top 10 places to travel to in Africa

I should provide the caveat that I haven't been to all ten spots on my list. However, I've heard about and researched the ones I haven't been to. 

10) Namibia Sand Dunes, Cheetah Conservation Fund, and the Etosha National Park - Namibia used to be a part of South Africa before gaining its independence in 1990 and was the setting for the new Mad Max Fury Road movie. As highlighted by the movie, the sand dunes are expansive and the largest in the world. There are plenty of activities that go along with the dunes such as sky diving, 4 wheeling, and sand boarding. Since Namibia is the 2nd most sparsely populated country in the world, you are likely to not see too many people. The Cheetah Conservation Fund will allow you to get up close and personal with cheetahs and watch them run! Cheetahs are endangered, so there's only a few places that you have a decent chance at seeing them. The Etosha National Park is a good place to view the endangered black rhino.

  
9) Gorilla tour in the Democratic Republic of Congo- Virunga National Park seems to be the best spot in Africa to do a gorilla tour, since 3/4 of the gorilla sub-species reside there plus the scenery is excellent and there are two active volcanoes in the park. DRC is currently safe, but that should be closely monitored based on somewhat recent history. Rwanda or Uganda provide pretty good alternatives if there is any political turmoil in the DRC.

8) Perinet Reserve in Madagascar - This is the place to go if you like seeing species of animals that exist nowhere else on the planet, since there are at least 615 new ones in Madagascar. If rare wild lemurs and chameleons are your thing, this is the place to be.

 

If lemurs and chameleons aren't your thing, then skip Madagascar and head to island of Mauritius. This is an island most Americans haven't heard of, but it might be a cheaper alternative to visiting the Seychelles.

 

7) Masai Mara/Serengeti in Kenya/Tanzania - These two parks are adjacent to each other, so I've lumped them together. These are arguably the two best day safari parks for the entire continent. You get the classic savannah plains with tons of diverse wildlife. One of the most interesting things to watch for is the wildebeest migration.

 

The native people around there are from the Masai tribe. My sister took this picture in Tanzania back in 2006 of some Masai warriors. One of their main hobbies is jumping, which happens to be one of my hobbies.

 

6) Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania - This was my favorite safari area to view wildlife. There is a natural valley that contains more than 30,000 animals. It's considered the most compact wildlife venue on the planet and often gets compared to the Garden of Eden. We caught up with this lion sitting in the middle of the road:

5) The Seychelles - While this is technically Africa, it's really the island that many Europeans escape to for honeymoons and vacations. It looks to me like a worthwhile visit based on pictures alone.

4) Cape Town and vicinity in South Africa - There is a lot to do in the Cape Town area. Table Mountain provides fantastic views of Cape Town. You can tour Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Cape Point is a relatively short drive down the coast, which is the southern most point in Africa and where the scenery is top notch. Getting a tour of the townships will completely change your world view of what poverty is. This is my sister's picture from the top of Table Mountain:

3) Hike up Mount Kilimanjaro - If doing multi-day hikes at high altitude is your thing for a huge payoff, then hiking Mount Kilimanjaro might appeal to you. The hike takes about a week and ends up at around 19K feet. You get unparalleled views at least theoretically. I am not personally too excited about this hike, but I know many people who have it on their bucket list.

2) Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border - This should be on your bucket list if it isn't already. Victoria Falls is easily the 2nd best waterfall in the world. This is a picture my sister took on our visit there:

Interestingly, this waterfall is famous for being able to dangle on the edge without being sucked in. This is called Devil's Pool, which shouldn't be confused with Devil Throat at Iguazu Falls.

1) Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx - The pyramids are a world wonder and very much worth the visit. Egypt has a lot of ruins to explore, so you'll need a few days. I recommend going with a big group, because Egypt isn't the safest place and scammers are everywhere. This is a picture from my visit there.

There are a lot of things to do in Africa. I could have expended my list to 25 and filled it up with all the wonderful places to visit. My first visit in 2006 changed my world view dramatically. Even though I came as a tourist, my eyes were really opened to how differently much of the world lives. Even though visiting can be high stress in places, it's worth visiting at least once.

Life Experience vs Material Things

       This article came across my facebook news feed recently. The premise of the article is that if we spend our discretionary income on one-time experiences versus buying upgraded material things it will lead to greater happiness. Even though it's a somewhat counter intuitive premise to throw your discretionary income at say a 10 day vacation versus driving a nicer car for the next 5 years, it seems like a no brainer choice for me to take the vacation and drive a worse car.

       The article pointed out that one of the detriments to having upgraded material things is that you eventually adapt to them. Adapting to nice things may seem like a net positive, but I see it as a net negative. You really only enjoy new things the first few weeks of having them and then there's a 'meh' effect. The upgraded material thing become the new status quo and you start taking it for granted. Even worse, it is much harder to appreciate lesser quality things in the future.   

         If the truth be told, it's unrealistic and probably not advisable to spend 100% of your income on buying your way into experience based activities. There has to be some sort of balance. You have to live somewhere, have some mode of transportation, and have enough decent clothes to change regularly and present yourself effectively. If you decide to buy a house and a car you like, it doesn't make you materialistic or a poor steward over your money. Having a place that serves as a sanctuary at home and on the move is highly beneficial to productivity and making progress towards your life goals.

        What does experience have to offer that material things can't? You gain memories from experience that can never be taken from you, whereas material things degrade over time. Experience makes you more interesting and gives you a different perspective than anybody else. Even if you travel to the same place as someone else, chances are you will stay at a different place, eat at different places, get different weather, and meet different people along the way. On the other hand, if you buy a nice car, there is probably someone else who has the exact same model and features. Even most houses are not unique.

 

          I will conclude this post with a line from the new Cinderella movie: She was imprisoned in her attic by her stepmom and chose to stay positive, because she knew that her time with her parents and the prince would become beautiful distant memories (paraphrased). Even Cinderella understood that material possessions degrade and devalue over time, whereas good memories can be brought back in an instant no matter how dire life's circumstances are. 

What we do know is that we don't know

During my recent trip to Chile and Argentina traveling by myself, I thought a lot about the unpredictability of life. Ten years ago today I was in my first semester of my second year of law school in Florida studying for finals. Lots of events have happened between then and now both good and bad that have impacted where I am today. 

 

My natural tendency is to react to events in terms of short-term implications, because long-term implications are impossible to determine. One of the decisions I made in 2006 after finishing law school was to move to Denver to attend the University of Denver and its Master's in Real Estate program. The short-term implication of that decision was to forego taking the Florida bar exam and leaving the state of Florida where job opportunities had the highest probability of coming to fruition based on the alumni network of the law school. I will never know the opportunity cost of leaving. There are a myriad of possible outcomes if I had stayed. At the end of the day, I did a cost-benefit analysis and then lived with my choice.

The program I matriculated into was highly beneficial from an educational standpoint, but there were no guarantees what job opportunities would await me upon graduation. Education these days is very expensive. It was somewhat nerve wracking not knowing if my risk and investment would lead to bigger and better things.

 

After finishing 50% of my classes at the University of Denver, I applied, interviewed, and received an offer to work for a renewable energy company in the bay area. The salary was a little low, but I was confident that it was a fast growing industry that would allow for advancement. The offer and acceptance allowed me to finish another quarter of the program, which would allow me to finish my final classes from a distance. I was with that company for 17 months or so before I moved on to my current company. 

 

Most of the bigger events in my life like switching jobs, choosing an educational track, going through periods of physical injuries and then good health, moving away or deciding to stay and other events are complete unknowns about long-term impact on our futures.

I found the following story on a message board online, which I think illustrates this theme that life events aren't always the catalyst for a downward or upward trajectory that we predict them to be. 

 

Once upon a time In 14th Century China, during the rule of the Ming Dynasty, there lived an old Farmer. The farmer was a poor man. The farmer had a son, and he owned a horse. That was all. His hut was owned by the Lord of the province, and the farmer used his Horse and his son to work the land. The farmer labored for the lord of the land, and in return was provided with food and a home.

One day after a hard day’s labor, the farmer's son forgot to close the corral and the farmer’s only horse broke out and ran away.

The villagers, upon hearing of the horse running away, came to the farmer's house to view the corral. As they stood there, the villagers said,

"We are so sorry for you. This is such bad luck!”

 

The farmer replied, "Well I don’t know if it’s bad. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. I just don’t know."

The villagers thought this was odd, but left the farmer to it, and returned to their tasks. About a week later, the horse returned, bringing with it a whole herd of wild horses, which the farmer and his son quickly corralled.

 

The Villagers, upon hearing of the corralling of the horses, came to see for themselves. As they stood there looking at the corral filled with horses, the Villagers said,

"We are so pleased for you. This is such good luck!”

The farmer replied, "Well I don’t know if it’s good. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. I just don’t know."

The villagers thought this was odd, but again left the farmer to it, and returned to their tasks. A couple of weeks later, the farmer's son's legs were badly broken when he was thrown from one of the wild horses he was trying to break.

The villagers, upon all hearing of the incident, came to see the son. As they stood there, the villagers said,

"We are so sorry for you. This is such bad luck!”

The farmer replied, "Well I don’t know if it’s bad. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. I just don’t know."

The villagers thought this was odd, but again left the farmer to it, and returned to their tasks.

At that same time in China, a war broke out between two rival Lords. In need of more soldiers, the Lord of the land rode down into the valley to conscript all the young men to go off and fight in the war, a war which none of them would survive. When the Lord came to take the farmer's son, he found the young man with 2 broken legs. Knowing there was no way the son could fight, the Lord of the land left him there.

It was at this moment that the little old farmer realized, that the greatest thing he could EVER know, was that…

HE DIDN’T KNOW…

 

I like this story a lot. It illustrates the fact that uncertainty is a part of our future going forward. We have to take the good with the bad and understand that not everything is in our control. It also illustrates the point that 3rd party onlookers actually know even less about the implications of events in our lives and their input should, therefore, not be valued very highly. Even if we don't know what comes next, we can still take calculated risks and then live with the long-term outcome. Sometimes, the outcome will be good and sometimes not as good. That's life. 

The Paradox of Choice: beneficial or detrimental?

         One of my facebook friends recently posted an inspiring article on her wall called Why Some People Change Their Lives But Others Stay Stuck. The premise of the article is that some people stay stuck in lives they're unhappy with while others make wholesale changes to try and find a more desirable trajectory. The article also had a lot of parallels to the book the Paradox of Choice: Why More if Less, which I recently read.

        To summarize what I learned from these two sources, the upside of having so many choices is that we live in a time and place chalk full of opportunities to build the foundation of the life that can be closely in line with our dreams. You can basically live anywhere you want, trudge down whatever career path appeals to you, choose who to date and/or marry even from afar (or stay single), and live a life according to your priorities. The world is literally our campus to enjoy and the ideas and expertise of the world carried around in our pockets.

         Sounds amazing, right? With all this power and influence to impact our destinies at our fingertips, why is depression at an all-time high and why are people unhappy? It should be the opposite based on the freedoms and choices we have today.
        The answer to the above question is complicated. First, our expectations have been raised to unreasonable levels. Second, we are all human. Many people simply botch their major life choices. The botched choices could either be a result of picking a poor alternative that wasn't well thought out or not knowing what they want. Finally, analyzing a myriad of options can be an overwhelming process to reach a decision.        

         In particular, many twenty somethings end up at a crossroads suffering from a quarter-life crisis not knowing what to do to transition from adolescence to adulthood. A common scenario is they graduate college with an unmarketable degree and then move back in with their parents not knowing what to do next or work at an entry level job until another opportunity presents itself. This indecisive approach leads nowhere slowly and essentially squanders a lot of potentially robust skill development and resume building years.

        Of course, the alternative to doing nothing is to just pick a path with an imperfect filtering down process. However, it's hard to reap the benefits of hard work, dedication, and perseverance if your heart was never into the path in the first place. What compounds the issue is that with so many options on the table, there is no way to really compare and contrast all of them without an exhaustive effort. Although we live in an information age where there is almost an unlimited amount of information about nearly any specific path, we need to have a methodology for narrowing down what interests you. Is it money, prestige, quality of life, subject matter or some other factor that motivates you? Honing in on what you want out of your career can narrow things down in a hurry.

       Unfortunately, there will always be doubt about whether the choice you made was indeed the best one for you. You only have one life to live, so you can only start down the path you choose and hope for the best. At some point, if you find yourself burned out or unhappy you can always make adjustments and take some bigger risks to find a new trajectory.

        Even education and experience not directly related to your prime career earning years will eventually help in other aspects of life and can be built on for future career opportunities. In other words, you don't have to find a perfect fit necessarily in your 20s and 30s. The puzzle pieces will come together in due course as long as you are building new skills and exerting effort into learning new things. God truly doesn't care what profession we choose for ourselves in most cases, so there's no reason to place a heavy burden in trying to find a perfect job.

        Psychologically speaking, knowing that there are other options we left on the table we'll never know what "could have" been. We might kick ourselves for choosing a less appealing alternative or we may abort a perfectly good option midway in our career in the hopes that the grass is greener elsewhere. The dirty little secret about choices is that there is a never a perfect option. There are always flaws and tradeoffs no matter what career or path we choose.  

         Some people see taking ownership of their life trajectories as a burden, but I see it as a huge opportunity! It is up to you and nobody else how your life evolves, which can be a huge boon if you are methodical and ambitious about your decision making. Even though we can't blame anyone else for our failures, the career path we entered, the location or house we live in, or even the person we choose as a significant other (or the choice to be alone), I'd rather have that than be conscripted into subpar circumstances. All of the important stuff we have the power to choose from a vast array of options, which should be a good thing if you value freedom.

        There are some decisions we make that having too many choices can hinder our happiness sticking with what we have already decided on. In marriage, we should be committed to our spouse and realize that some choices are permanent except in extenuating circumstances (abuse, infidelity, etc.). Even if more appealing options come along, we need to understand the value of being with the same person and the inherent value of sharing a long personal history together. I've never been married, but it's always bothered me that some people look around at other options besides their spouse because they can in a discrete way. 

        Choices don't have to be major life decisions. It could be which priorities we focus on and the sum total of all of our daily decisions. By way of example, we can spend some of our free time watching tv or wander into the gym for a workout. We'll eventually reap the benefits or detriments of the habits that we choose to emphasize.

        If you are unhappy with your choices, then find a catalyst for change like the woman in the article I mentioned in the first paragraph. We don't need a traumatic event like hers to make major changes in our lives. We just need to wake up feeling resolved that making a u-turn or tweaking our circumstances will lead to happier days ahead. We have more control than we think and we often underestimate our abilities, but we'll never know unless we pick a path and be fully invested by sprinting down it.      

Pushing past your comfort zone

         One of the principles that I've been thinking about a lot lately is the "law of adaptation" as it relates to my comfort zone. What it basically means is that as I push myself further than I ever have before, I will either physically or psychologically adapt to the new limit. The new limit then becomes part of my comfort zone, since I'll feel at ease and without stress having done it before.

         Why is this principle important? There are great psychological benefits to be reaped from going further than you thought possible. For the rest of your life, you will know that being stretched that far is within your range and capacity.

         One of my favorite tv shows is the Biggest Loser. It's inspiring to watch people who don't know what they're capable of push past their psychological and perceived physical limitations to make changes in their lives. They don't just get out of their comfort zones, they basically wrestle it to the ground and make it yell uncle. Even the ones that don't win learn an important principle that we don't have to accept ourselves as-is if we are willing to pay the price of change.

        Our "normal" is often dictated by how challenging of circumstances we have had in the past. If you've lived in a tent before, you probably don't mind living in a 700 square foot apartment. On the other hand, if you've lived in a mansion your whole life you may be miserable in an apartment. As we throw ourselves into new circumstances that stretch our limits, our comfort zones become larger and larger. Our "normal" will then encompass so much that we'll feel at ease even if we are in circumstances that most people would feel stressed out in.

        Many of my friends and some of my family members have several children. In fact, my oldest sister has five! Even though I have 7 siblings, I imagine that my comfort zone around children is much different than hers. That's her normal. She has been pushed far greater than I have in this arena and her psychological state reflects being at ease even with the chaos created by children around her. Hopefully, she doesn't view the challenge of having kids the same as Jim Gaffigan in this video:

          One of the benefits of going to college for 9 years was that it exposed me to quite a bit of subject matter that I never would have studied otherwise. It was always surprising to me what subjects interested me and what subjects were deemed way too dry to stimulate my mind. I never would have thought that U.S. tax law would be an interesting subject!

        Most of my friends know that real estate is my biggest area of interest. However, I hadn't owned any real estate up until 2011 when I bought my first house. Even today with all my real estate related education, I still haven't filed taxes on an investment property or have tried being a landlord. To accomplish my goals, I need to experience those things and maybe even make some mistakes along the way.  As I do that for a year or two, I'll learn if my theoretical direction merits heavier investment or scaling back and liquidating.

         To this end, if you want to succeed in the business realm you have to dip your feet into the water to gain experience before jumping into the deep end. By jumping in head first without knowing the details cold, you might set yourself back financially with higher risk business ventures. For me, having this build up and expansion of my comfort zone makes my risks much more calculated than the alternative of taking blind risks that may lead to disastrous consequences. 

       The law of adaptation has really been a helpful principle to understand on my journey. It has helped me improve on many of my weaknesses and to move forward with goals that weren't necessarily supposed to be up my alley. Adaptation means that an element of self-creation can open up a whole realm of possibilities that I never thought possible.