What Would Zak Do

I honestly don’t think I’ve heard that term since Drake made it big in 2011, and I used to think it was completely idiotic… mainly because people would take it to the extreme and use it as an excuse to do whatever the hell they wanted. 

I know this isn’t the real idea behind the term and I do absolutely want to live my life to the fullest and as I wrote in my initial post, it’s an amazing feeling facing fears and doing things you never thought you could. 

Over the past few months I had the amazing opportunity to take paternity leave. This was a blessing considering my parents basically had the weekend after I was born and then they were back to work on Monday. 

Taking a break from anything for 2 months will certainly give you time to reflect and think about what the heck you want to do with your life. A couple things hit me pretty hard:

Getting to spend this time with my kids makes you only want to spend more and soak up all of the moments you can as they grow, you think it lasts forever because days can be long, but years go by so fast. A family member told me about his plan to spend more time with his family and not be locked down by his job, it got me thinking I should do the same, and asking myself, is the work I do really that important? 

Then what really brought everything into perspective is toward the end of my leave, serious health issues began to arise with family and friends. Issues that are still a mystery, as much as I stay positive it’s hard not to think about the worst and what might happen.

So you are probably asking yourself, what did Zak do after these thoughts? 

I’ve always been told that it’s important to save money, save for retirement, work hard until you have enough money and after 65 years you can take all of that and then stop working and enjoy, while it’s true and it’s important to save and work hard, it’s even more important to come up with a plan to make sure you can retire comfortably but also enjoy life and its opportunities as they come, and when you are healthy enough to enjoy them. 

So far, I’ve found a really good work life balance, saving and spending on experiences that create memories and last a lifetime, and now I’m trying to work up a new plan to retire as early as possible to be able to spend even more time with my family. Im looking to take what I have, save and invest in a variety of ways, pay myself first, and live below my means. 

I’m also not taking any moment for granted. I can’t stress enough, be present with your loved ones, call your parents, get a beer with your friend you haven’t talked to in forever, get down and play with your kids, stash some money in a “fun” account, say “Yes” to something you haven’t before and really embrace the motto of “You Only Live Once”