What Would Zak Do

$1 Million. 25 years ago, that was what I dreamed of. With that amount of money, I could buy anything, I could go anywhere, I could be anyone 

Of course it’s 2025 and a million can no longer buy what it used to, instead of buying a mansion with a pool, a basketball court, movie theatre and a fancy car, it can probably just get you a 3 bed, 3 bath house that needs some work and used car, and a mountain of debt behind that.. 

This dream of getting to the $1 Million mark stuck with me until my late college years where my room was filled with posters wall to wall a lot of… well, stuff. I valued buying things, new clothes, the latest video game console etc. I thought that was the symbol of being happy and having the coolest stuff meant I had money and happiness

Then I met my now wife. She is spontaneous and adventurous and doesn’t need any “thing” to be happy, just the sunshine and an idea. I was and still am so attracted to her energy and I knew this was what I wanted in my life. I wanted to try new things and be a “Yes” man and break out of my shell. 

So what did Zak do? 

I embraced that life and of course it’s still in progress, but we’ve traveled to places I never thought I’d go, from Ice Caves in Alaska, all the way to Cinque Terre, Italy – and along the way we’ve created a family, tackled everything that life has thrown at us and that’s what I’m proud of. 

It’s not about having millions of $, hell, everyone I know looking at retirement doesn’t even know what they are going to do with all of the money they do have saved. It’s not about the size of your house, it’s not about what car you drive, it’s not about having the nicest clothes (shoutout Adam Sandler) it’s about experiencing life with your people, enjoying the moments and the little things along the way, it’s about the smiles and laughs, and relationships you build with the ones you love, that’s what makes me happy, that’s all I need.