“So many people of wealth understand much more about making and saving money than about using and enjoying it. They fail to live because they are always preparing to live.” – Alan Watts
Following up on yesterday’s question…
“What would you do with your life if you had unlimited money?”
I thought I’d answer it for myself, today 🙂
First, the fun bits:
I’ll buy about ~10 acres of oceanfront land on the north shore of Maui (probably Haiku area), and set up an off-the-grid Hawaiian compound.
First, I’ll build a main house for my family.
We don’t need anything crazy, just a nice open home with 5-6 bedrooms and a few larger family spaces.
I’m guessing it’ll be 3000-3500 square feet, give or take.
An outdoor kitchen / dining area would be nice, with a retractable roof so we can cook and eat outside, rain or shine.
(in Maui the weather is constantly changing, and rain can appear from out of nowhere even when the sun is fully shining)
The second building will be our retreat space.
This will probably be quite a bit larger than our family house, with ~10-20 smaller guest rooms for participants, a designated teaching space, a kitchen with a large outdoor/indoor dining area, and a circular, open-air meditation space.
Here’s a similar meditation space that close friends of mine just built in Costa Rica:
I’d also build a smaller workshop on the land for my own personal office, with a filming studio as well as indoor and outdoor workspaces, plus a small kitchen.
Last, I’d install an outdoor gym with the key pieces:
Racks, rings, weights, a few specific machines (chest supported row, GHR, cable tower, 45 degree back extension, etc), a few cardio implements, and an open space to do various movement and martial arts practices.
We’ll need a retractable roof here too, so we never get rained out.
And a sauna / cold plunge setup.
It might be cool to toss in a saltwater pool and hot tub, and my family would probably enjoy it…
…But it’s not too important to me, since we’re already on the ocean.
Meanwhile, trails lined with fruit trees will weave between each structure, creating both simple walking paths and off-road walking trails through the jungle that fills the remaining ~7-8 acres of land we aren’t building on.
Now this last part is tricky in Maui, since we’ll need to import a lot of the building materials.
But I plan to build everything with sustainable, organic materials like bamboo, AirCrete, and clay.
After all, a project like this is not just a place to live.
It’s a work of art:
An expression of who I am and what my life is about.
So I’m not just tossing together the standard wood-metal-and-brick setup we see all over modern suburbia.
Which brings us to the core point of this lesson:
The outer world is most beautiful when it is an expression of a well-crafted inner world; when your life mirrors your unique intelligence, taste, and artistry.
That’s how I feel, anyway.
Which is why, to me, inner development and artistry is far and away the first priority — and building the outer world comes second.
See:
I’m actually going to build that Maui compound.
This vision has been evolving in my mind since 2015, and I’ve been looking at real estate listings and developers for years now.
But even when I do build it, I honestly estimate living there will improve the quality of my life by about ~20%.
The remaining 80% is driven by what I’m doing, and who I’m doing it with.
So that’s the part I optimize for.
(again, inner comes before outer)
Anyway, I think I’ll wrap this up here.
That was a fun one.
I’d encourage you to write out your own no-limits life vision, for yourself.
Take your time, and see how it evolves as you evolve.
You may just find yourself living it, one day.
– T
P.S. If you’re curious, here’s the closest property I’ve found to match what I’m looking for.
Not an exact match, of course.
But maybe close enough 🙂
