The Big Question Of Time;

Ron 0:11

I want to start today with a question. It's a heavy one, but stick with me. How much time do you have left? Or to put a finer point on it, how much more time do you have left to ride a motorcycle? Is it 30 years? 40 or more if you're young? Maybe just 20? Or if you're older and maybe dealing with health issues? Is it less than that? This week has been a week where I've been thinking a lot about this numbers game. And for good reason. Health-wise, I'm fine. Praise God for that. But there has been a major change in my life. A change I've planned for, where life has entered a brand new chapter. And my friends, with this change, I am more focused and determined than ever to live, to love, and to ride. Maybe like I never have before. Thank you for joining me. Stay tuned.

Farewell To Corporate Life;

Ron 1:27

Recorded in beautiful, loveliness, Colorado, welcome to Peace Love Moto, the podcast for motorcyclists seeking that peaceful, easy feeling as we cruise through this life together. Are you ready? Let's go. At sixty-three years old, I have left the world of computers, global teams, projects, audits, and most recently AI, and its deployment around the world. I'd seen enough, and I was ready to go. I suppose this massive life change, though, hasn't really hit me yet, just been a few days. You see, as long as I can remember, whenever I didn't have a full-time job, I was looking for one. I was stressed. I was busy and I was anxious. But not now. This retirement is the result of a lot of planning that my wife and I have done. We've been planning for this specific moment in our lives probably throughout our 40 years together. And honestly, regarding the timing, the timing was really good. I love my teams. The wonderful people that I get to work with around the world, they're great. I love them. But it was time. Yeah, it was a good time to say goodbye. I wanted to focus more, and I will focus more on this podcast, its reach, and possibly future plans for motorcycle touring based on the principles of this podcast of peace and love here in Colorado and beyond. We'll see.

Home Movies And Perspective;

Ron 3:45

I think the moment that really convinced me that this retirement thing was the right path happened just recently. I was with my wife down in Fort Worth, Texas, over the Thanksgiving holiday. We were sitting around watching old home movies, some from the 90s when our kids were small, and there I was, young, thin, a head full of dark hair, so many wonderful things coming, and a few heartbreaks too, all in the coming years. We know that now. But all that I knew then was that I had a young family, and the computer industry, and this thing called the internet was apparently going to be a big deal. That's what people kept telling me anyway. Now, the 90s is when I transitioned from working in a small local business to working in a large international corporation. That's when my focus was laser-locked on making it big in a big company, trying to compete where the big boys compete, I guess. Watching those videos, I remembered those first few years so clearly, and the evidence on the screen was undeniable. I was indeed a much younger man, and I had no idea what was ahead.

Freedom To Ride Without Waiting;

Ron 5:03

I share all this because now at 63 and officially retired from full-time work, I realized things can go one of two ways. They can begin to go bad, or they can go very, very good. So what choices do I have now? Now that I'm not committed to a daily early morning meeting, multiple meetings through the day, now I'll no longer have to travel for business, which was killing me. No, I was lucky. I mean, uh yeah, I was lucky to get to get to travel and and go to different places, but it was exhausting. Yeah. Here's the reality. Now, when the weather is good or even good enough, I can go for a ride on my motorcycle any day of the week. I no longer have to measure out my vacation days. No more waiting to get home from a business trip. No more waiting for the weekend only to find it snowing. I'm free now. Even saying it out loud, I just can't still I can't yet comprehend it. Oh my goodness. So, what do I do with this freedom? The same thing that you can do at whatever stage of life you're at.

Health As The First Priority;

Ron 6:37

I've gotten very good advice from several close friends, and I've been exploring what people on YouTube have to say about this stage of life, or any stage of life for that matter. And as I listen, I'm hearing one message repeated over and over again. One piece of advice seems to be at the top of everyone's list. And it's this that I want to share with you. Again, no matter what stage of life you're in right now, you have to stay healthy. Both physically and mentally, you have to stay healthy. You have to take care of yourself in order to enjoy things you love and in order to be there for those who love you. Well, you know by now, I love to ride motorcycles. It's been my passion since childhood. And I know very well that if I'm unwell for the short term or the long term, the bike stays in the garage. See, it was only a couple of years ago that I badly hurt my right hand. I was not in a motorcycle accident, it was a little crazy accident I had here at home, but I couldn't ride for four months. Also remember before that when I caught COVID, and I couldn't ride then either. I guess the reason I'm sharing all this is simply this. If you're like me and you treasure the time you spend on your motorcycle, then you've got to account for where you are in life and then take action.

Plan Your Remaining Miles

Ron 8:15

So let's go back to where I began. At the beginning of this podcast, I ask a question. How many years have you got left? How many years do you think you have left? Have you spent as much time with your friends, with your family as you wanted to? Have you gotten the bike of your dreams yet? Have you reached that destination that you've always wanted to reach? Well, if you haven't, most of us haven't, here's my challenge to you, my friend, and it's the challenge I have for myself. I want you to spend five seconds, just five seconds, calculating about how much time you have left. You have no idea, neither do I, but just take a guess. And then over the next days, weeks, and months, plan for what you're going to do with that time. Because you know it's only an estimate, right? We just don't know. But make your plan, figure out how much time it will take, figure out how much money it will cost, and then go. Go about that plan. Go year after year after year for as long as you have breath, ability, and courage. Go ride, go out there and be happy, be good to others. And until we visit again, I wish you all the time in the world.