Ex-Physician Reveals Why He Still Can’t Fly First Class | Retirement Reality

Mark didn’t retire because he hit a magic number. He retired because the pace no longer made sense.

After decades in family medicine and leadership roles at healthcare startups, retirement wasn’t something he spent years visualizing. There were no examples to follow. No clear finish line. Work simply continued, until life introduced moments that quietly reshaped how he thought about time, health, and what “enough” really means. 

In this conversation, Mark reflects on stepping away at 64 and why he chose not to replace work with a rigid schedule or a new identity. Instead, retirement has been about removing urgency: mornings built around movement, caring for his dogs, reading, travel that feels intentional, and giving himself permission to let things unfold rather than forcing purpose.
He talks candidly about caring for his mother, how that experience changed his outlook, why he didn’t struggle with losing his professional identity, and how financial flexibility (particularly having assets outside traditional retirement accounts) made the transition feel possible rather than risky.

Mark’s story challenges the idea that retirement needs to be busy, optimized, or fully defined. Sometimes the biggest shift is simply slowing down enough to notice what actually fits.

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Mark is not a client of Root Financial Partners, LLC and received no compensation for participating in this video. His statements reflect his own opinions and experience and are not indicative of any specific client’s experience and are not a guarantee of results. No cash or non-cash compensation was provided, and no material conflicts are known.

Advisory services are offered through Root Financial Partners, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. This content is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Viewing this content does not create an advisory relationship. We do not provide tax preparation or legal services. Always consult an investment, tax or legal professional regarding your specific situation.

The strategies, case studies, and examples discussed may not be suitable for everyone. They are hypothetical and for illustrative and educational purposes only. They do not reflect actual client results and are not guarantees of future performance. All investments involve risk, including the potential loss of principal.

Comments reflect the views of individual users and do not necessarily represent the views of Root Financial. They are not verified, may not be accurate, and should not be considered testimonials or endorsements

Participation in the Retirement Planning Academy or Early Retirement Academy does not create an advisory relationship with Root Financial. These programs are educational in nature and are not a substitute for personalized financial advice. Advisory services are offered only under a written agreement with Root Financial.

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Ari Taublieb, CFP ®, MBA  is the Chief Growth Officer of Root Financial Partners and a Fiduciary Financial Planner specializing in helping clients retire early with confidence.

Transcript

Free Guides And How To Ask

SPEAKER_04 0:00

I hope you guys continue to enjoy these episodes with real guests sharing their stories, what resonates, what doesn't, and it helps bring clarity to you for your retirement. If you didn't hear on a previous episode I shared, you can always email me directly, ari at rootfinancial.com. My team responds to these messages. If you want more question, if you want more clarity, not more questions, because that wouldn't help anything. If you want more clarity on, okay, how do I keep my healthcare low? How do I optimize my superhero account? How do I know if I should do Roth conversions? Well, you can just go ahead and email us and put in the subject line conversion if you have questions on Roth conversions, when they make sense. And we'll send you a free guide in a roadmap so you can see, okay, does it make sense for you? And if so, when? How to think through that. Same thing with healthcare. Email the word healthcare, withdrawal strategies, email the word withdrawal. If you want a guide on, hey, what's what are all those questions or things that I want to make sure I don't forget before I retire? Email the word retire. So you can go ahead and do that. Once again, this isn't being posted what I'm telling you right now on YouTube. So on YouTube, most people can just comment easily and then I can send them the guide. You're all listening on the podcast app right now. If you're listening to this, so you don't have a way of getting information other than going in the description of this episode, which of course you can do as well. But I want to make sure if you guys have questions, whether it's conversions, healthcare, whatever it may be, you can go ahead and email me directly. My team will go ahead and get you that guide as fast as we can, generally within 24 hours. And then of course, more of these episodes with real people are on their way. Hopefully you guys enjoy. Thanks as always for supporting the show. What would you tell someone when it comes to prioritizing their health and maybe some tips or things to do?

SPEAKER_01 1:43

I'm I'm pausing to collect my thoughts because this is a kind of near and dear to my last 35 years exercise. That's I can sum it up in one word. I mean, every single person who's able to would benefit from being physically active in whatever way that that turns them on. And if if if they need more detail, there's plenty of places to get it. But it's so important. It's so important for our health. I'm a believer that it's staying active and exercising is so important for uh for most of our mental health. It's a huge part of living a good and fulfilling life, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

What I'm doing in this new show, Retirement Reality, is having heartfelt, candid conversations with people who have already retired so you can hear from them what worked well, what didn't, and everything in between. I hope you enjoy. And if you're retired and you want to personally come share your story on a future episode, there's a link right below this in the description of this episode where you can apply to be a guest. Now go enjoy the episode.

“Welcome” And Early Impressions

SPEAKER_04 2:49

My guest today is not only someone who I wish was my doctor, but someone who is very transparent about how you do not always need to spend hours and hours on what are you going to spend your time doing in retirement, which I know I talk a lot about on the channel because certain people will share, oh my gosh, I can't retire because I don't know what I'm gonna do. Today is an example of hearing real stories from someone who says, it's totally fine working out, making sure I'm playing with my kids, spending time with my wife, even if we have different interests, but traveling when we want, we have no interest of taking an RV around the country, we want to travel a little bit more luxuriously. So the cool thing about this show, and why I love hosting it, is I get to talk to a wide range of people. And Mark is just one of the coolest that I've gotten to speak to. Hope you enjoyed this episode. Mark, thank you for joining an episode of Retirement Reality with me. Now I asked my guest the same question first, which is if there was one word you would use to describe your retirement so far, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 3:50

If it has to be one word, I would I would say welcome. That would be my one word.

SPEAKER_04 3:58

Welcome. Well, guys, I've recorded many of these episodes and I've not got that word yet. Why welcome?

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Well, I I I would love to be able to have more words to play with, but for me, um, that hopefully uh brings together I'm a little amazed that I got here. I'm very grateful that I got here. I don't consider it an ending, and I couldn't come up with one word that has all that together. So I'm just gonna say it it's been a welcome, wonderful transition.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

I like that word. Now, here's the cool part about doing this show. We could do whatever we want. So now you have unlimited words. Now I want to hear, you said, first of all, you're amazed you got here. Why are you amazed?

SPEAKER_01 4:54

As recently as maybe five or so years ago, retirement, stopping working wasn't on my radar really at all. Um just the the the nature of my my jobs. I had one role for a very long time, another reinvention of myself that's my term for about eight or nine years, then in succession a couple of shorter stints. But those transitions entailed uh uh not being at a place financially where I was sure that I could. Um I had some family commitments, in particular, uh uh my mother, who's no longer alive, but who I love dearly, um had health problems that I was going to be able and willing and happy to help her with. Not financially, but just energy-wise, let's just say. Um so ending my working life and continuing to have an income-producing role just wasn't on my radar until fairly recently. And then I would add to that, I I didn't have any models for retirement. Um my father died relatively early, still working when he died. Uh, grandparents, the the breadwinners and my grandparent families had health issues come up again by my standards early. Uh so no one ever in my family has done the sort of billboard or magazine ad retirement where they're able to just do what they want.

SPEAKER_04 6:43

Um Wow. Thank you for sharing. And I want the whole Mark story because I can tell this could be a 12-hour podcast. Um, okay, Mark, what let me start here. How long have you been retired?

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Um, mid-June. So that would make it about four months.

SPEAKER_04 6:59

So Okay, almost a veteran. Now, how old were you when you retired, aka? Probably how old are you now?

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Yeah, uh 64.

SPEAKER_04 7:08

64. Okay, you look incredible for 64. So I want to now go to what was your profession. You said you also then shifted. I want to hear about that.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Okay. So I am a physician, uh, family medicine. So did that private practice uh for 24 years. Then um something on the order of 11 or so years ago from now, left private practice, which was very much like running a small mom and pop business. I mean, our largest we had eight or nine docs and staff of 40, but you know, it's all the good and bad that comes with a mom and pop business. Uh I wanted to try some other things, see what else is out there. So I left that and took a role with a healthcare startup, uh, first doing clinical work, but then uh transitioning, moving into um some administrative and ultimately some leadership roles. So that was a huge pivot for me. Um left that about I'm so old, I have to think about this for a while. About four years ago, was very briefly with another startup, and then have spent the last three or so years up until I retired, uh, with a another healthcare startup here here in Austin.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:33

Okay. I'm so fascinated. I want to go deeper into truly not just, okay, what did you spend your time doing? Because you don't hear, first of all, you don't hear a lot of, yeah, so I was a physician and financially I didn't even know if retirement was possible because naturally people think, well, yeah, there's a lot of debt at some point, but then it's really significant income. So I'd love to hear more about that. But I also want to hear about the transition, meaning, when did you officially go? You know what? Now is the time I want to retire. So I'd like to start there, but I want to circle back. So if we don't mind, why did you choose to retire at the time you chose?

SPEAKER_01 9:10

There were a few threads. Um, some things that happened that put me and my family in a stronger financial uh situation. We I had had a small uh uh stake in the office building of the private practice I was in, and we uh sold that, and so that was a little bit of a windfall. Uh with a little uh jarring to realize that resulted in more income than years of just being a doctor. But not, I mean, it wasn't not all the years of being a doctor, but it was still kind of like a head scratcher. Um so that happened, and then so it was in a little bit stronger financial situation. Then uh my mother had developed an illness that I alluded to, and um she ultimately uh had dementia. We we recognized that, and um uh for the last year and a half of her life was in Austin, where I live, and uh I was uh really involved with her care, which I was quite happy to do. As she went through that journey, you know, make makes one very aware of their own mortality and time horizon. Um and it it caused me to sort of pull the several threads together. You know, we we could probably do this financially. I don't know how much healthy time I've got on this earth. And then when her illness progressed and and sadly, but but not unexpectedly, she she died uh a bit ago. Um it kind of made for a natural transition point. I I had uh prior to that thought, uh I'll work you know till 65-ish, I'm in pretty good health, that'll be fine. But when when those things all sort of came together, it just felt like, well, you know, let's let's let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 11:06

Yeah, I'm sorry to hear and appreciate you sharing all of this, Mark. Okay, so now you're retired. What does your day look like now that you don't have to go to work?

unknown 11:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Uh it looks like this. Um I I'm I'm an exercise guy, so I I get up and and uh I don't know if you're familiar with orange theory. I go to orange theory almost every day and have a little group that I uh enjoy hanging out with a little bit there. Um and then of late, I have a good friend who has a plot in a community garden and he's out of town for a while, and I've been helping him with the watering, so that just takes a few minutes. Um come back and to my to our house and and um walk the dog if I haven't haven't done that earlier, which I I really I'm a dog guy. We we love our puppies and and and enjoy that. And then beyond that, um I've been reading a lot, pursuing some some uh reading and intellectual interests that I've had and am excited to spend more time on. And then I would add, Ari, that as I thought about this and and what this was gonna be like, and I've looked at books and blogs and podcasts and heard about how people, you know, think about how you're gonna fill your day. I came to the conclusion that for me there was value in none of that. Of of really just letting the dust settle and and and seeing what that felt like, experiencing not having to hurry. Hence, uh, that was a long answer to your question. My days are the exercise, the dogs. I've done a little bit of travel, but a lot of reading, and it's been that's what it's been like.

SPEAKER_04 12:59

I love the long answers, by the way. And I am surprised by your answer, and I want to go deeper because oftentimes I'll hear someone say, I can't retire, I don't have a schedule yet. And now I'll go deeper with that person and say, are you secretly worried? Because right now you have a strong purpose at work, and when you don't work anymore, you don't feel that. But your smile right now is beaming, Mark. And you did not say, you know, I really miss my patience, and I'm sure you enjoyed your patience, because you are, of course, a lovely guy, I can tell. But what often I find is when someone is in a position where there's significant purpose and meaning, like being a physician, take care of one's health, it's hard to transition. And oftentimes people delay it because they don't know and the fear of the unknown scares them. That's not what I'm hearing right now, which I think to a lot of people is encouraging because they're thinking, oh my gosh, wait, Mark seems like he's enjoying his retirement and he didn't like have a schedule and he just does whatever the heck he wants. That's pretty cool. So do you worry or wrestle with the purpose or meaning? Or you go, no, I think a lot of books and podcasts talk about it, but it's just not applicable.

Leaving Patients For Leadership

SPEAKER_01 14:07

I uh I'm laughing at myself. I have a lot to say about that. But but the short answer is no, I don't wrestle with that. Um, I'm happy to say that for the time I was in private practice, which again was over 20 years, you know, uh it had its good and bad and ups and downs, but it was noble work. I felt like I did meaningful work and helped some of the people, hopefully. And and good for me on that, and good, and hopefully good for them. In this last decade, my role pretty quickly became more uh managing other people, leadership, if you will. So it wasn't so directly tied to patience. And and and so, yeah, I've I've been thinking about letting go of that, and and now that there hasn't been really a loss of identity or or purpose for me. And and my my other comment uh about your your good question in in listening to the podcast, reading, trying to learn about retirement and other people's experiences, one it's a slippery slope to you know, you have to have uh a meaning and a purpose, almost like it's your capstone project, you know, that you're if you want to graduate, you have to successfully come up with these things. And that's not me. Um, I I'm fortunate to have a lot of curiosities and interests, and I'm not worried about finding things that that feel right to me.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

What would you tell other people that are either physicians or in leadership roles regarding how you essentially were working with clients, then naturally you grow in your career, and now all of a sudden it find you're doing less client work, more admin work? Now I'm sure there's nobleness to that and you see tremendous value, but would you tell them, hey, keep working with clients, hire more people to help with the admin side? Would you say no? Um naturally you're gonna become a leader because you've done great work and that's part of the gig, but find a startup earlier. Or like what would you tell someone who is like once again, either a physician or just in a strong leadership position?

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yeah, um this is gonna be a very unique to me answer. Um, medicine, I mean, you're you're a young, you're a young and you know, in my professional life, it's changed whole hog. I kind of entered my the working world at the tail end of sort of the, if you will, the golden age of just kind of fee-for-service medicine. And you know, when I grew up, no one in my family was a physician, but the you know, the doctors were wealthy and and their kids led a different kind of life. And then fast forward through the next 35 plus years, and it's changed in so many ways. I have plenty of professional colleagues, docs who um are super fulfilled taking care of patients, period, and and more power to them. I got a little bored. Um, so for me, that that transition to other kinds of roles was just it was wonderful. It was I I it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Um so that's all to say, um, you know, it it depends on one's own situation and needs and just what what's that person like.

Money Scripts And Learning To Plan

SPEAKER_04 17:48

Well said. Yeah, certain people they are like, yeah, I became a physician to work with clients, and then there's naturally other things that come up. I'm a great example of that as well, where I'm working with clients, now I'm making more videos, helping even more people. So the ultimate goal is just depend on what you want to do. So I love that. I want to switch gears a little bit to the financial side. So I'm going back to your word of hey, I was amazed. Now, of course, you had this property and you were shocked to see, wow, that really brought in a lot of income compared to what I was maybe even making for many years. But I know there are a lot of people out there that go, really, physician not on track to retire or even thinking about that. What would you say was the reason that up till five years, I mean, you didn't even think a retirement was even possible. Who was teaching you about retirement planning? If anyone, did you start as a physician going, I want to retire at 65, I'm gonna save to my 403B or 401k? Or how did you even approach finances?

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Yeah, yeah. Um, and and I probably didn't, I may not have communicated really well. Uh I guess rather than not thinking it was possible, it was more that I didn't think about it at all. And kind of kind of because, or at least I as I as I look back on that, you know, again, I hadn't seen anyone retire. I didn't know what that was for all practical purposes. I was still in my mid-professional life and doing my thing and somewhat at the top of my game, and it just kind of didn't occur to me that much. You you you've asked about physician. You know, I will say I I made a good living. I'm grateful and feel incredibly fortunate. Primary care physicians make a very good but not off-the-charts living. I mean, that's that's the reality of it. Um so again, that I say that not in the spirit of of complaining or any kind of tip on my shoulder, but it's just the truth. Um and then I would also tell you that uh you and I in our in our communication beforehand, I mentioned this term money script. You know, what I saw in my family, uh, my dad worked hard and diligently. You know, he he was a wonderful person, unbelievably wonderful father. His father's work was in what I'm gonna call industrial services, scrap metal. My dad started one and then another company to sort of ancillary to those, I guess you could say. Much like my private practice, and it's probably I need to talk to a therapist about this, but you know, he it was good, he was proud of it, but he worked all the dang done. Um it was there was just a constant, again, a small, a small business. Things come up constantly, situations, clients, employees, and and um seeing him do that I didn't want to do that forever. Um and I I did not, to be clear, I never worked as hard as as he did, I don't think, in terms of that kind of daily grind. But you know, you get you get tired after some years. So um that's all to say I did start thinking about it uh in my as I sailed through my 50s. Um I didn't really have anyone teaching me anything about financial anything. And that's not a slight on my parents, it just wasn't the situation of the world they they they came from. So I started educating myself a bit. Um one of my situations, I I uh lobbied to get us a 401k set up, and and that was great. And then in the last uh I'd say three years in particular, I've I've kind of made it a little side hobby just to educate myself. And uh it's been good. I've I've learned a lot.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

It sounds like there wasn't really an off button, maybe, for your parents working, and that perhaps made you go, you know, I don't want to have to always be on. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 22:10

I think that's that that is right. Um Towards Towards the end of his life, my dad um uh was able to sell his business, but it did not result in a significant pot of money for for him to just do what he wanted at that point. There were some other other debts, and it was a little more complicated.

SPEAKER_04 22:36

Now, I may have misunderstood, which would this would not be the first time that's happened. Did you say your father was working up until he passed?

SPEAKER_01 22:45

Yes. Uh he he died at um he was 70 and he was still working. He had uh several years before that uh sold this industrial business to uh uh a big national company and stayed on with them in a role and was still doing that at the time he died.

SPEAKER_04 23:03

Wow. One of the most surprising answers I get is when I ask the question, what is your community like in retirement? And the reason it's a fascinating question to me is certain people say, I don't need community. I've got my family, I've got gardening, I work out, I'm stimulated by reading or movies, and I'm good. Other people go, nope, I need a network of people like me to be able to chat. What is it like for you?

SPEAKER_01 23:28

I've got a a small number of friends, of good friends that I'm comfortable with and I'm I'm putting some energy into nurturing those those relationships. It's definitely uh an arena where I I sailed through most of my adult life, kind of, you know, I'll see so-and-so once a year. So it is something that I I feel a need for and enjoy, I guess is a better word. Um so been been making a little more of an effort lately to have a coffee and or or uh whatever with with with these uh people that I do like spending time around. And you know, I have my little exercise group. So there's little little groups that that emerge.

SPEAKER_04 24:12

Is Orange Theory still doing the you put the band around and then you see your score? It's an arm band now, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:19

Very cool. Yeah, I I've done a few classes there, so that that's fun. I like that you look forward to that. Do you do it every day?

SPEAKER_01 24:26

I would say it averaged out to probably six days a week. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:29

Impressive. Now, were you doing that while you were working as well, or just not to the extent that you are now?

SPEAKER_01 24:35

So I want you to think about how you think and talk about soccer. So I have a little a little origin story. I I am a never quite recovered, retired pickup basketball player.

SPEAKER_04 24:47

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

That was my true love. And and up until I was in my mid-40s, that was my whole social life. I played, had three or four regular games a week. I loved it. And I still and I I decided to give it up after the second knee surgery and just thought, you know, God. But um to respond to your question, it's been a matter of kind of filling in the exercise life post-pick up basketball. And and I've landed on Orange Theory, my daughter got me into it, and uh, yeah, it's it's it's not perfect, but it's been a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_04 25:27

I'm glad. And I feel similarly, so I'm a big soccer fan, as you're aware, which I love. I so I've had a few hit procedures as well. I go to core power yoga a lot at the moment, and that's become a little bit of hey, I kind of know I should do it. It's a little more fun than just going to the gym, and there's a community there, so I I like that you have that. I'm curious. So are you married, Mark? Is that correct? I am. Okay. And is it to wife? Is it to wife? Okay. If I were to ask your wife, how has Mark changed? And I know it's only been a few months, but how has Mark changed since he retired? What do you think she would say?

SPEAKER_01 26:02

I think she would say I'm way happier. Yeah, it's it's it's undeniable. Yeah, I I never actively disliked my work in any way, but but it was a it was a burden. You know, there's this responsibilities and stuff. I think she has said that she thinks I'm way happier.

SPEAKER_04 26:21

Now I don't think this is the case, but I like to ask because you never know, and it's cool finding out cool things about cool people. Yeah. Sometimes a spouse will say, you know, I'm so excited for for my partner to finally retire. Then they go, Well, I didn't think you'd be around this much. And I didn't really know that we were going to spend this much time together. I kind of miss a little bit of me time. Other people go, you know, we've been waiting for this, and it's like redating my spouse again, and we haven't connected like this in years. What's it been like for you the last few months?

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Yeah, yeah, it's it's been good. Um it's definitely been a change to have me around uh a good bit. We've always been a couple that that has their own interests. Um, and then in particular, my wife, amongst other things, is uh is an artist. She always has been, and she can go into her studio, she has a studio, and I mean she could, depending on the the project or the thing she's working on, could be in there eight hours and not say a word. And and so we we we get alone time. Um yeah, so so it it's been fine and and really been been good. I I'm I'm really I'm glad to spend more time with her.

SPEAKER_04 27:32

Um that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

I think it's been good for us.

Travel Style And Surfing Dreams

SPEAKER_04 27:34

Good. Travel is a hot, hot topic when it comes to retirement. Certain people travel a lot throughout their working years and then go, well, I want to travel differently or not at all. Other people go, I've been pushing it off for so long, I can't wait to travel. How do you view travel?

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Yeah, yeah, we're looking forward to traveling a bit more. We um kind of I'm gonna tie this back to we have some common interests and things we enjoy and some separately. We've in in recent years made several trips to London and to Great Britain, and both of us have really liked that. Uh when you leave Austin and it's 100 degrees and you go to the UK and it's 60 and kind of gray, it's kind of nice. Uh so we've loved that and look forward to doing that more. Um I personally I told you I'm a surfer, and and so that's that's the that's one of my unsolved um travel desires is is how to exactly make that work. Because I I'm I'm landlocked right here. Um and you know, probably a good bit of that would be uh with her not in not not coming along. She she's not a real beach person, although she's she's welcome to come. So yeah, we're looking forward to more travel. Um we are not a couple, we're not the the motorhome couple that wants to get a motorhome and leave the house and be gone for extended time. We have our dogs that we we love here, so yeah. So again, long answer, but more travel uh strategically.

How He Chose Medicine

SPEAKER_04 29:07

I love it. Okay, I'm gonna tell you a quick little story. You may already be aware of it, Mark, but it's gonna tie back to a question I want to ask about your career choice. And it sounds like you really did enjoy being a physician working with clients, and then it's you enjoyed even further, getting to do other things. But this concept is coming up a lot in my interviews of joy versus security. And I'm curious how you're viewing that now as someone who's retired. So the quick story is my dad is from Great Neck, New York, and he saw the movie Endless Summer. Have you seen that movie? Uh multiple times. Okay, so my dad watched Endless Summer, and he watched his dad growing up, and his dad was a CPA. And he saw Endless Summer and went, okay, so Endless Summer, here's people surfing. My dad's a CPA, and he thought they paid the same. He didn't know surfing did not come with money. My dad was eight years old, and he went, so I get to pick one of these. Yeah, I'm gonna surf. So my dad dedicated his entire life to surfing. So he would be on in Long Island, New York, and he'd get a surfboard and he'd get on the train, and people would think he had a spaceship, and he'd go two hours out and he would go surf in Montauk. And my dad became obsessed with surfing, and that became his whole life. So his whole life's mission was to make sure he could have a job that allowed him to surf. And that was the primary goal. I can't tell you how many times I did not get picked up from soccer practice because there were good waves. Um uh my dad loved it, and he would say he's an addict in the most fun way because he truly loves it. Now, similar to your wife, my mom is like, well, she sunburns easily, she doesn't really want to go take these trips. So here's my dad going, I want to go to Indonesia, I want to go do all these super fun, cool trips. And so they still have a relationship that works even if they do different things. The trouble here is there was a long period of time where my dad's going, I want to surf. And my mom's going, what about saving for retirement? What about making sure that we're able to retire um in a way that's gonna allow us both to live and be comfortable? And my dad's going, look, I want those things, but I'm a natural surfer, it's who I am. So I'm bringing the question back to you, Mark, because I imagine you don't get to surf often. It's hard to surf the barbecue when you're in Texas. So if you've got that surfing itch, which inherently we know what's odd about surfing, is although it's all about joy and share the love, if you're on a wave, it means someone else isn't. So there's a natural selfishness to the sport, which is always interesting to me, even if it's a beautiful thing. So growing up, were you going, oh my gosh, I want to be a physician? Was it I want to be a surfer? What was the dream and how did that come into your thought process?

SPEAKER_01 31:43

What a good question. Um, this could go in a lot of directions. When I grew up, so I grew up on the coast in Galveston, Texas. There was an active surf scene and surf community, but being in California, you have to keep in mind it's crappy surf in Texas. It's very erratic. There can be weeks, months with no surf, chocolate milk, brown water, warm water, but but brown, but it's very erratic, just kind of wind-driven, not these wonderful swells. I honestly didn't even know that there was a reality where someone could have a real job and be a surfer. You know, I I never saw that. And there's a t-shirt I um I don't have it anymore, but I had when I was a kid that said real surfers don't have real jobs, which which there is some truth to.

SPEAKER_02 32:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

So I never really considered, gee, I'm I'm not gonna aim for a secure job, I'm just gonna go surf. Um, and I'm I'm kind of amazed as an adult when I encounter the many people in California that that have made those kinds of decisions. Um but yeah, so so I I really didn't know what I wanted to do. Um, I was a good student as a kid. I was good at math and always liked math. I was that weird kid that liked math and was pretty good at the sciences. Went off to college after high school and and you know, didn't have any notion of following in my father's, like following him into his business. And started out in some science classes and honestly kind of ended up going pre-med just because I I kind of didn't know what else to do. There's that's that's the honest answer. The further along I got into it, I I I liked it fine. But I'll tell you what I liked about medicine, and this is something I've been thinking about recently, now that I have a a little distance in perspective. I loved the learning part of medical school. You know, I love that learning curve going straight up. And once I was a doctor and in practice, I loved meeting people and getting to know their stories, and I just I find people endlessly fascinating. I didn't love the clinical part of it so much. I think I did a good job and was plenty competent, but I've really been aware in the last 15 or so years that that part, at least in my field, had gotten a little routine for me, and I wasn't growing in a way that I wanted to. That's what led me to make that transition to the corporate world and the startup world. Um so I I never really was weighing security versus surfing. It was I my my life unfolded the way it did, and I made my choices, and um and I am I am a satisfied and fulfilled landlocked guy.

SPEAKER_04 34:49

You are it's a very astute realization, and I think you articulated that very well. How old are your children?

SPEAKER_01 34:56

I have a son who just got engaged, who is 34, and a daughter who is 30, who is my Pilates teacher.

Kids Money Talks And Estate Plan

SPEAKER_04 35:05

Incredible. Congratulations. I hope you get a discount. Um no discount. She's like, no, I know Mark's retired. Okay, Mark, what in every family is different? Some families they talk about money openly, sometimes it's a little taboo. What are you telling your children um about finances, saving for retirement? Does it not come up? What's that dynamic like?

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Yeah, um, I probably haven't told them enough. Uh you know, they're you know, they're they're young adults, they're getting on their feet in their adult lives, and and they are. Um just in this past year, uh, was able to to talk with with each of my kids about just being able to a yearly contribution to a Roth IRA. And I'm trying to start the wheels turning and and and give them uh more knowledge than I had at their age. That uh a desire to do that also arose from navigating my mother's estate. You know, when someone dies, my my brothers and I were all executors, and it that that kind of brings you up close and personal with with some of the with some financial realities. So I haven't spent a whole lot of time speaking with them, um, but but hope to to to do more should if they're interested. Um she's not being a Pilates teacher, actually works uh for a bank, a digital bank. So she's she's learning a little bit along that.

SPEAKER_04 36:40

Awesome. Um if you're comfortable sharing regarding legacy planning, let's assume you passed tomorrow, which hopefully is never the case because there's many waves out there that need to be written by Mark. But let's just assume something drastic happened and they inherited your both of your children, all of your wealth. Would you feel comfortable with that? Would you go, oh, it seems like maybe that's a lot to handle all at once? Do you have a trust set up? Um, I'm not sure if you've heard the term hems provisions, but it's something that comes up a lot recently of if someone were to pass, it can be used, but for only health, education, maintenance, or support. There's all these fancy things people like to do nowadays. How are you viewing that?

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Um, I would be comfortable. Um, you know, something so we have a very simple estate plan. Something happens to me, if I if I died, everything goes to my wife. Heaven forbid there's a time when neither of us is here. It goes half to one kid, half the other. Kind of end of story. And and I think they're both at an age and and of a, you know, have the have the maturity to to handle that.

SPEAKER_04 37:47

And the maturity is because you raised them well. So kudos to you.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

Yeah, I hope I I play some part in that, yeah.

Spending Comfort Horses And Splurges

SPEAKER_04 37:55

I think you probably did more than you think. Okay, so this is a a funny thing to bring up, but there are certain people who go, you know, Ari, I'm really just a modest spender. 20,000, 25,000 a month that allows us to kind of do what we want to do. Um, and then other people go, I'm a big spender. I'm kind of embarrassed to tell you, but I spend like 5,000 a month. So it proves it's all relative. I know it's only been a few months, but do you find there's a certain amount every month that you're spending that allows you to do what you want to do?

SPEAKER_01 38:28

I did create a a on I I'm a DIY guy. I created a financial plan and and chose to you know make a separate little little pot of travel and and fun stuff to be fun. So so that's there as we need it. Um we're not I would say we're not really spending significantly differently than we did before I retired. I'm working hard to give myself a little pat on the back to let myself not sweat the small stuff. You know, if if there's a vet bill unexpected, it's gonna be okay. It's not gonna affect things so much. And and that's that's been a that's different for me. Um you know, for so long I've been uh and and along together with my wife, and we've been frugal and and careful.

SPEAKER_04 39:32

You're bringing up the saver's mindset. Let's pretend you were not frugal. You probably wouldn't have retired as comfortably as you did. And so the tricky thing is if you stay a great saver, maybe you pass away with 10 million and you go, why didn't I spend more on travel or whatever that may be? Which I'm not saying go do it, but um, it's something obviously that takes practice. And I'll talk about retirement being what's called a like a dimmer effect where certain people retire and they go, I gotta be a great spender now, I gotta flip this switch. And I go, it's not that easy. It's more of a dimmer effect where you have to start to try to spend more over time. Now don't stake for the don't spend for the sake of it. But if you're not spending, you're doing a tax strategy, or you're doing charitable giving, or you're doing something else to be able to help. Do you and your wife ever find, hey, this is something financially that maybe we want to do, but it just feels weird to do because there's not income coming in anymore? Or do you feel at this point there's enough comfort with your financial plan that it doesn't bother you?

SPEAKER_01 40:30

There is enough comfort, and it's still a project of mine to get really comfortable. But let me give you a real example of something we've done the last couple years. Uh we are the proud owners, my wife's the proud owner of a horse. Um and and uh, you know, horses are not free, and their room and board is not free. Um and that was a very um, at least on my side, a very intentional decision, you know. Three, eight years ago, probably wouldn't have been comfortable doing that. Um, but here we are, and this is our one and only life, and she really wants a horse.

SPEAKER_04 41:11

So great example. My ex-uncle is Kenny Loggins, and so my mom's sister is Julia Loggins, and they owned many horses. And I said, What is the biggest expense? I'm a finance guy, I gotta know with owning horses. And they told me it was transporting the horses because they would move them between different locations so that they had a different upbringing. I mean, I don't even know what it was, but I do know that was a significant expense and it brought them so much joy. And so there's people around him that I remember telling them, Why own these horses? And I'm thinking, look at how happy they are. Like he has the money to do it. If you don't have the money, it's a different story. But I'm glad to hear that. Now, this is just a fun question that I ask all my guests because this is what I actually ask clients, and I'm stealing this from their founder, James, who created this question. But he'll say, Okay, Mark, let's pretend, just hypothetically say you spend 200,000 a year. Let's just say it's that. It's probably not because you seem more frugal than that. But let's just assume. And I said, Mark, you and your wife have to spend 300,000. And if you don't do it, it goes to your least favorite political party. You cannot save it, you cannot do charitable stuff, you have to spend it. What would you spend it on?

SPEAKER_01 42:23

We would spend it on number one, would be business class, lifelap seats to go overseas. That that would be hands down number one. Um which is, you know, I this I was like, God, that many thousands of dollars for seven or eight hours of comfort, you know, um, but I I would love it. Um, probably a little more travel and probably some big home improvement. That's what we've spended on.

SPEAKER_04 42:56

I'm not saying this is gonna help or change your mindset at all, but I've told this to my clients before. I'll say, look, I know what you're thinking, or at least I'm gonna guess. And they'll say, okay, go. I go, I bet even if you have three, four million bucks, it's gonna kill you to buy a first-class ticket. Now I know that you know you'll be okay if you buy the first class ticket. Am I on the same page? They go, yep. I go, here's what I need you to do. It's gonna sound dopey and idiotic, but I'm gonna need you to try it for one flight. And if it doesn't work, we're not gonna do it ever again. They go, okay. I go, I need you to pretend it's free. They go, free? It's not free. Think about what if the opportunity cost of those dollars and the compound interest. They go, I I'm the finance guy, I get the calculation, but you want to have the best plan ever, work till you're 90. You retired for a certain reason, but it's gonna kill you if you're sleeping and you wake up and you go, my back's still bothering me, and I spent 6,500 bucks. Whoa, is was this worth it? Because I I I know I could just have a nice hotel room and take a nap when I arrive, and then, you know, I'll stay an extra day and I do the the trade-off and I could get an extra hotel room. And they go, Yep, that's what I've been thinking. And I'll say, I need you to try it once. And then I'm going to need you to try one other thing. And they'll go, What's that? And I'll say, I'm going to need you to try taking your friends out to dinner. It's going to feel weird because you're a good person and then they're going to offer to pay as well. But you're going to have pre-paid the dinner and you're going to see which feeling you like more. And maybe you like both of them. Maybe you're going to find I actually resonate more with paying for my friends' dinner. And I've had people shock me. Certain people go, you know what? Really didn't feel that great, but I loved having time with them. But it didn't feel great because my friends, the whole time, I could tell they wanted to pay as well. So it just made it weird. Other people, they'll say, the fact that that flight was free in first class, it made me realize I don't care what the money is. That's what I'm doing. And I go, great, let's find out. So it's not as much me saying, do this, but I'd invite you on your next trip to to book it, pretend it's free, because if you're going to quantify it as a DIYer, the math will not work. So that's my only thought.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

Yeah. Um, and I'm I I'm with you actually. And I'm uh we've developed a uh uh um habit, uh uh practice of going of going to to London for our anniversary, and I'm about to pull the trigger on the tickets, and I I might do it. I might I might do it.

SPEAKER_04 45:18

I like it. It's worth trying. Now, where do you stay in London? I am a frequent visitor, but people love travel tips, where you stay, what you like to go to. So you're going to London. What does that week look like?

SPEAKER_01 45:30

So I'm a little bit of a hotel snob. That is to say, I really like nice hotels and would rather stay a shorter amount of time at a really nice place. And we have found that we love, love, love being right by Hyde Park where we can walk in the mornings and the evenings. So the last if if it's okay to give you a specific name, I'll tell you what. The last couple of times we stayed at the Royal Lancaster.

SPEAKER_04 45:54

No room number needed.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

Sorry, just that's which is is literally right across the street. Um it's it's what I would call on the lower end of five-star hotel that ain't cheap, but it's not insane. Um it's lovely. Um, and it's you know, walking across the street into Hyde Park, and and that's really great. And there's beautiful shop right there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:16

Now a lot of people will go similar. I like going to a nicer place, even if it's for less time, but there's a lot of travel there. How long are you normally staying when you do a trip like this?

SPEAKER_01 46:26

The trips we've done have been um uh uh five, six days, not not super long.

SPEAKER_04 46:32

Five, six days, okay. Enough where you you go, yeah, the orange theory is missing me, I'm gonna come back. Um funny you mentioned that.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Me, this is you have to put on your therapist hat. Me getting out of my exercise routine can get dicey. Um, it's pretty important for my for my uh my my happiness and and mental health. I I really I really love it. I love working out.

SPEAKER_04 46:56

Me too. I'm the same, and uh there's uh someone I'm not gonna say the word, but someone who says, conquer your inner, and then I'm not gonna say the next word here because we're on a public forum here. But a lot of people will say it's really hard when you get out of that. And there's a wonderful book, Extreme Ownership by Jocko, and he talks about okay, how do you make sure that you know he wakes up at 4 30 every morning and he's got his clock, and when you don't have that routine, I struggled with a long time until I had a client who say, those are actually just reminders and tests for you to check in on. And I kind of view it that way now as well, when I'm working out in the hotel gym, it's just not as fun. It's kind of bleak a little bit. There's no one else there, the energy's not there. And so I used to beat myself up as a soccer player going, why is it when I'm training alone, I'm not training as hard? And then it's different when I'm with my team and I've got to be in it, and that natural flow state will occur. And so I'm with you, and it still doesn't fully change. And I almost feel a guilt when I'm on vacation as to okay, why am I giving myself the ability to do this? And as a retiree, I imagine it's extra hard because it's you're not going back to work and you return, it's going back to still doing whatever I want. So I imagine that's something that may come up, but am I wrong?

SPEAKER_01 48:05

No, you're you're you're on target. I I will add that I haven't made an overseas trip since I've been retired. So that'll that'll be that'll be fun. And number two, and I I bet you can relate to this, the first criteria for hotel selection, number one, is do they have a gym? Yes. I'm gym and sauna. Yeah, even if it's not perfect, I need to know there's something there.

Advice For Retiring In Five Years

SPEAKER_04 48:30

I'm the exact same way. And it needs to be 24-7. So my rule is, and my now wife, two months, so I'm a veteran. I've I've been married as long as almost you've been retired. Um, is I have to get off the plane and go to the gym. I go with my suitcase. That's how psychotic I am. So if you think you need a therapist, meet me, okay? I need to go direct because the thought is, and I'm sure there needs to be therapy here of if I don't do it immediately, I'm thinking about, well, I haven't done it. It's been so long, why don't I feel as good? So I go with my suitcase, and it's just a tradition, and I go direct to the hotel gym. So if it's not 24-7 and I get there at 11:30, I know I'm not gonna sleep well. We all know it's not the same bed as home. So I do not think it's psychotic. In fact, I think you you probably are leaving this conversation going, I'm way more sane than I thought. Now, Mark, I like to end these amazing interviews, which I'm so grateful you're willing to share all of this because this is so fun for me, by letting you talk to someone. And I know it always depends, so it's not me saying, Hey, give what you think everyone should do, but any insight as someone who worked a few different roles, had a few different lives, if you will, someone who enjoys but at the same time struggles with certain spending. What would you tell someone? I'm gonna shut up for the next one to two minutes. What would you tell someone who wants to retire in, let's say, the next five years? You can tell them anything you want regarding plan for healthcare that could stress this out, or have a superhero account. You can go financial, you can go on the identity side, even though it's something you haven't struggled with. So I'm gonna shut up now. The next few minutes are all you.

SPEAKER_01 50:06

I'll I'll give the advice that would have been helpful to me. Uh start educating yourself, reading, listening, whatever, whatever kind of a learner you person are, um, just to hear about other people's experiences, what the uh issues or situations might be, and you can see which ones are relevant for you. And then I don't like giving unsolicited advice or presuming on other people's lives, but but if pushed, I will say this is your one and only life, and and no one knows how things are gonna play out. Um, so do do what feels right for you and and and don't be afraid to make a change.

Superhero Accounts Taxes And Advisors

SPEAKER_04 50:48

Love it. And normally that is my last question, but I thought of one more that I must know because I'm so curious. I'm I don't know if the whole audience knows this, but or is thinking the same question I am right now. But if you are, I would love to see it in the comments below because it's fun when I get to see if we have the same thoughts. But first, everyone, please give Mark some love in the comments for being willing to share and do all of this. So truly thank you, Mark. My question is regarding superhero accounts because this is something that a lot of people just go, ah, why didn't I know about this? Or I actually did know about it because I didn't even have a 401k as an option, and I wish other people would have known about it. So, do you mind sharing, Mark? Do you have a superhero account? And how has that played into your retirement?

SPEAKER_01 51:28

Yeah, no, good question. Um we actually haven't talked too much about financial nuts involved. So my situation, our situation is maybe a little unusual. I have a uh well more than half of our assets are in a superhero account. So we have the flexibility that brings. Part of that came from uh that that real estate sale that I had had a part in, where kind of bit the bullet, paid the taxes, but you know, there was there was the the the net. Um so so we have a good amount in a superhero, which brings some flexibility, and and um now that I've gotten a little deeper into financial planning and retirement planning, I'm I'm happy to have.

SPEAKER_04 52:16

Let's see how many last questions I have here, because I have a few more, Mark, if you don't mind. Um Are you the one personally doing you said you're a DIYer? So for those who don't know, do it yourselfer. I'm the weird advisor that says I don't think everyone needs an advisor. I think it depends on timing. And there's certain people that go, what lights me up in retirement is reading tax law and doing the conversion analysis. And I'm someone that's gonna trust me, even if I'm not an expert compared to someone else. And maybe I want to double check, or but I like doing it. There's other people that go, look, I like it, but if I'm ever not here, I need my spouse to have someone. There's a wide range of people. Yeah, but I'm the one that says I think it depends. And the primary reason people will hire an advisor, in my opinion, is so they don't have to do it. It's oh my gosh, I just don't have to worry about it. Some people, advisors in our world, I find, are like, well, I'm a super genius and everyone needs me. And I'm like, I'm not buying that. I think yes, we do valuable work, but I also think that people are hiring us as a service. So, from your perspective, do you enjoy managing the finances? Are you doing the conversion analysis? It sounds like you have a healthy superhero account, so that's playing into should I do conversions or taxi and harvesting and all these things that come up. How do you view all that?

SPEAKER_01 53:27

Yeah, yeah. Um I mostly enjoy it. Um and I'm pretty comfortable. I am comfortable with how it's going, but I'm early in the game. And one thing that I've learned, at least for our situation, is that I've learned what I don't know. And the biggest thing I think I don't know is the attack stuff, the attacks planning, if you will. Um that's the one area where I'm I'm I'm continuing to think about you know, there might be a case to be made to involve someone who knows a whole bunch about that. Because that's you know the the stakes get significant um tax-wise over these.

SPEAKER_04 54:20

Yeah, I'm sorry if you've heard it already, Mark, because um you may have. But the reason, one of the large reasons I'm in this industry is my parents had an advisor, and then they said, Hey, I have a tax question. And they said, Hey, go talk to a CPA. And the CPA says, Yeah, that's a little investment related. Go talk to your advisor. And they're like, Who's gonna help me? I have tax planning. So here's the sad reality. Although I have a CPA and I love CPAs, their job is to save you the most in a single year, so you pay them again next year. Nothing wrong with that. They do a noble profession, they are not looking out for your lifetime tax liability. The incentive is not there. So our goal and the primary reason people work with us, it is the tax planning. Now, certain advisors, and I'm not tooting our horn as much as certain advisors will focus on it more than others. And certain people will come and say, I feel like I've done a good job saving and investing. And I'll say, I think you have too. And if that's all you're looking for, I really don't think you need a whole lot more. And they'll go, Really? And I'll go, well, there's there's a line that a lot of people have been saying recently, which is just because you know how to put gas in your car doesn't mean you're a mechanic. And there are certain people that will invest well and go, I'm a genius. And maybe they got really lucky, maybe they are really, you know, brilliant at picking it. But and I I use LeBron James, who often says, and I know I look just like LeBron James, but LeBron James, you know, similar build. I'm five foot five, and you know, the same thing there. So LeBron James will say, Look, I got to the top by working hard and I have talent, but staying at the top is different. It's kind of similar in the retirement world, which you save and invest to get there, and then to keep it there, there's a few decisions that could change things in a big way. Now, here's the reality: you'll probably be fine either way. So that's what I think a lot of advisors will not say. And maybe it's a sales thing or they're trying to go, no, trust me, I want people to hire me. I'm like, look, you'll probably be fine. It's like you're gonna eat either way. Whether you do great tax strategy or not is not you go in business class or not. But it's looking back, going, could I have done a lot better? And how much better could I have done? And would I sleep better knowing I did as good as I possibly could? So I'll often say hiring an advisor is something that people will get wrong, in my opinion, because rebalancing is the most common example I'll bring up. So I and I learned the lesson the hard way here. So I will interview a lot of advisors that want to join root, and I'll say, Why just and one of the tests I'll do is they'll say, Tell me how you rebalance. And they'll go, I rebalance quarterly. And I go, okay, why quarterly? They'll say, Well, that's what the textbook says, and this and that. I go, okay, pretend you have a 50-50 allocation, 50% stocks, 50% bonds, and then all of a sudden markets go crazy, and now it's 60-40. What do you do? They go, I'd rebalance quarterly. I go, okay. Now what if after a quarter, nothing changes? What do you do? They go, I'd rebalance. I go, but nothing's happened. Like, and then they go, huh. Then I go, well, what if in a week it goes out? Not like a quarter, but in a week it's just big changes. They go, I don't know. Book says rebalance quarterly. I go, you see how that doesn't make a ton of sense? They're like, oh, okay, that makes sense. And then I'll say, when you're retired and you're traveling or doing whatever you're doing, you're probably not watching the markets wondering, is this the right time to convert or is this the right time to rebalance? And it's not due to competency. It's do you have software and other things that allow you to do it easily? And so there's so much changing, just like in the medical world, that I find people, it's like, how could you know? You're not doing it all day. So um just something to think about where you might go, you know what? Yes, maybe I'm not doing as good as I possibly can, but I enjoy doing it. It gives me something to do. I there's an interest in it. And I know my spouse doesn't want to do it, but it's something that brings me joy today, but maybe not in the future based off of whatever it is. There's other people that go, look, I just didn't know what I didn't know. So I view our role here is to be an option, just like there's other people that I find do very, you know, great work, but it's about finding someone that resonates with you because the truth is, many people you might go talk to, and I'm gonna be dead honest here. So I'm a CFP, Mark. I mean, you are a doctor. How many MDs would you never let touch your body? Probably a few that you've met. There are CFPs I would not let manage a dime of my money. And I'm not saying they're all evil or anything like that. I'm just saying you've got to find the right fit. And there's a lot of people that I bet Mark you would talk to that you'd go, I bet I'm gonna teach you something, which to me is a problem in our industry. So that's my little spiel on that.

SPEAKER_01 58:32

Yeah, yeah, I appreciate you bringing it up. It it's definitely a topic I've been thinking about. Um I I have note the past tense there enjoyed it. I I I can imagine a world where it would be nice to have have someone else uh helping along.

Health And Movement For Everyone

SPEAKER_04 58:49

So and the cool thing about advisors, in my opinion, is they're all very different. So, for example, we have certain advisors here that if you said, I want to talk to them, I'd go, Mark, you're gonna waste your time because they're not the right fit for you. They they don't work with people who are trying to do what you're trying to do. We have other advisors that they work with physicians specifically, or business owners, or people that do a lot of charitable giving, or whatever it may be. So to me, I think the most important thing, and I I think it's honestly the maybe not the most, but one of the coolest things is we make a spouse feel more heard than anyone in their entire life. So what I'll traditionally do, um, even when I was taking new clients, which I don't do anymore, is pretend Mark, you reach out to me. I'd say, Mark, and what's your wife's name? Lauren. I'd say Lauren. I bet Mark has lots of questions. I bet Mark's even been excited because he's watched the videos, but today's about you, Lauren. So tell me, did you have a lemonade stand growing up? And she'll tell me, and then I'll say, okay, great. Tell me if you had how much money, how many more horses would you buy? And she'd probably say, 10 more. And then we'd be going deeper and deeper and deeper. And I'd get to know and I'd go, okay, so Lauren, you have a very important job. And I'm not trying to get too graphic here, but you're sleeping next to Mark, okay? I'm not sleeping next to him. You've got the best seat in the house. He's gonna tell me, maybe in a meeting, that he's stressed or that he's not stressed, but you're the one that really knows. So you are the most important member of this partnership here. And unlike other advisors, you might not like me because I do not become the CEO. Most advisors are like, okay, Mark, Lauren, you worked hard. Give us all your money now, and then we'll tell you what to do. I'm like, I'm not that nice. You're still the CEO. So you still have to make all the decisions. And then you're like, well, why am I hiring you? I go, well, now we're the CFO. It's a partnership. So I'm gonna present things that you otherwise couldn't have known because you're not doing it all day. And then you're gonna say, that's a great idea or a terrible idea. And if I can tell you're not being transparent or honest, I will call you out on it. And I joke, I'm the meanest advisor. I'm not mean, but I can tell when people are like, yeah, we're fine, we're spending. And I'm like, no, you're not. So my job is to make my my clients' lives better. And that's how we look at life. It's not a need, it's a service, it's a value. So just like you had a private practice, you know, people could go to Kaiser wherever they want, but you go to a certain advisor for a certain thing. So that's my spiel on advisors. Um, the the final thing that I've been thinking about that I'd like to ask the true final thing, because I know I said final thing 12 times now, is during your working years, there's a lot of people who will say, make sure to prioritize your health. That's a common thing because when you retire, you want to make sure that you have your health. Now, it sounds like you're a workout fanatic like me. So we might not be the question, we might not be the people this is positioned to, but you work with lots of clients and you talked about health for a living. What would you tell someone when it comes to prioritizing their health and maybe some tips or things to do?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:35

I'm I'm pausing to collect my thoughts because this is a a kind of near and dear to my last 35 years exercise. That's I can sum it up in one word. I mean, every single person who's able to should be should would benefit from being physically active in whatever way that that turns them on. And if if if they need more detail, there's plenty of places to get it. But it's so important, it's so important for our health. I'm a believer that it's staying active and exercising is so important for uh for most of our mental health. Um it's a huge part of living a good and fulfilling life, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:21

Okay, Mark, I'm gonna tell you something. I'm not saying it, but I had a client that once said it, and I love this transparency level. So I'd be very curious how you'd reply to this. So I told them, hey, make sure I prize your health, and they said, I don't like exercise. And so they said that. I go, okay, and I know other people who don't like exercise. Yeah. So if someone told you I don't like exercise, but I know it's healthy, what do you tell them?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

I tell them, ditch the word exercise. Whatever you'll do, you'll you'll be glad you did. If it's taking a walk, I mean, and and I could go on a digression about why it's also good to lift some weights and do some resistance work, but it doesn't matter if they're not doing any of that. So, do you like to walk? No. Um, is there a gym you can go and watch TV or listen to your podcast while you're on an elliptical, or can you buy an elliptical or or walk on the beach or whatever it might be? So just really it's it's not I would downplay the exercise word and and and highlight the staying physically active.

Closing Links Disclaimers And More

SPEAKER_04 1:03:24

I love that because I know a lot of people like we like exercise, we feel good, we know the benefits, but I know there's people out there that think wait, walking, that's enough. So I think it's comforting for a lot of people to hear, okay. So I don't have to do orange theory every day like Mark or play soccer like a crazy person like Ari. So um really appreciate you sharing all of this, Mark. You are a legend for coming on the show. Guys, if you enjoyed it, please let us know in the comments as always. Like this if you found it helpful. Comment below what you learned, what was most fascinating. And then finally, yes, it's fun to retire, but it's more fun to retire early with friends. So please share this with someone who you think might resonate with it. Mark, thanks again.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:59

Thank you, Ari.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:00

If you enjoyed this episode of Retirement Reality, check out how we help people retire with confidence. You can see we have an FAQ section on our website. If you just hover over the resources tab, you can go ahead and see this FAQ section here and learn everything about what it's like to work with us, including our personalized planning process, a quick overview of how everything works, do you have enough money to become a client? Where will your money be? Everything from tax planning to fees, we are extremely transparent and want to make sure that you're working with someone that resonates with you. Hopefully you enjoyed this episode. And if you once again want to be a guest on a future show so that you can share your story, you can see that in the link of this episode. Thanks. Thank you all, as always, for listening to the early retirement podcast. I love getting to host these shows and make different content for you guys every single week. I've not missed a single week in years, and that is because I love getting to do this. Now, please be smart about this before you actually execute any strategy that you see me talk about or hear me talk about, should I say, please talk to your financial advisor, your tax preparer, your estate attorney. Please be smart about this. None of this should be construed as financial advice. This is for fun, educational, informational purposes only. Once again, just quick disclaimer here, guys, please be smart about this. Appreciate you listening as always. And you can, of course, submit a question on my website, early retirementpodcast.com. If you, of course, want me to address a specific case study or topic. I will not promise I can get to it, but I respond to every single person. And if I find it will be helpful for a lot of people, I will absolutely make an episode on it. At the very least, give you some insight. That's it. Thanks, guys.