40 years touching GO 💫

The Sandbox Daily (11.22.2024)

** Quick programming note before we begin. **

The Sandbox Daily will be off next week for family travel and Thanksgiving. Expect the newsletter to return to your inboxes on Monday, December 2^nd.

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Welcome, Sandbox friends.

Today’s Daily discusses:

• 40 years touching go !

Let’s dig in.

Blake

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Quote of the day

“The present is all we have to live in. Or to lose.”

- Marcus Aurelius

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40 years touching GO 💫

Today marks the 40th time I’ll be circling the sun – a milestone that invites both gratitude and reflection. Some thoughts 👇.

Life at 40 feels like a delicate balance between what has been and what is to come.

The actuarial tables confirm as much, suggesting this is roughly the midpoint for me.

That’s to say it seems the appropriate mile marker to think long and hard about my life, a moment to reflect both on the wisdom gained, the blessings provided, and the questions that remain unanswered.

As I reflect on the past four decades, I see a life shaped by hard-earned lessons, unexpected detours, and the quiet persistence of time.

How did I even get here?

Grit. Determination. Perseverance.

Successes, failures, and everything in between.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

Opportunity. I was quite fortunate here and for that I’m forever grateful.

Oh, and the mistakes. Too many to count here. Humbling, really, in retrospect.

Turning 40 isn’t just about tallying years; it’s about pausing to consider the arc of our journey, the goals we’ve met, and the dreams we’re still chasing.

Below are a few things that have been rattling around my head lately:

1. Relationships: Relationships are the synapse of life, grounding us in connection and purpose. Whether it’s your family, coworkers, neighbors, friends, these are the people who are your life. They teach us different lessons in love, patience, and vulnerability. Some stay, most go. People, and the experiences we share together, shape our journey in life. True fulfillment comes not from our personal achievements, but from the bonds we nurture along the way. What’s the purpose of all this if we can’t share it together?

2. Time: Enter the 1,000 minute rule. There are 1,440 minutes per day, however ~440 of those precious ticks have been donated to the sleep gods. That leaves us roughly 1,000 minutes to be productive, crush your goals, tend to your family, and enjoy life’s pleasures. Perhaps it’s just the lifecycle stage I’m currently in but I don’t have time for bullshit and lost opportunities. It won’t always be this way, but for now, it is. Protect your time budget at all costs. Every day you wake up, you have a new job – be better than yesterday. Don’t wait until tomorrow when you can get after it today.

3. Mistakes: It’s ok to make them! Mistakes are inevitable AND essential for growth. They teach us resilience and self-awareness. Each misstep is an opportunity to reflect, adjust, and improve. The key isn’t perfection, but progress – embracing mistakes as stepping stones toward becoming wiser, stronger, and more capable than before. Growth thrives at the intersection of failure and humility.

4. Health: Don’t short change your physical, mental, and emotional health. These are absolutely vital to performing your best every day. If the tank is constantly running at half capacity, we can never achieve our full potential.

5. Family: Above all, more important than anything else, is family. They are our foundation. They are our guiding light. They are our unconditional love. They anchor us in times of need and lift us up in times of joy. I have my why (mama Jen and the four rugrats Hudson, Fitz, Finley, and Wells). I hope you can find yours.

I’m humbled by the lessons that life has taught me: the value of resilience, the beauty of small joys, and the power of human connection.

This is a momentary pause to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m going.

As I look back, I’m deeply grateful for the people, experiences, and challenges that have shaped me.

As I look forward, I welcome the future and all its uncertainties with open arms. And, hopefully, with a smile and bit of humility.

To tomorrow and all life’s blessings !

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That’s all for today.

Blake

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Questions about your financial goals or future?

Connect with a Sandbox financial advisor – our team is here to support you every step of the way!

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Welcome to The Sandbox Daily, a daily curation of relevant research at the intersection of markets, economics, and lifestyle.  We are committed to delivering high-quality and timely content to help investors make sense of capital markets.

Blake Millard is the Director of Investments at Sandbox Financial Partners, a Registered Investment Advisor. All opinions expressed here are solely his opinion and do not express or reflect the opinion of Sandbox Financial Partners. This Substack channel is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The information and opinions provided within should not be taken as specific advice on the merits of any investment decision by the reader. Investors should conduct their own due diligence regarding the prospects of any security discussed herein based on such investors’ own review of publicly available information. Clients of Sandbox Financial Partners may maintain positions in the markets, indexes, corporations, and/or securities discussed within The Sandbox Daily. Any projections, market outlooks, or estimates stated here are forward looking statements and are inherently unreliable; they are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur.

Please see additional disclosures at the Sandbox Financial Partners website:

https://sandboxfp.com/important-disclosures