I can't tell you how many times I've heard somebody say—
"If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself and saved more money."
True or true?
Modern times are interesting times, and when it comes to living a long life, people either think life is too short or long. If you do things correctly, long enough is the best answer, but 200 years ago, most folks didn't have the luxury of thinking about things like that.
If you lived during those times, you lived at a slower and harder pace. And, since time is relative, your perception was slower, as well. Everything was slower. It would be like a two-week, off-the-grid vacation in a mountain cabin without your phone in modern times if you think about it. That used to be daily life.
Yes, time-wise, living to the ripe old age of 40 felt like living to 100 today - if something simple didn't take you out sooner.
When California had open land, low-priced real estate, and gold in them-there-hills, almost everybody died much younger than today. Usually from an exotic disease like a toothache.
If you lived a couple of centuries ago, the simple life meant simple goals:
Survive childhood.
Buy a horse.
Get married.
Buy another horse.
Build your first house on your 40-year old Grandparents' property.
Get your kids through 5th grade so they can graduate to help you plow the field.
And if you were a planner, plant a tree on the hill a soon as you can so that it is big enough for your kids to bury you under when a toothache took you out.
While it's easy to make fun of the old days, one thing rings true—
If you lived in the past, wondering what you would do next in your life would never be an option.
Since you have that option, the question is, what are you going to do with it?
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