I’ve just started reading Tim Ferris’s The Four-Hour Work Week.

I know, it was popular quite a while ago and now might be as dated as Vanilla Ice.

But I picked it up, and am slowly making my way through it.

He says, you may think you want to be a millionaire, but what you really want is to live like a millionaire.

I have a lot of friends who live or aspire to live what is called the “digital nomad” lifestyle. That means, if you have a laptop and Internet you can live anywhere and take advantage of what the world has to offer.

This is not new. That’s what Hemingway and Picasso did in Paris. Paris was super cheap to live in after world war one, and attracted a lot of artists.

People with Internet businesses are finding that they can live much cheaper and better in tropical Asia.

Which is fine, if that is what you enjoy.

My family and I do not want that kind of life. I like having a family, and a community of people right here in my little town.

I have moved a LOT as an adult, and when I moved here I made a conscious choice to stay.

So, if I had all the money in the world, I’m not sure I’d move. And that’s awesome!

I’m not a fan of complacency. But since I’ve found something I really like, I don’t need to change it just because.

I want to live an examined life. I have thought it over, and the benefits of being a digital nomad (as much as I love travel) don’t exceed the value of having my roots where I am.

I have a finite amount of time. How much is not given me to know. But what I have is precious, so I want to do the things I enjoy.

In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin says that if you are happy, but not aware of how happy you are, you are missing out.

Cherishing the things I’ve chosen is a precious gift. I love my front door, the particular red paint I chose for it. As I acknowledge that happiness, I can relive it every time.

Although I have barely started Ferris’s book, I can see that we agree on some things. Don’t let your assumptions and habits trap you. We are free to design our lives.

But it’s also fine to look at your life and discover you have most of what you want.

That’s a pretty great realization.