The Monday Read

Everything is Getting Better edition

Well, I’m feeling better. Not sure if it is the sunshine, the fact that I have gotten a few big projects out of the way, my new haircut, or that I managed to get to a couple of jiu-jitsu sessions, but I am feeling way better. Thanks for the messages of support last week, they were much appreciated.

I’ll be going into hospital for a few weeks for a minor operation in March, so the Monday Read will be taking a break from March 16th to mid-April (hopefully). It will be my first time under general anaesthetic, and my first stay in a Japanese hospital. Must say I am mainly worried about the food! Might be a good chance to lose some weight, eh?

The forum is still a lively buzz of questions and answers:

Coaching is also busy at the moment! It’s great to get to talk to so many people about their finances here in Japan. I’m now taking bookings for May, and anyone who contacts me before prices go up in April will pay the current rates. If you have been thinking about it, why not take action? (this applies to getting your finances in order more than it does to booking coaching).

I picked up one of these on Friday, and I love it already. If you do a lot of work on a computer and you don’t already have 2-3 monitors, this Dell ultrawide monitor might be an upgrade (pricy though).

This week’s links

  1. This post on defining your identity rings true. I need to think about this, particularly with regards to work: https://tynan.com/yourid
  2. My life is the opposite of this right now! Productive inactivity sounds like bliss. Right now I have unproductive overload… https://www.calnewport.com/…/steinbecks-productive…/
  3. This is something to be careful about: loneliness. Easy to fall into as an immigrant: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/…/japan-tackles-loneliness/
  4. This seems like a sensible policy. The vaccine is believed to be safe, so highly unlikely any payments will be made, but it might make people feel less anxious.https://japantoday.com/…/If-you-die-from-the-COVID-19…?
  5. Long review of a 1983 book on class in the US. Surprisingly interesting 🙂https://astralcodexten.substack.com/…/book-review…
  6. This was a great post on procrastination and task overwhelm (so so timely!): https://www.raptitude.com/…/how-to-do-things-you-keep…/
  7. Concentrated readability: https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/speculation/
  8. I printed these 100 rules out 🙂 https://ryanholiday.net/100-rules/

What do you think? Anything good in there? #6 came along at just the right time for me.

I’m reading Matthew McConaughey’s book Greenlights (yeah, the actor) this week, and it’s REALLY good. Part memoir, part philosophical treatise, part life advice, it was nothing like what I expected and he’s a fascinating person. Definitely recommend.

16 Responses

  1. Wow, Ben, a few weeks! I’ve been having health issues of my own lately, incurring regular visits to the hospital, and have spent time as an in-patient in the past. The food wasn’t so bad at all. It’s Japan, so food is still considered important. Think of yourself as the emperor on a strict, restricted, diet. Plain and perhaps over simple, but I took it positively as a chance to lose weight and not eat unhealthily. Anyway, thanks for the links above, and good luck with your operation and time inside.

    1. Thanks Tim! Yeah, I had zero health issues until the age of 40, but since then it seems my body has been trying to make up for lost time ‘o’

      The last year since March has been pretty bad, not entirely sure why (lack of movement, stress, long Covid?). Definitely something to work on going forward. This operation is fairly straightforward, but need rehab afterwards and it seems I will have to choice of doing it in the hospital or as an outpatient. Guess I’ll see how bad the food is and decide then 😉

  2. I also found after the age of 40 you have more aches and pains than before. I went in for a routine hernia operation two years ago, although the doctor and I were keen to be discharged after a few days. I found I really wasn’t back to my normal self i.e back to work for about another 10 days. In the UK hernia operations are done within a day and you are out the next day, which I certainly wasn’t up to.

  3. I hope everything goes perfectly for your surgery and hoping for your speedy recovery!
    Thank for all the good stuff brought every Monday.

  4. Good luck in the hospital. Hope everything works out well! I’ve fortunately avoided hospital stays so far but have been a frequent visitor to family here and have always been impressed with the care they received. Hope your experience matches theirs.

  5. Good luck with the hospital visit. Good time to watch up on your reading I guess?

    I haven’t read Matt M’s book but I heard his 2+ hour interview with Joe Rogan and he’s a fascinating, down to earth guy. I may check out the book.

    Working through Sinek’s Infinite Game book and I was thinking how this manner of thinking is very relevant to financial planning. It might be of interest and your coaching practice.

    1. I’ll put that on the list!

      I’m kind of burned out at the moment so be honest for the hospital visit I was thinking of rereading my Iain M. Banks collection. See how much of it I can get through in 2-3 weeks 🙂

  6. Hi Ben, This comment makes interesting reading as I struggle with my tax return:
    “From April, Himino said, foreign residents would no longer be liable to Japanese inheritance tax at rates of up to 55 per cent on their worldwide assets if they die in Japan. “Of course we can’t just reduce all the tax rates to 18 per cent, but we’re responding to all of the areas where there are strong opinions.”

    https://www.google.com/search?q=himino&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwih4NaNxZDvAhWYxIsBHRZ1APYQ_AUoBHoECAIQBg&biw=1093&bih=526

    1. Interesting. I don’t imagine that will apply to long-term residents, PR, or spouse visa holders though.

  7. I found hospital food acceptable, tho one place was better than the others. My take was that you don’t really need a lot when you’re at a lower activity level. The better place had some menu choices–not everything, but you could choose between two mains, and two sides. Also, you could specify three levels of the kind of rice you wanted, from normal to almost okayu.

    The smallest place I stayed only had a few machines. Another had those, but also a baiten and a couple restaurants. The largest had two baiten, restaurants, and a Tully’s (or something similar). Of course I discovered one had Haagen-Daz ice cream, and the coffee shop had great chocolate chip cookies…

    Your wife or others might bring you food. Know that after getting used to hospital food, prepared foods will taste like the salt bombs that they are.

    The internet was good enough, tho at one place I was tethering to my phone more than the other two (one was wired, need a LAN cable for the laptop).

    An extension cord with 3-4 outlets is a good thing to take.

    1. Good point about the extension cord! Hoping to stay off the internet to some extent during my stay: going to take some paper books with me ^-^

      1. You -may- want to take your own pillow, or try the one there first to see.

  8. A testament to my terrible culinary skills: I actually liked the hospital food in Japan! Yes, it’s hit and miss depending on the area, but on the whole it’s nutritious and balanced, and served in manageable portions. Just imagine that you are on a slightly spartan airplane ride.

    Get well soon!

  9. Hey Ben, love your weekly reads. I recommended your weekly to my family (including my 2 daughters- 3rd year Univeristy and Sr. in HS) and to all those friends seeking my advice about investing in this ever changing and most interesting world we live in today. (I spend 29 years on investment banking trading floors, mainly Wall Street and Tokyo…) — THANK YOU!

    As per your turning 40 years old and starting to get the unfortunate and unavoidable aches and pains of an “old man” (fwiw…. I am 15+ years your senior ). In my younger years, I was the USA Jr. National Champion, 2 USA Olympics Trials, USA World Championship team member and injured before qualifying for the 1988 Olympics for Team USA. Additionally, while I worked on Wall Street I earned my 2nd degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate in NYC (had to retire however because going to work with a broken nose and black eyes was not quite working out…….).

    By the time I was over 40 however, into and after NYC 9/11, the Lehman Crisis, 3/11 Tohoku, my body (and mind) went to POOP…. I gained enormous amounts of weight, had sciatica, and suffered daily with aches and pains in shoulders, knees, back and finally suffered from a slight heart attack….. (I think I also had depression as well….) That heart attack was my tap on the shoulder from the Gods, Heavens, Buddha, Allah or whomever that was kind enough to give me a heads up….

    My take away was that regaining my health was my new priority investment….

    Once you start that downward devastation spiral, its very hard to turn it around. HOWEVER, it is entirely possible to stop it and or turn it around to get back to your “invincible” self and actually help raise energy levels and therefore productivity and PROFIT levels overall.

    Much like managing your own personal portfolio, it takes commitment, consistency, discipline, research and follow through. I am nearing the big 6-0, almost pain free (not 100%…), lost 25% of my body weight from the peak fatness levels of 2010 (back to my college days of peak performance weight) and have kept this peak performance weight for over 4 years now….. (I have no special diet… I actually eat whatever I feel like…. sometimes not very healthy foods… as well as healthy foods……) I physically regained my mobility with a work out mobility routine consisting of 30 minutes to 1 hr minimum 4-6 days a week, and actively surfing every chance I get.

    Hope you are feeling better soon. Please let me know if you have any interest in this sort of rehabilitation planning as I am happy to share ideas.

    1. Hi Jonny

      Thanks for the incredibly kind comment. I’m very close to my own tap on the shoulder (this surgery will remove the last of the excuses, after that it’s all on me) and I am reluctantly coming to accept that the price of doing jiu-jitsu and living a sedentary life is going to be the need to do stretching/mobility/functional strength training. I’d rather just be rolling but then I will be a bundle of pain held together with athletic tape!

      Planning to semi-retire soon so hopefully having less time pressure will make it easier to be active too.

      Would love to hear your advice. Drop me an email at sendaiben@gmail.com!