About Me

In 2020, I experienced things I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Unimaginable! These COVID-19 scenes from around the world were from Hollywood movies. It was hard to believe that this was real life but all our lives changed forever in a blink of an eye. Many industries took a beating, including the airplane business. That’s what I had been doing for the last 24 years. I was good at it. I enjoyed it. Having been in this industry following 9/11, I knew it would be a long and tedious recovery to get back to pre-pandemic conditions. I didn’t have it in me and I was lucky enough to be able to walk away. 

I took time off and played a lot but also thought hard about what’s next. I was 49 years old, with advanced degrees, lots of work experience and practical knowledge of how to get things done. We were frugal, lucky and smart with investments. I could have retired and not worked another day in my life. My wife joked “You can’t even sit still for dinner, what do you mean ‘retire’”? 

Helping people makes me happy. Solving problems makes me happy. Writing makes me happy. As I developed my list of possible “what’s next”, why not combine all of these and start a blog. Schwabenjedi was born.

What can Schwabenjedi do for you?

Schwabenjedi is a blog about things that are important to me such a personal finance, investing, passive income, travel, current events and strategies to live a healthy and happy life. I strongly believe there is not a ‘one size fits all approach to this’. Join me on this journey and keep an open mind. Let’s help each other learn and grow. It took me 30 years to get to this point. Maybe I can help you get there sooner by sharing my thoughts and experiences that I had to learn the hard way. We learn from mistakes. Why not learn from mine.

About Mark, A Schwabenjedi

It took a pandemic to make me realize that there has to be more to life than the Corporate America rat race.  Up to that point, to most people, my life had been a great success. A happy and healthy family, a great career and a successful real estate investment business. Money wasn’t an issue because from a very young age, becoming financially independent was in my blood. That’s what Schwabenjedi’s do. My family and I were comfortable all around. Life was good.  

I know I’m lucky and that other circumstances allowed me to walk away from a healthy income stream. However, I also believe that creating this environment for your family and yourself has to do with personal choices. Create your own terms and don’t let others dictate how you should live your life. After all, it’s your life! If you don’t do it, who will? Maybe I can help you get there.

 “It’s not getting started that stops most people” is one of my all-time favorite quotes. It’s been a mantra my entire life. Most of us start out with close to nothing and go from there. You must start! There will always be plenty of reasons and excuses why you can’t do something. Just start and see where it takes you. You will be surprised.

As long as you make progress, perfection doesn’t matter. Striving for perfection will waste time and discourage you from the other things you need to focus on. Put yourself into a healthy mindset with good habits and keep things moving along. If you have an open mind and are willing to learn from mistakes, the sky is the limit. You have to put yourself out there though and take calculated risks. 

The Schwabenjedi Philosophy

I draw an enormous amount of positive energy from people, all people! Friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, strangers…the list goes on and on. Start a conversation. Have a positive attitude and an approachable demeanor. Smile! Be interested in what they have to say and truly listen. You will be amazed about what doors will open and what opportunities arise. Many of my most memorable conversations (that led to great things!) happened in the strangest places throughout the world. It all started with an open mind.

Money is important and you need to focus on it to create a solid foundation but don’t let money drive you after a certain point. I don’t care about money but I care about what having enough money let’s me do. Financial problems are one of the biggest drivers that cause stress on people’s lives and relationships. Get that stress out of your life by changing your negative habits and making better choices.