The Lowdown
Wealth of Experiences
By Jeff Matlow
My friends Chris and Wendy are, like most of us, regular working stiffs. They aren’t independently wealthy nor, as far as I know, do they come from incredibly wealthy families. But they travel a lot. More than any other people I know who hold down regular full-time jobs. They will go on two, three or sometimes even four big trips each year. Fiji, Costa Rica, Bali. The list goes on. And each trip lasts for one or two weeks.
They are scuba divers, an interest that takes them to the types of places that are mere pictures on the “maybe someday” Pinterest boards for the rest of us.
Let’s face it, I’m jealous.
Chris is also a triathlete. Earlier this year they went down to Cozumel. In the first week, Chris raced IRONMAN Cozumel and they relaxed on the beaches. During the second week they did some scuba diving in gorgeous waters.
Chris is an attorney, which means he bills by the hour. No work, no pay.
“How and why do you travel so much?” I asked Chris one day.
His reply pretty much sums up one of the major life decisions we all confront: experiences or things.
Regardless of how much money you have, your actions define what you value as most important: accumulating tangible things or accumulating unique experiences.
Tony Hsieh, the billionaire owner of
Zappos.com, lives in an Airstream trailer park in Las Vegas. He’s the head of the largest shoe store in the world, and he owns no fewer than four pairs of shoes. He’s got all the money in the world, and he doesn’t value things — his wealth is in experiences.
The life of a triathlete is an interesting study when viewed through the lens of experiences versus things. Racing a triathlon, in and of itself, is full of great and oftentimes unique experiences. And when it comes to racing events of different lengths in different parts of the world, one can accumulate a lifetime of dramatic and memorable experiences.
Whether I’m on my 15-year-old Kestrel or a new $15,000 speedster, I am still out there challenging my limits, pushing my boundaries and gaining new insights about myself.
But we, as triathletes, are by nature competitive — even if just with ourselves. We over-analyze our actions, in our own individual ways, and we are, as a breed, Type A or at the very least, Type A Adjacent.
We love the experiences but we also love the things. And too often, we fall into the trap of believing that we must have more things to create a true experience.
It’s a lie.
How many times have you said, “I need a new bike?” A new watch. A new widget. Some new gear. What is it that you really need and what is just a desire?
More importantly, what is it all for? Do you just need to look better? Do you need to shave 3 seconds off your time — to come in 52nd in your age group as opposed to 53rd? Is all your gear, are all the new things you buy for this sport, simply to stroke your ego?
The nature of our industry, in fact the very nature of capitalism and product marketing, is for companies to create new products that make us believe we must have them to better our lives.
Don’t get me wrong, I want an expensive new bike. I just bought myself an overpriced watch that has more computing power than the first rocket that sent men to the moon. I like things.
But these new things are going to have very little actual impact on my experience of an event. All they may do is change the way I view myself. Whether I’m on my 15-year-old Kestrel or a new $15,000 speedster, I am still out there challenging my limits, pushing my boundaries and gaining new insights about myself. I am still not winning my age group. I am still not qualifying for Kona. I am still only as fast as my body and mind will carry me.
But at the same time, I am still lucky enough to enjoy a new racing experience that enriches my life and emboldens me, mentally and physically. And those experiences alone make me a very wealthy man.
JEFF MATLOW is arguably going through mid-life crisis.
JeffRuns@imATHLETE.com or
blog.imATHLETE.com/blog
72 | USA TRIATHLON | SPRING 2017
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