Who is Steve?

Hi, I’m Steve Floyd, retired family guy and creator of my own ideal lifestyle.

If you’ve found your way here, then I guess you are interested in similar things as I am.

Perhaps you are looking to make some life changes, accelerate your retirement plan, or simply find a little more balance in your lifestyle.  Or maybe you’re interested in my slightly alternative view of the world?!

But first let me tell you a little about myself, my journey so far and what Steve’s Blog is all about.

My beautiful wife Claire and I live in Perth, Western Australia, with our two wonderful children. We met in high school – yep, true high-school sweethearts!  I know how fortunate I am to have found my soulmate and best friend so early in life.

We worked hard in professional careers, and worked even harder on ourselves – understanding money and creating wealth.  By 50 we were fully retired, living our dream lifestyle.

For a number of reasons, we had children later in life, but we had managed to retire early, which makes for an interesting combination.  We can now spend as much time as we like helping our kids grow without the stresses of work life!

Growing up on the Moon!

When I look back now, growing up in the 70s and 80s in Perth was really quite weird.  Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world, and back then we were little more than a big country town. 

Only three TV stations and they stopped broadcasting by 11 pm, so if you couldn’t sleep you only had a test pattern to keep you company.  Most movies took at least two years to arrive in theatres, after they were released everywhere else.

But we didn’t know any different, and to us Perth was the best.  

Living in a time when technology was just starting to speed up, but was still so basic – black and white ‘fat-back’ TVs, rotary dial phones and record players, and shops that closed at 5 pm (and remained closed all weekend).

Perth sometimes felt like it was on the moon! 

Growing up as a kid when Saturdays were made for simply disappearing for hours on our bikes with mates, was simply amazing!  If we showed any sign of boredom, Mum would kick us outside, or make us take the dog for a walk.  No ‘screens’ to grab our attention and turn us into zombies!

Who has influenced your life?

We should never underestimate how much we are shaped by the world around us – especially when we are growing up. 

Both my parents loved music, which rubbed off onto me.  Some of my fondest memories are long drives in the car with the family, listening to Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and Neil Diamond.  One of my favourite bands to this day is still Jeff Lynne’s ELO (ok, ok….no judging!).

Through primary school and into secondary school I had always enjoyed more artistic, musical and creative classes.  I studied classical guitar, loved music, enjoyed art and loved creative writing and English Literature.  

When I told a family member I wanted to explore a ‘creative’ career in Graphic Design, the reply was “why, there’s no future in that!”.  Instead the suggestion was I look at things like electronics and computers as “that was where the future!”.  So I dropped my dream of a more creative career and chose to study engineering.

I learned later that these simple yet powerful influences shaped my life – and not always for the better.  Engineering did take me into the IT field, where there was an amazing amount of money to be made.  But it is interesting that now in retirement I have returned to writing as my creative outlet.

Who influenced you when you were growing up, and what does that mean to your thinking now?

A Career of Discovery

While I graduated from Engineering with honours, I didn’t enjoy it (no surprise really).  So my time as an engineer only lasted about two to three years.  

My ‘career’ has taken a number of different paths and unexpected turns, from engineer to consultant, from project management to venture capital, to management of sales and marketing teams. 

I figured out later that it was never the actual “work” I enjoyed, but the team leadership and coaching that really excited me.  Helping people become their best version of themselves has to be one of the most rewarding things you can do.

I used to think I needed to be strong to beat others…
Now I know my strength lies in helping others grow!

In one of my last ‘jobs’, I had managed to work up to a very senior position, as the National Sales Director for a major Australian telco.  I loved this role, as it was all about developing teams across a number of regions, in a range of skills and disciplines.

Ultimately we were all about building a winning team culture to take on the industry ‘big boys’.  We were achieving all our goals and were building something really special.  I was immensely proud of what we were doing, often punching way above our weight and taking on competitors much bigger than us.

Then, just as I was feeling bullet proof, there was a simple change in company management, and I was made redundant!  

What a wake-up call!  The security and safety I felt as an employee, doing a great job in a solid company, had been an illusion.  

Time for a Change – Time to Reassess

So, knocking on the door of fifty, I found myself unemployed.  What a great time to take a moment to reassess a few things….

Looking back now, I see how I was giving everything to the job (as my wife will attest).  I was permanently connected to my phone or on emails, never giving myself ‘down-time’.  

I was away from the house before anyone was awake and home just in time for a quick dinner, then put the kids to bed.  And that was when I was ‘home’, as I was often travelling to visit the various teams across the country. 

So what was the alternative?

I found myself dabbling in consultancy gigs and messing around with a couple of online businesses.  I was grasping for the next thing to lock on to and to direct my attention.

What I realised later was that I had been running so fast for so long in a very busy career, I was having problems slowing down.  I needed a year or two to simply allow the momentum to slow and to decompress.

Wow – You Mean We Can Retire?

It’s funny when you’re neck-deep in something, that you totally don’t see what is right in front of you.  

Of course, we were always working super hard on a retirement plan and building wealth for the “future”.  But we had never really stopped to consider how much we needed to retire.  While I was happy (and distracted) at work, what did it matter?

So it came as a massive surprise when we asked ourselves – could we retire early?  

We did the sums, built budgets and financial models, then checked everything two, three or more times.  And the answer was yes, at the ripe young age of 50, we could retire (very comfortably).

If you want to know how we did it, check out these posts. 

But What To Do With My Time?

The first thing you notice when you retire early is that the world is simply not prepared for it.  People look at you funny – “What, you are not 65 yet and don’t work?  There must be something wrong with you.”

How many people play lotto every week – ‘one Power Ball and I’m outta here’.  People say, ‘I wish I could retire early’.  And yet when you do retire early, nothing prepares you for it.

I think we attach so much of our personal ‘worth’ to our ‘jobs’ that it is quite disorienting when it’s gone!

I soon figured out that I had been given a gift – I could spend as much time as I wanted with my family.  Given we had children later in life, I can now spend as much time as I want helping them grow.

I get to help my son and daughter become the best version of themselves, so they can make their own positive impact in the world!  I can also continue to share wonderful moments with my beautiful wife.  What an amazing gift!

Of course, there are things I love doing outside the family, I’m not completely selfless! 

When I’m not writing posts here, I’m usually on my PlayStation or watching Aussie rules footy.  I go to the gym six days a week, and love ‘tinkering’ with geeky stuff online – including this website.

Oh, and I love coffee. In fact, my favourite ‘escape’ is to find an awesome café with great atmosphere, grab a coffee, and simply write….

I Would Love To Hear From You

Well, that’s enough from me for now…

I certainly will never suggest that I am an expert in anything.  And I am definitely not the smartest guy in most rooms (even when I’m by myself).

But I have managed to achieve a few things that have made a huge difference to my life, and we have created an amazing lifestyle for ourselves and our family. 

If I can share my experiences and what I have learned, just maybe that will make a difference for someone.  At least that is my hope…

But if no one is there to listen, then what’s the point?!

So, if there is something specific you would like to know, or a topic you would like me to cover here, I’d love to hear it.  Simply reach out and drop a comment here.

Cheers