Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now. -Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages”
10 years ago today I started this blog, originally titling it after Dylan’s famous song. At the time I saw it as an opportunity to try to warn people about the brewing bubble in real estate. I was early but nobody really wanted to listen anyway. They were just having too much fun. That’s one major lesson I’ve learned since then: people only change – their ideas, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors – once THEY decide to do so. The most persuasive and logical argument in the world is no match for a man on a mental mission.
The blog eventually evolved into a way for me to explore things I was learning and observing. Writing is a great way, maybe the best way, to do this. There’s just something about getting the ideas out of your head and putting them into words. You’re forced to really examine and refine them in the process. This process has been very valuable to me over the past decade just as an intellectual exercise.
Finally, the blog has now attracted a community of folks searching for the same thing: truth. (I know it sounds corny but it’s true. And, ironically, this was part of the motto of my old firm). I’m only interested in zeitgeist from a contrarian perspective. I’m far more interested in what really matters, what’s really going on and what to do about it. Through the blog I’ve come across a variety of likeminded individuals that have exponentially enhanced this thing as an intellectual exercise.
So, to all of you who have been reading, sharing and contributing, thank you. I’m grateful.