Living a TIP Life
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Living a TIP Life: True Interactive Productivity and the Real Meaning of Longevity
1. Introduction: What Is Longevity, Really?
Longevity is often defined as the span of time between birth and death. Simple enough—yet few people pause to truly think about what that span means. From the moment we are born, we are on a clock, though rarely do we ask ourselves: How much time do I really have? And what am I going to do with it?
The real challenge is not simply existing across the years, but living meaningfully within them. That leads us into three important concepts: longevity, mortality, and morbidity—and ultimately, a far more important idea that I call True Interactive Productivity, or TIP.
2. Mortality: The Final Punctuation
If longevity is the sentence of life, then mortality is the period at the end of it. Mortality is not something we can avoid, deny, or escape. It is the one certainty that comes for everyone.
Now imagine being convicted of a crime and sentenced to life in prison. That concept—a life sentence—is not far off from reality for every one of us. We are all living under a life sentence. Not because of guilt or wrongdoing, but because the time we have is finite. Our sentence is not extendable. It cannot be reduced. It is absolute.
The thought is sobering, but it can also be motivating. Accepting our mortality makes us more conscious of how we spend our time. Every moment becomes a form of capital—nonrenewable, irreplaceable, and irreversibly spent.
3. Morbidity: The Slow Fade
Morbidity describes the part of life where we are still alive, but not fully functional. It is the chapter where physical health falters, and emotional or cognitive sharpness begins to dull. We lose not just strength or energy, but agency—the ability to act by choice, rather than necessity.
This period can creep in quietly. You might not even notice it until one day you realize that walking is harder, thinking takes more effort, and decisions are overwhelming. You see yourself in the mirror, but not as you really are. Often, we use mental filters—rose-colored glasses—to either overestimate or underestimate what we are becoming.
Morbidity is not just a medical term. It is a warning sign. It is the border between active living and passive survival.
4. Who Are You—and Why Are You Here?
It is not a question of philosophy. It is a question of clarity. Most people never stop to ask who they are or why they are here. But understanding this is at the core of everything else. Without a purpose, life becomes maintenance. Without vision, we reduce ourselves to cycles of consumption.
This leads us to something far more powerful than longevity, mortality, or morbidity.
5. Redefining Time: What Is TIP?
True Interactive Productivity (TIP) is a phrase I coined to describe the time in your life when you are fully alive, fully engaged, and fully capable. It is not the time you spend asleep, sick, distracted, or numbing yourself with entertainment. It is the time when you are alert, intentional, mobile, and mentally sharp.
TIP time is not about being busy. It is about being present. It is when you think clearly, act freely, and make meaningful decisions. It is when you contribute to the world around you—solving problems, creating value, guiding others, and enjoying the process of doing so.
Are you living a full TIP life, or are you just running in place?
6. Running vs. Moving Forward
I have exercised my entire life. But as I have aged, my approach to exercise has changed. I no longer run long distances. I mix walking with light jogging. I adjust pace and intensity. It is the same with how we live—constantly adapting, pausing, evaluating, adjusting.
Think of it like the Pomodoro Method, where you focus intently for short bursts and then take deliberate breaks. That rhythm is essential. It is not just about maintaining motion—it is about maintaining effectiveness.
7. TIP Time vs. Minimum Wage Time
Imagine a waiter or waitress working for minimum wage. The job requires multitasking, smiling, remembering orders, staying attentive—and they do it all with one goal in mind: the tip.
Minimum wage time is survival. TIP time is profit. It is the upgrade from enduring to thriving.
And just like those servers who put on a good face in the dining room but slump the moment they step behind the kitchen door, many people spend their lives switching in and out of performance. TIP is not about performance. It is about authenticity—about doing what matters with full awareness and purpose.
8. Creating vs. Consuming
Too many people spend their time consuming instead of creating. I admit I used to binge-watch real estate shows, and I started noticing a pattern.
Some people build homes because they love them. They fill them with art, photos, and memories. The home reflects their personality. They are emotionally invested.
Others build only to sell. The home is a transaction. There is no emotional connection—only the thrill of profit.
There is nothing wrong with making a living that way. But the difference between consuming and creating lies in the intention. Creation is generative. It adds value. It builds identity. Consumption fills time but leaves little behind.
9. Is Your Home a Tool or a Treasure?
For me, the home is nothing more than just a dwelling—it is an extension of my life. It holds tools I use every day. Take my printer, for instance. I use Hewlett-Packard printers in all my public, private, and home offices. They help me produce documents, letters, and printed material critical to my work. I do not personify them—but I do appreciate them. Just like my home, I appreciate it, but I am not vested in it.
When I replace a used ink cartridge, I sometimes pause and say, “Thank you.” Silly? Maybe. But it is a reminder that tools—when used with purpose—matter.
Some people see every home as a disposable asset. Others see it as sacred ground—rich with memories, meaning, and history. When you are asked to sell that home, it can feel like a death or a part of yourself has been ripped away.
10. Retirement and the Go-Go Years
As we age, we transition from the go-go years to the slow-go years, and eventually into the no-go years. Downsizing becomes necessary. Safety becomes a concern. Isolation becomes real. Assisted living may become unavoidable.
But the hardest part of that transition is emotional. When your home is your identity, leaving it feels like tearing up your roots.
The key to navigating this phase is perspective: Are you living in a home or are you using a tool? Are you building a memory palace, or are you preserving a warehouse?
11. Finding Joy in Creation
I have found new joy in connecting dots, it’s an endless journey of inking clues, making sense of life, solving problems, and engaging the mind. It is not just fulfilling; it is activating. That is what TIP is all about.
When you:
Teach a grandchild how to build something
Write a letter that moves someone
Solve a lingering problem
Begin a complex project
Make a difficult decision with clarity
Create something new instead of consuming something old…
…you are living a TIP life.
12. Conclusion: Live with Intention
This is not just a conversation about how long you will live. It is about how well you live—and how much of that life is truly yours.
Longevity is measured in years. TIP is measured in moments.
If you want a life worth remembering, it will not come from passive habits. It will come from active engagement—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Every one of us is under a life sentence. But how we use that sentence—how we make it meaningful—is entirely up to us.
The bottom line, do not just aim to survive the years. Aim to thrive in the ones that count.
Living a TIP Life: True Interactive Productivity and the Real Meaning of Longevity
1. Introduction: What Is Longevity, Really?
Longevity is often defined as the span of time between birth and death. Simple enough—yet few people pause to truly think about what that span means. From the moment we are born, we are on a clock, though rarely do we ask ourselves: How much time do I really have? And what am I going to do with it?
The real challenge is not simply existing across the years, but living meaningfully within them. That leads us into three important concepts: longevity, mortality, and morbidity—and ultimately, a far more important idea that I call True Interactive Productivity, or TIP.
2. Mortality: The Final Punctuation
If longevity is the sentence of life, then mortality is the period at the end of it. Mortality is not something we can avoid, deny, or escape. It is the one certainty that comes for everyone.
Now imagine being convicted of a crime and sentenced to life in prison. That concept—a life sentence—is not far off from reality for every one of us. We are all living under a life sentence. Not because of guilt or wrongdoing, but because the time we have is finite. Our sentence is not extendable. It cannot be reduced. It is absolute.
The thought is sobering, but it can also be motivating. Accepting our mortality makes us more conscious of how we spend our time. Every moment becomes a form of capital—nonrenewable, irreplaceable, and irreversibly spent.
3. Morbidity: The Slow Fade
Morbidity describes the part of life where we are still alive, but not fully functional. It is the chapter where physical health falters, and emotional or cognitive sharpness begins to dull. We lose not just strength or energy, but agency—the ability to act by choice, rather than necessity.
This period can creep in quietly. You might not even notice it until one day you realize that walking is harder, thinking takes more effort, and decisions are overwhelming. You see yourself in the mirror, but not as you really are. Often, we use mental filters—rose-colored glasses—to either overestimate or underestimate what we are becoming.
Morbidity is not just a medical term. It is a warning sign. It is the border between active living and passive survival.
4. Who Are You—and Why Are You Here?
It is not a question of philosophy. It is a question of clarity. Most people never stop to ask who they are or why they are here. But understanding this is at the core of everything else. Without a purpose, life becomes maintenance. Without vision, we reduce ourselves to cycles of consumption.
This leads us to something far more powerful than longevity, mortality, or morbidity.
5. Redefining Time: What Is TIP?
True Interactive Productivity (TIP) is a phrase I coined to describe the time in your life when you are fully alive, fully engaged, and fully capable. It is not the time you spend asleep, sick, distracted, or numbing yourself with entertainment. It is the time when you are alert, intentional, mobile, and mentally sharp.
TIP time is not about being busy. It is about being present. It is when you think clearly, act freely, and make meaningful decisions. It is when you contribute to the world around you—solving problems, creating value, guiding others, and enjoying the process of doing so.
Are you living a full TIP life, or are you just running in place?
6. Running vs. Moving Forward
I have exercised my entire life. But as I have aged, my approach to exercise has changed. I no longer run long distances. I mix walking with light jogging. I adjust pace and intensity. It is the same with how we live—constantly adapting, pausing, evaluating, adjusting.
Think of it like the Pomodoro Method, where you focus intently for short bursts and then take deliberate breaks. That rhythm is essential. It is not just about maintaining motion—it is about maintaining effectiveness.
7. TIP Time vs. Minimum Wage Time
Imagine a waiter or waitress working for minimum wage. The job requires multitasking, smiling, remembering orders, staying attentive—and they do it all with one goal in mind: the tip.
Minimum wage time is survival. TIP time is profit. It is the upgrade from enduring to thriving.
And just like those servers who put on a good face in the dining room but slump the moment they step behind the kitchen door, many people spend their lives switching in and out of performance. TIP is not about performance. It is about authenticity—about doing what matters with full awareness and purpose.
8. Creating vs. Consuming
Too many people spend their time consuming instead of creating. I admit I used to binge-watch real estate shows, and I started noticing a pattern.
Some people build homes because they love them. They fill them with art, photos, and memories. The home reflects their personality. They are emotionally invested.
Others build only to sell. The home is a transaction. There is no emotional connection—only the thrill of profit.
There is nothing wrong with making a living that way. But the difference between consuming and creating lies in the intention. Creation is generative. It adds value. It builds identity. Consumption fills time but leaves little behind.
9. Is Your Home a Tool or a Treasure?
For me, the home is nothing more than just a dwelling—it is an extension of my life. It holds tools I use every day. Take my printer, for instance. I use Hewlett-Packard printers in all my public, private, and home offices. They help me produce documents, letters, and printed material critical to my work. I do not personify them—but I do appreciate them. Just like my home, I appreciate it, but I am not vested in it.
When I replace a used ink cartridge, I sometimes pause and say, “Thank you.” Silly? Maybe. But it is a reminder that tools—when used with purpose—matter.
Some people see every home as a disposable asset. Others see it as sacred ground—rich with memories, meaning, and history. When you are asked to sell that home, it can feel like a death or a part of yourself has been ripped away.
10. Retirement and the Go-Go Years
As we age, we transition from the go-go years to the slow-go years, and eventually into the no-go years. Downsizing becomes necessary. Safety becomes a concern. Isolation becomes real. Assisted living may become unavoidable.
But the hardest part of that transition is emotional. When your home is your identity, leaving it feels like tearing up your roots.
The key to navigating this phase is perspective: Are you living in a home or are you using a tool? Are you building a memory palace, or are you preserving a warehouse?
11. Finding Joy in Creation
I have found new joy in connecting dots, it’s an endless journey of inking clues, making sense of life, solving problems, and engaging the mind. It is not just fulfilling; it is activating. That is what TIP is all about.
When you:
Teach a grandchild how to build something
Write a letter that moves someone
Solve a lingering problem
Begin a complex project
Make a difficult decision with clarity
Create something new instead of consuming something old…
…you are living a TIP life.
12. Conclusion: Live with Intention
This is not just a conversation about how long you will live. It is about how well you live—and how much of that life is truly yours.
Longevity is measured in years. TIP is measured in moments.
If you want a life worth remembering, it will not come from passive habits. It will come from active engagement—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Every one of us is under a life sentence. But how we use that sentence—how we make it meaningful—is entirely up to us.
The bottom line, do not just aim to survive the years. Aim to thrive in the ones that count.