Ride On
I love it when life teaches me unexpected lessons. I was recently on a bike ride with my 5 & 7 year old when I had one of these moments.
My kids have been riding bikes since they were 3. This is thanks to this awesome company called Strider that makes balance bikes for little kids.
They are simply amazing. Instead of waiting until kids are old enough to pedal, they decided to eliminate this hurdle for younger children. Toddlers simply sit on the bike, grab the handlebars, and start walking forward. Over time, they get a feel for the movement of the bike and they can start lifting their feet off the ground via balancing. No pedals to get in the way. Simple steps to learning.
But this isn’t even the most amazing part. Quickly, they get old enough to graduate to the next size bike. This bike also doesn’t come with pedals. But, you can add them to the bike at a later time.
Or so I thought. Turns out that once a kid knows that there is a new challenge in front of them, they want to try it out immediately. So on went the pedals. And then things really got interesting. I watched a 4 year old that had never pedaled a bike in their life, ride all the way down the cul-de-sac and back without stopping once. How is this possible? I had training wheels on my bike when I was 7! My 4 year old could now ride on bike trails like they’ve been doing it for years. How does this happen? Clearly, a company like Strider figured out that pedals were not the key skill for a kid to ride a bike. Balancing was.
But this doesn’t tell the whole story. A 4 year old can’t be left alone to learn how to ride a bike, even if the biggest obstacle in their path has been eliminated. It required my supervision. My time. And time is a big barrier. Especially when it comes to something monotonous like teaching a kid to ride a bike.
So I needed to find a way to make it fun for me too. Riding a bike up and down the street at a slow pace wasn’t going to cut it. I needed a different tool. And that’s when I discovered a One-Wheel. This is another brilliant design by another innovative company. A One-Wheel is kind of a cross between a skateboard and snowboard. It’s so much fun. So now, while my kids are learning to ride a bike, I’m following behind them learning to One-Wheel. By injecting fun into the equation, devoting time to their growth was no longer an issue. So how does this tie into my revelation?
As I said in the beginning, my kids are 5 & 7. They regularly go on 3-5 mile bike rides with me. I’m getting to spend time with them doing activities that are typically reserved for kids twice their age. And all because we used the right tool for learning and injected a bit of fun into the equation.
Building wealth is no different. You don’t sit on a bike one day and ride in the Tour de France the next. You don’t start with $0 invested one day and build to millions the next. But there are tools that make it easier. And you’ve got to inject some fun along the way or you’ll never commit the time to make it happen. Ride on, my friends.