Hello, everybody. It's Sam from Financial Samurai. And in this episode, I just want to wish everyone happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and more. It's been obviously a really difficult year with the S&P 500 down about 20 plus percent. The real estate market is starting to fade. Cryptocurrency down 70 plus percent.

Scandals and everything. So the bright side, hopefully, is that we've all been able to live life a little bit more. I know my wife and I, we've gone out on many more date nights in public. We went to see the Warriors. We went to holiday parties. My parents have flown in.

My in-laws have flown in. It's been a better time for friendships and for family. So if we believe friendships and family are more important than money, then hey, maybe net-net 2022 was better than in 2020 and 2021, when we were making a lot of money from our investments, but we had to be separated from our friends and family more often.

I'm talking about the subject of friends and family more because I just listened to my last episode with my wife on the loneliness epidemic. And I really thought deeply about how we can be more connected in 2023. And maybe you find a connection with me by listening to this podcast, because I always want to talk about interesting things that affect many of our lives.

Every day, something fascinating is going on that'll affect me, you, our children, our friends, and our relatives. And I want to be on that. And so if I can provide you any type of solace during lonely times, or when your friends are busy, or your family is far, far away, I hope I can.

And that's one of the reasons why in December, I've tried to record more episodes. Every other day, frankly. It's true that finding friends and companionship takes a lot of effort. You know, I'm in this WhatsApp group chat with fellow parents. And it's interesting every week, I say, Hey, I'm going to be at this playground, riding bikes, or, you know, playing on the structures, come on out.

And sadly, for weekends in a row, nobody came out. But a couple parents finally did come out the other day. And it was my son's favorite classmates, two girls, interestingly enough. And I think they are in a love triangle where one girl really likes my son, and my son likes her back.

But every time they spend a little bit more time together, the other girl gets very jealous. So during our playdate, one girl cried for about five minutes, because my son was playing with the other girl for a little too long. And then 20 minutes later, the other girl started crying because my son started playing with the other girl for a little bit too long.

So it's just fascinating to me as a parent and as a middle aged person now, who has gone through all these emotions and loneliness and feelings of love and anxiety, how we have to experience this again, through our children and how we can help them harness their emotions and control their emotions, so they can feel more confident, happier, and more loved.

So even though I have a terrible hit rate of only one set of parents showing up after five invites, I'm going to still send out those invites. I'm going to continue to show up. I'm going to continue to reach out to see if anybody wants to build a relationship.

I'm going to be at the playground anyway. So if you want to come out, great. If not, it's okay. This is the type of attitude I hope every listener adopts. Keep showing up, no matter with your side hustle, your small business, your work, your children, building friendships and relationships.

Keep showing up even when people are not showing up, even when people don't respond or give you the time of day. Because sooner or later, something good is going to happen. This has been my philosophy since 2009 with Financial Samurai. I promised I would publish three times a week for 10 years without fail.

And what happened? Well, so much has happened. Namely, I haven't had to go back to work. I've been able to find something I love to do. I've been able to write a bestselling book that I never would have had this opportunity. So you just never know. But if you keep on showing up over and over again, something good is going to happen.

Trust me on this one. So thanks so much, everyone for listening. And I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, fantastic holidays. I'm going to be doing my year in review post and also the top posts for Financial Samurai in 2022. And I'm going to be thinking deeply about what 2023 brings and how I can help you and my family live better and more meaningful lives for the next year.

Thanks so much, everyone for listening. If you've enjoyed any or all of the 43 podcast episodes for 2022, I'd love a positive five star review. I read all of the nice commentary. It really warms my heart and gets me pumped up and motivated to record more. And if you enjoy any specific episode or this entire show, please share it with people you care about, because if you've enjoyed it, I'm sure they will enjoy it too.

Thanks so much. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.