#77 - Swiftly Present

Focus Is a Blade: Sharpen Both Edges

In a world that rewards rapid adaptability yet demands deep expertise, your ability to switch focus fast can feel like a double-edged sword, cutting deep on both ends.

There’s power in precision. The discipline to lock in, to study something thoroughly, to teach it, to own it. That’s a rare skill. It's how mastery is built, one hour at a time.

But there’s also power in agility. The skill to pivot, to drop one task and be fully engaged into another. To be fully present, to shut off one part of your attention and turn onto the next. Both are valuable. If the tide pulls you too far away from either you will begin to feel like you are sacrificing one for the other.

The challenge? Balance. Lean too hard into either end and you’ll feel it. The quiet burn of resentment from others who don’t understand your rhythm, or from within, for neglecting one side of your nature.

Aim to be swiftly present. Be sharp in transition. Know how to lock in. And just as importantly, know when to shut it off.

7 Actionable Ways to Achieve a Comfortable Retirement

Your dream retirement isn’t going to fund itself—that’s what your portfolio is for.

When generating income for a comfortable retirement, there are countless options to weigh. Muni bonds, dividends, REITs, Master Limited Partnerships—each comes with risk and oppor-tunity.

The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income from Fisher investments shows you ways you can position your portfolio to help you maintain or improve your lifestyle in retirement.

It also highlights common mistakes, such as tax mistakes, that can make a substantial differ-ence as you plan your well-deserved future.

Download your free copy today.

September 2025 Freedom Fund Recap

The U.S. government officially entered a shutdown as Congress failed to pass funding legislation, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal employees and halting many non-essential operations. While shutdowns historically have had limited long-term impact on markets, this one arrives at an interesting moment. Economic growth is softening, valuations are elevated, and investor confidence remains fragile. If the shutdown drags on it could add pressure to an already uncertain macroeconomic landscape.

Heading into the last three months of the year the public portfolio currently sits just shy of $40k with a total portfolio value of $39,387.76 up 81% since inception dating back to November 7th of 2023. In the early stages of this portfolio it is really tough for me to stomach taking too many gains off my winning positions and incurring a taxable event this early. However, I am starting to think I may trim to begin building some cash reserves for whenever we have another pull back. Ideally long term I want to build a 1-5% cash balance in the portfolio (I was going to wait until I got to $100k).

This month I pulled in another $54.47 of dividends with a total of $1,142.38 since inception. These dividends are the seeds that I pour right back into my positions. Eventually it will be pretty cool to see this little portfolio grow and surpass $100/month minimum in dividends.

This week I added additional shares to my $SCHB ( ▼ 0.5% ), $CHWY ( ▲ 3.52% ), and $APLE ( ▼ 0.68% ) positions.

Freedom Fund Background: I launched the Freedom Fund in October 2022 as a public brokerage account to show that anyone—with just a bank account and Social Security number—can start investing, even with a couple hundred dollars a week. I started from $0 to make the journey real and relatable. Each week, I share transparent updates on purchases, sales, dividends, and growth on X (@GrahamSchroeder) so you can follow along in real time. The hardest part of investing is getting started—so I did, publicly, to help others do the same.