Hey, I’m Grant, the guy behind OldDogZeroTricks.
57. British expat living in Japan. English teacher. Tractor driver.
I’m not here to sell life coaching or pretend I’ve figured things out. I drifted for decades, trusting things would work out. They mostly did, just never the way I expected. Now, I’m learning to steer with a little more intention.
If you’re going through transitions, questioning your path, or trying to find meaning in the daily grind, I’m right there with you.
Table of Contents
Why I Understand Drift
I started out in Britain working with computers. After a Brian Tracy seminar helped me believe, I moved to America to chase my childhood dream: flying helicopters. I earned my licenses in ’98. The “Airwolf” theme still gives me chills all these years later.
But when the money ran out, I had a license and no path forward.
I had to let go of the impressive version of my life to make room for the meaningful one.
The Unexpected Path: When Meaning Finds You
A newspaper ad, “Free Rent on Water, Assistance Required”, led me to Danny Murphy, a man in a wheelchair with a bigger spirit than anyone I’d ever met.
Caregiving wasn’t glamorous. But it was purposeful.
That role led to installing accessibility equipment, helping Danny as he pursued acting (yes, There’s Something About Mary), and realizing something timeless:
From the outside, it probably looked like a step down. It didn’t feel that way to me.
Building a Life as the Outsider in Japan
Danny’s former caregiver, a Japanese woman, visited with her three-year-old daughter. After hearing my flying stories, she mentioned she hadn’t spoken to her own mother in years. I handed her my phone.
That call changed everything.
By 2004, she and her daughter moved back to Japan and invited me to come along. I arrived with a suitcase and eventually became the quiet foreigner teaching English and helping raise a child in a culture I barely understood.
I later added farm work.
From flying helicopters to driving tractors.
From ambition to something steadier.
When Chapters End: Twenty Years and a Fist Bump in the Rain
Ten years in, my step-daughter left for America at 18. Her mother and I stayed together another decade.
Twenty years total.
Then last year, she followed her daughter to America.
A fist bump in the rain.
A chapter closed after shaping half my life.
I’m still here in Japan, cycling to work, teaching kids and adults, farming, and learning who I am without the role I held for so long.
The end doesn’t erase the meaning.
Why I’m Finally Steering
At 57, time feels precious.
This blog is me choosing to steer more nowadays, instead of drift.
I’m trying to combine the threads of my life – computers, teaching, helping, writing – into something that feels intentional.
I’m taking on responsibilities I used to float around. Building something that might help others like me find direction through honesty.
What I Write About (And Why)
I write about:
- Transitions – when life changes and you don’t know what’s next
- Meaning – finding purpose in ordinary work
- Balance – contentment vs. ambition
- Aging – accepting time while still living fully
I don’t have answers.
Just experience in drifting, losing, choosing, trusting, and continuing.
Your Story Matters Too
What’s your journey?
Where are you drifting?
Where are you trying to steer?
If you’d rather explore the thoughts that came from all this, head back to the Blog.
Grant – OldDogZeroTricks
