OldDogZeroTricks is a place for the thoughts we rarely admit – be it midlife transitions, financial struggles, starting over, or getting older.
You won’t find guru advice here.
If you ever catch yourself thinking:
- Am I doing this right?
- Is it too late to start over?
- Is everyone else just faking it, too?
You’ll probably feel at home here.
The Short Version
I’m Grant, aka OldDogZeroTricks. 57 – a British expat in Japan teaching English, and farming. I’m still figuring things out, but keeping a few modest dreams alive.
This blog exists because midlife doesn’t arrive neatly. It arrives with questions. If you’re curious how that played out in my own life, you can read the full story here.
Divorce. Financial uncertainty. Aging parents. Physical changes. Faith. Rebuilding.
I write about the things we often think but don’t say.
Current Chapter
After my partner returned to America following twenty years together, I’ve been rebuilding around:
- Continuing to teach English
- Farming outside that keeps me grounded
- Cycling to work in any weather
- Writing early, before the world wakes up
This blog is part of that rebuilding.
If you want to explore some of these themes, try one of these looks at midlife, pressure, and figuring things out:
- It’s Important To Get Out Of Your Own Head – when your thoughts won’t stop repeating.
- The Modest Dreams We Can’t Afford – the tension between money and meaning.
- When You Can’t Be Everything They Need – the limits of who we are in relationships.
Or browse the Blog – posts are easier to scan there.
How to Start Your Midlife Transition Reading
Not sure where you are right now? This might help:
→ Take the Life Transition Self-Assessment – a short quiz that points you toward the posts most relevant to where you might be right now.
Most posts end with questions, and I’d like to get your thoughts.
If you’d like the longer version of how I ended up in Japan, you can read my story here:
👉 The Face Behind the Words
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