Blended Tribes

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Blended Tribes

A calm corner for intentional living, midlife reinvention, and using AI without losing yourself.

10/14/2026

An earthquake, a tsunami warning, and a rather unexpected reminder of why I love living in Panama. 🇵🇦

When the ground shook, we headed for higher ground along with hundreds of our neighbors. It was frightening, chaotic, and not exactly how I'd planned to spend my Friday.

But what has stayed with me wasn't the earthquake.

It was the people.

Strangers helping strangers. Neighbors looking after one another. Small acts of kindness when everyone had plenty of reasons to be thinking only about themselves.

With so much negativity in the world these days, it was a pretty wonderful reminder that ordinary people are still capable of extraordinary decency.

I wrote about the experience in my latest Blended Tribes post:

https://anthonyzagelow.substack.com/p/the-day-the-earth-shook-but-the-people

And to my friends and neighbors here in Panama, thank you for reminding me why I love this country. ❤️

An earthquake, a tsunami warning, and an unexpected reminder of what people are capable of when things go wrong.

10/07/2026

I partially tore my Achilles tendon trying to get back into shape. Then I kept interrupting my recovery because apparently I thought patience was for other people.

At 63, I’m learning to stop competing with my younger self. My walks take longer these days, but mostly because I know more dogs.

What a Different Kind of Presence Looks Like After 60

09/30/2026

Right before I moved to Panama, a close friend asked me the question everyone eventually asks: when are you going to retire?

I'd just been diagnosed with AFib. I told him straight, I was done with the full time grind, but I wasn't done working. I wanted to build something new, on my own terms, and nothing was going to stop me.

Turns out retirement was never really the goal. It's an escape plan, and it only makes sense if you're running from something. I wasn't.

This one's about the four rules that replaced it for me: knowing my real number, setting my hours before the work sets them, keeping my right to say no, and holding onto one piece of work that's still mine even on the days the money doesn't show up.

4 Rules for Work You Never Need to Escape

09/25/2026

Right before I moved to Panama, a good friend asked the question that everyone eventually asks: when are you going to retire?

I'd just been diagnosed with AFib. I told him straight, I was done with the full-time grind, but I wasn't done working. I wanted to build something new, on my own terms, and nothing was going to stop me.

Turns out retirement was never really the goal. It's an escape plan, and it only makes sense if you're running from something. I wasn't.

This one's about the four rules that replaced it for me: knowing my real number, setting my hours before the work sets them, keeping my right to say no, and holding onto one piece of work that's still mine even on the days the money doesn't show up.

Retirement was built for a shorter life. Mine isn't one.

09/15/2026

New post today about developing good taste.

I realize that sounds dangerously close to me claiming I have good taste.

So, for legal purposes, I would like to remind everyone that I once owned and voluntarily wore a gray denim duster similar to Clint Eastwood’s in the 1985 movie Pale Rider.

The argument: taste isn’t inherited. It’s built.

You weren’t born with an eye. You built one.

09/04/2026

My wife and I are learning Spanish again, and she is kicking my ass. It also means I’m remembering how uncomfortable it can be to be bad at something in public.

The older we get, the more used we become to knowing what we’re doing. Being a beginner messes with that. It asks us to look foolish, ask dumb questions, and let go of the need to seem competent.

Stoicism, ego, and the strange freedom of being willing to suck at something for a while.

Blank stares and the freedom to fail

08/27/2026

AI can make you feel capable of almost anything.

Build a website. Edit video. Write code. Create content. Set up automations. Offer consulting.

That's dangerous.

New post: why AI expands your options and why more options can sometimes make the business decision harder.

The gap between what you can do and what you should do

08/21/2026

I’ve wanted to write this one for a long time, but it took me a while to figure out how. I hope you like it.

What a long meal with someone you love actually asks of you

08/05/2026

Three teenage girls on the Panama Metro taught me something about vanity, self-respect, and the danger of trying too hard to look like a local.
I thought my Panama hat would help me blend in.
It didn't.
My latest post is about what the Stoics can teach us about personal style, why I still wear the hat, and a simple test that can keep unnecessary clothes out of your closet.

What three teenage girls and Epictetus taught me about vanity

07/29/2026

Most of us use AI to move faster.

I recently used it to do the opposite.

When I discovered serious problems with the handling of my immigration case, every angry instinct in me wanted to react immediately. Instead, I gave myself 40 days to slow down, separate emotion from fact, and figure out what to do next.

In my latest post, I share the five-part prompt I used to challenge my assumptions, identify what was reversible, uncover my blind spots, and make a calmer decision.

Sometimes the smartest use of AI isn’t getting an answer faster.

Sometimes it’s helping you wait long enough to ask a better question.

The Stoic case for letting a difficult choice sit and the five-part prompt that helps me think clearly

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Portland, OR

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http://blendedtribes.com/, https://anthonyzagelow.substack.com/

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