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- Change Everything: Part One
Burn the Boats!
I believe events in life happen for us not too us. Through this, if we allow it to happen, we grow tremendously and in ways we can't see until later. In 2017 I committed to taking leave from the corporate world after 16 years. Shortly after that I did the following:
- started three businesses
- wife started multiple endeavors and businesses
- we put my oldest in college
- we put my younger two children in new schools in the city (fifty minutes away with no traffic)
- bought a new place in the city to get three hours of lost time a day back
- sold two homes
- sold one car
- bought another car
- various personal struggles that show up in life
Most sane people would not do this much at once, but I'm not most people. At times I'm unsure if it's a good thing, but this is how I've lived my life and things are good! I recall Adam Robinson talking about 2018 being a fulcrum year on Tim Ferris' show and I was definitely feeling that in my life mid 2018. He talks about the moments coming every so often in life and they hold a lot of opportunity. It's his opportunity that thrust me towards all of this change. Deep down I new it needed to happen, but I resisted and tried to take it "slowly" and controlled. Just like my brain would want...safe. This was not to be. To be where I wanted to be and have opportunities I wanted to create for my family, everything needed to change.
Downsizing
Regarding homes, we went from one acre, 3500 square feet 5 beds and 3 baths to no yard and 2000 square feet with 4 beds and 3.5 baths. I used to not hear any road traffic and now I hear it all. My sleep is not the same, because my brain is still trying to categorize the new patterns relative to my safety. I'm mostly a country boy. I love nature, the sound of rivers, streams, oceans, the wind through the trees etc. That said, I do enjoy the city and having been in the "city-country" for ten years, I was game for a change. I'm someone that needs change in life, so I've been excited about the move. This also creates an opportunity to pursue buying a ranch, but that will have to wait. The driving situation alone is incredible regarding getting kids to school. We're getting three hours a day back, spending less on gas, tolls, and food/places to be with wifi.
This has also created an interesting opportunity for me to look at startups in the city that would allow me to bike a mile to work. If this were to play out, it would be the shortest commute of my life and is exciting. I'm at a point in my life where I value time more than working for a specific company or role. If it's close and aligns, then I could be interested.
It's Not Easy!
Regarding entrepreneurship, I love it! There's nothing like growing and earning through your own business. It's a different kind of stress, but it's certainly a motivating one that holds much more personal growth than a corporate gig (in my opinion). I relate it to others through the difference in eating the food in a village versus producing/finding the food for others in the village to eat. There's a comfort knowing food will be there when it's provided and there's no need to make drastic change in this comfort. Hunger and the responsibility to keep others alive/fed will motivate in a very different way.
When I was young, I heard someone say "if you're not growing you're dying" and I've come to believe and experience this. Although I was growing in the corporate world, it had slowed to a rate that was holding me back. It also did not provide me the time that I wanted for myself and my family. It eventually came to a head mid 2015, and I knew I needed to get out in order to start a new story. Leaving is what I needed to focus on creating something new and to learn from the process. It's also what I needed to put me back into a state of discomfort to motivate me through the struggle. I needed to be reminded what it felt like to be without and to not have that comfort. I needed to be hungry again.