Shout out to you. The younger you that set you up to be the current you.
40’s me is grateful for 30’s me that grinded.
I loved that phase. I loved early mornings, not because I liked waking early. I just loved getting a head start on the world.
I’d often get more done between 5 am and 8 am than the rest of the day with all the interruptions that come when the rest of the world wakes.
And if you scroll back I guarantee you’ll find old posts of me hyping up another late night with coffee.
I never praised it as the ultimate lifestyle. I’d be reasonable about it and say it’s not for everyone, and not all the time. But those days grinding paid off.
I can’t do that shit any more though. I could, but I don’t want to.
Now I want to sleep in with my wife until the kids wake up and we have to get them to school.
And 30’s is grateful to 20’s me for committing.
For committing to chasing something… and it started with a website.
I built a car enthusiast website out of passion.
Because it was built on passion it gained thousands of active members.
Because it was built on passion it attracted other passionated people.
That’s when I doubled down and asked “how could I make this better?”
Which lead to learning web design…
Which lead to learning marketing…
Which lead to me taking a leap of faith into entrepreneurship when the last company I worked for was raided by the local Sheriffs office, ATF, and FTC.
I had no heads up before being forced to make a decision between getting another job or betting on myself.
I was always confident I’d do something great. I just never knew what it was.
No idea whatsoever.
Had you asked me prior to that moment if 20 years later I’d be who I am today, doing what I do today, having accomplished what I’ve accomplished today it wouldn’t have been on my radar.
But the skills I learned from my passion building a car enthusiast website led me to believe there’s faith to be had in trusting your passion.
Friends my age or older get this, so I’m speaking to my younger followers.
Time fuckin’ flies. You “know” that, but until you experience it then it’s a whole other story.
And 40’s is when rent comes due for how you chose to invest in yourself.
Do your thing. Party in your 20’s. I did.
But I also always had one foot grounded to something. Anything that might be my thing. Like I said earlier, I never know what my thing would be. But that’s why I think I found it. Because I gave myself permission to NOT know. To not carry a burden of “others are winning, why aren’t I?” To not compare my race to others. That giving myself time to trust my path over forcing a path is what would reveal the right one.
And if you stay grounded just enough while you still enjoy your party phase, hopefully you have something of enough interest by your 30’s that you can say “I think this might be my thing. Let’s commit.” Because if you find that thing and commit to it long enough, 40’s you will be thankful too.
That’s a gift.on
