So in less than one hour, I reach the age that is older than any cheese you’ve ever eaten. Thirty-one. Three one. A Prime Number. That’s significant, right?
Last year at this exact time, I wrote a Facebook post on the final hour of being 29 turning 30 reflecting on how tough 2013 was, about how I lost more than I gained and the conclusion was that life wasn’t going to be easier, only more complicated.
It’s been exactly one year now. Is life still complicated? Yep. Have life decisions become tougher? Yep. Am still losing more than I am gaining? Here’s where I really understood the famous phrase, “you win some, you lose some”
This needs to be answered in two parts – work and personal, and sometimes they’re intertwined when you let it.
THE WORK LIFE
Business the first six months of 2014 was still rough from 2013. We were just skimming by. All money made was reinvested back to the business. My business partner and I were not getting paid. We were doing work we hated just for some scratch. It was almost one year and I was frustrated and we couldn’t prove our worth for bigger business that would allow us to grow.
August hit and things really took a turn. We were beginning to see fruits of our labour. The client and work we wanted was pouring in. By October, the growth was surreal to my business partner and I. In November, we felt like we lost some control because we couldn’t keep up with all the external and internal demands – “Can you get this done right now?”, “We need talent”, “Can you handle the scale of this project?”, “We need a bigger office”
In December, we decided to throttle back and start addressing all concerns.
THE PERSONAL LIFE
What personal life? Kidding. Being a 30 year old guy isn’t so bad. From what I hear, age doesn’t really doesn’t mean anything until we’re about 40. My social life was pretty good this past year. In February, still dating the girl who kept me sane from the crazy work, and she didn’t mind the fact that I was broke. I still saw friends once in a while. I joined some cool clubs and organizations that allowed me to mingle and meet more cool cats. It was nice.
June is when things changed because of work. This is where I put my whole being to the business. I wanted to keep my foot on the gas pedal and maintain momentum. In August, the girl I was dating were no longer seeing each other. My only form of being social was behind the computer screen or cell phone. At work my mind was on point with numbers, names, rebuttals, etc. With everything else, my brain was complete mush. I couldn’t properly order Starbucks. I would forget the passcode to my iPhone. My mind would just blank out trying to remember someone’s name. I was less tolerant of superficial conversations with people. This is when someone told me to take a break and don’t burn out. A vacation was in order. I’m still trying to get this back on track.
That’s what my double life has been like. If you’re still in your 20’s, here are some “wise” words I would like to share:
- Start getting into the habit of eating right and exercising because you will gain weight faster and lose muscle mass.
- Your appetite will shrink so don’t go hardcore detox-kale-smoothie all day everyday during your youth. Trust me, you won’t have a choice when you’re older. Old people drink Ensure, right?
- You will choose to stay home than to go out. So go out. One thing I don’t regret is I did go out a lot in my 20’s. Like a lot. I don’t feel like I am missing anything now.
- Lastly, you will regret things you didn’t do in your 20’s. Unless you have access to a time machine – fuck it. Keep improving yourself so you have things to look forward to. You’ll be so focused on what’s ahead; you won’t have time to look back.
