I've seen many YouTube videos where people ask themselves what would they tell their 20 year old self. I really enjoy these reflective moments as I believe it's crucial to take stock of where you are at any given point in the journey of your life by looking back at a specific point in time. Twenty seems like a good point. Particularly as I just celebrated my 40th birthday in Las Vegas, the same place I celebrated my 20th birthday. The irony wasn't lost on me when I woke up that cold January morning to realize that I had just come full circle. I was officially middle-aged.
San Francisco 1999
What I would tell my 20-year-old self is to enjoy every moment that comes: good and bad. The lessons that come from experience are the most beneficial for growth and learning. When I think of all the crazy things that happened personally and professionally, moving to Amsterdam, starting a business, being undercapitalized, starving-up, only to experience the financial crisis first-hand. All the while surrounded by some of the most creative people in the world, I can't help but get a bit misty-eyed.
If you had told me at 20 that I would be here at 40, I would have laughed you out of the room in disbelief. So really, I would take that young whippersnapper that's filled with theories and ideas but zero practical experience and tell him not to take things too seriously.- Just enjoy. I was too serious back then.
I did my best at everything and left nothing to chance. Everything was intense. I lived on full blast and kept riding it like it was never coming back. All the while, I never believed it was actually happening and waited for the other shoe to drop. That day never came. The shoe was lost, and I forgot that I was looking for it.
The sense of self at twenty is something fierce. You're trying to find who you are and where you belong. For me, I made it to Europe and was just happy to see places I had only read about. My mental model back then was a simple idea that all people carried childhood baggage, and I refused to let it pull me underwater. I decided to use it as a raft to sail the unknown world. The moment I did that, my life changed profoundly.
Over the years, through experience, lessons, and time I managed to turn that raft into a boat. Over more time it got bigger, more agile, and capable of holding a crew.
Supposing we are all captains of our own ships. In that case, the trick is to understand very early how you can modify and build a more significant craft by being open to opportunities big and small, and remaining flexible. Every storm builds trust in our own capabilities to navigate the rough seas of life, and God willing, arrive at the destination we desire.- Though once arrived, the sea still calls.
Advice to my 20 year old self? Follow your true North and remember that some storms need to be sailed directly into.