2018 was a huge year for me. I made some big decisions, saw some amazing places, and made countless memories with friends and family. Here are some of the biggest things I learned over the past 12 months.
1. I wasn’t aggressive enough in pursuing my future in prior years
I was at my consulting job for 5 years. At first, my plan was to transfer from DC to NY, but I loved DC so that didn’t happen. I already had a Master of Management from business school and didn’t plan on going back for an MBA. I thought I’d find a startup to join but didn’t fully commit to that. At one point in 2014/2015 I interviewed with a few tech companies in NY and SF but nothing panned out.
Then it got to a point where I was on auto pilot. Work had cycles of being rewarding and then soul crushing, but I had amazing friends and a great life. I didn’t have enough of a fire under my seat to make real moves, but I should have.
I turned 29 last March. This was a huge reason why I made the leap this year to pursue golf. I’ll be 30 soon and that’s pretty scary for me. If you’re interested in learning more about the significance of beginnings/endings/anything related to timing, take a look at Daniel Pink’s “When.” Super interesting. Long story short, I was more motivated to make a change, so I did.
I should have been more aggressive in pursuing my future a few years ago. I could have had just as much fun but been more intentional with my plan. Better late than never, and now my foot is on the gas pedal.
2. My biggest fears about leaving my job to pursue a dream were gone a few months into the journey
Before I decided to pursue golf, I considered taking a LOA to travel the world. I started thinking about this in 2014/2015 but didn’t take any action. There are many different reasons to leave a job (travel, pursue a dream, start a company, etc), but I think a lot of the fears we have are the same:
I wouldn’t be maximizing my professional growth if I stopped working.
Promotions and raises? I have a new definition for professional growth now. Where do I want to be in 2, 5, 10, 20 years? If I keep advancing down a path that I don’t want, is that making progress? If I advance slightly slower because I take some time to re-evaluate my future, isn’t that maximizing my professional growth?
All of my peers will be advancing in their careers while mine is on hold.
You won’t be promoted after you leave work and your friends and coworkers will continue to advance. That’s okay. While you won’t be advancing in the career you had, you will be gaining additional perspective, have time to learn new things and meet new people, and will advance your LIFE. By not making a change, you are giving all of this up.
I wouldn’t be able to afford it.
This is just planning. Take some time to write down how much what you want to do will cost. Save enough to make it happen by reducing your expenses before leaving.
What if I fail?
Most of the time, we can go back to what we were doing before or at least something similar. Trying new things brings new knowledge, experiences, and networks that you wouldn’t otherwise have. I might have a better shot at winning the lottery than becoming a pro golfer, but I know the odds. I want an exciting life. It’s hard to truly impress and excite yourself if you don’t try things where failure is strong possibility.
Additionally, check out Tim Ferriss’s 13 minute Ted Talk on Fear Setting. It’s had a huge impact on my mindset. To summarize it in one sentence, “we suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
3. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do in the next few years and beyond, it’s okay to throw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what sticks
I knew I wanted to do something different but wasn’t sure what. In the spring of 2018 I gave myself a date of November 1, 2018 to make a move and I picked golf.
While this is my focus, I also have a lot of time to work on plan b. What is plan b? I’m not sure yet, but it’s going to be one of the dozen other things I’m working on this year. Making time for a few different things is difficult but I’ve made it work by blocking space on my calendar.
If you don’t know what you want to do (but know you want to do something different), make a list of things you might want to do and actually start one! Write the book about your experience, produce a beat and post it to your Soundcloud, or start volunteering. If one fails, move on and pick another!
For years I’ve kept a list of business ideas and projects in my phone and, until recently, they were just ideas. You don’t need to leave your job to start a passion project or business, but you do need to carve out some time for it.
2019
Getting better at golf, and much more. Big things are coming, stay tuned!
