I survived another lap of the sun!
In other words: Happy Birthday to me! 🎉
I was introduced to that very technical and non-emotional way of expressing “happy birthday” by my partner Paul. And yes, I have now managed to make it 42 laps of the sun without dying, so that is a cause for celebration. This last lap, though, has been the most significant, so I’d like to share some thoughts on how to get the most out of your laps of the sun.
Stop and smell the roses
There’s nothing new here, but for me, I am spending more time thinking back to my childhood, when I was walking along the beach of Surfers Paradise with my grandfather. He would be walking slowly, deliberately, taking his time, taking in the beauty of nature (and the topless women!), while all I wanted to do was rush up the beach to our destination. I couldn’t understand why he was deliberately walking so slowly, especially since he was “old” and didn’t have that many laps of the sun left (side note: he lived another 25 years!). Surely he wanted to get to where we were going quickly?
With age comes wisdom, and now I understand where he was coming from. I have learned to slow myself down, and pay attention to the smaller things. I now find myself telling my children to slow down. This leads to my next thought…
Focus on the journey, not the destination
Having embarked on my own personal journey a few years ago, which was then cranked up with taking on the daunting task of starting a company at 41 when I’ve never done anything close to that before, I am acutely aware of the importance of appreciating the journey.
All of my readings, all of the new information I have learned not only about entrepreneurship, but also about myself and how I relate to the world, it continues to inspire me to keep going. If I was to only focus on my destination for work, I would have completely lost confidence in myself and the process, because we are so far behind where we ‘expected’ ourselves to be at this point. I might have quit and returned to the corporate world with my tail between my legs. However, I am still here, I am still going, and I am still growing. Similar to the previous point, I’ve been able to see all the small steps of growth along the way, and I can use that as my “stop and smell the roses” moments to keep me positive about our journey.
Kids are the best teachers
Hang on! Haven’t I got that backwards? Aren’t we meant to be teaching our children? I’ve found the further I get into parenthood, the more I am learning from my kids. Their incredible zest for life, continued positive attitude in the face of everything, and ability to dream big is a continual reminder to me to try and do the same.
I’ve learned that while our kids are (at times) mirrors of ourselves, at the same time they are they own person, and need to be seen that way. We can’t correct our earlier mistakes through them, but if we can help them get to where we are faster than it took us to get there, we are doing our job.
Produce more than you consume
I believe it was Daniel DiPiazza (or was it Daniel DiPiazza? 🤔) who posted a video/post about how we essentially do one of two things with our time: We produce or we consume. In a simplistic sense, those that produce more than they consume get rich, while those that consume more than they produce get poor. However, I have learned that consumption is actually split into two sides: positive and negative. Positive consumption involves reading specific books and articles about your subject matter to help improve your production. Negative consumption involves watching trashy TV shows, and spending hours scrolling through social media. I have made a conscious decision to spend as little time as possible on negative consumption, and to focus on positive consumption. We can’t all be 100% producers, but at least by making my consumption positive, I am building for a better future where I will be able to swing the pendulum in my favour.
Be comfortable being uncomfortable
One thing I don’t do well is take notes when I am reading/listening to books. And with the quantity of books I’ve consumed over the past year, I can’t remember who said what! But I do remember one of them mentioned the above phrase, so apologies to the original author. I’ve found myself in more and more ‘uncomfortable’ situations over the past year than ever before, but instead of avoiding them like I used to do, I am now gritting my teeth and pushing through it. Growth comes from spending time outside our comfort zone, and that means getting uncomfortable. It is in our nature to do everything possible to avoid being in an uncomfortable situation, it’s been a part of our survival mode since the early days, yet we aren’t able to change and grow unless we deliberately do it. For example, if you told me one year ago I would have produced a business plan and financial model for a company with no customers and no product, presented it to investor groups, and be able to hold my own in conversations, I would have called you crazy! But here I am, deep in the midst of a fund-raising for our company Array. And I couldn’t be prouder of the fact that I’ve learned and grown to be able to get to this point. There’s still so much to learn, but I’m comfortable knowing I will be able to do it.
The world works in duality
This last point is perhaps the most important. There is no such thing as a “positive” or “negative” situation in isolation. If you examine the situation you are in, there will always be a little bit of both. The key is to be able to see the positive in the negative situation so that you can grow and rebound faster, and conversely, see the negative that comes from a positive situation so that you can remain humble and grateful for the positive situation you find yourself in. Those that succeed are able to do so because they can see the positive outcome (success), and accept the negative situations required to get there (training, studying, working, missing out on ‘free time’, etc.) Any success received without effort is a hollow victory, and to that end, it is a victory that will never be truly cherished.
Well, those are my pearls of wisdom (hopefully they are getting better each year)! I hope you all have a great day, and as long as today is better than yesterday, then you’re doing well. If it’s not? Well, there’s always tomorrow!
