How do YOU celebrate YOU, whether on your birthday or on an ongoing basis?
[Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 36 seconds.]
I’ll get straight to the point. Today is my birthday. For those of you who know me outside of Go Long, I enjoy celebrating my birthday. Ask the hubs about birthMONTH+ for my 40th. All I can say about that is thank goodness I was running marathons at that stage of my life!
One year, the hubs “arranged” a full tasting menu of chocolate desserts at Hot Cakes Ballard for my birthday. If you know us, you know who this meal really was for!
It is also a natural time for me to reflect on the past year. And think about what I am aiming for in the next year and years to come.
Thoughts on the past “fiscal year”
When my time with my previous employer came to a close, it was the start of the job market doing a complete 180. The time I spent looking for a new role were some of the toughest months I encountered professionally. Given that I spent almost 30 years working on Wall Street and in tech (and yes, I graduated college that long ago), that says something.
While the struggles were related to work, it affected my well-being. Seeking help was worth the cost to start to get things back on track.
I received a couple of fantastic job opportunities right as Go Long was starting to percolate in my head. The therapist I was seeking help from had the audacity to ask me: “what would you choose to do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” And Go Long was born.
If you would have told me a year ago that I would have started my 3rd entrepreneurial venture focusing full-time on health and wellness, I would said you were crazy. Yes, I have nerded out on this area for awhile. But to make it my full-time occupation was something I hadn’t anticipated.
The hubs and I got to take the COVID revenge trip and the revenge was sweet. It was an amazing trip. Even though I’m building a business from scratch (translation: no salary yet), I'm glad we made it a priority to take the trip.
I am fortunate for the the people who were already in my life. But change can also bring new people into your life and some of them have been what I needed. Both sets of folks provided necessary laughs, perspective, laughs, advice and, yes, laughs. Did I mention laughs?
My parents were in a place where they could travel cross-country to visit us in Seattle. My friends entertained Mom and Dad, and vice versa. Win-win!
Oh - and I got my 1st pull-up! That was pretty sweet and something I didn’t think was possible “at my age”. So for those of you who think your best years are behind you, think again!
Are you one of those people who wants to invest more time in yourself but are unsure how to go about it?
In summary, life comes at you fast. To be fair, pursuing the entrepreneurial venture is a privilege because the hubs and I are in a position where we can take on that kind of risk. But if you have ever started a company, you know how scary and lonely it can feel, regardless of if you have a co-founder. The highs are very high and the lows are…. yeah, you get it.
More of this in the future, please….
What’s up for the next “fiscal year'“?
Like all of us, I have no idea what life will bring me over the next year. Here is what I am excited about:
More travel with the hubs, which includes local day hikes as well as visits to other places.
Continuing my progression in the gym. Stringing together consecutive pull-ups and push-ups are some of my big goals with my coach. As I have talked about before, the gym training facilitates the travel (aka ‘my why’).
Spending time with friends and family. Laughter is great medicine for whatever is ailing me. I’m lucky I have such wonderful people in my life, particularly over this past year. Also listening to 80s pop music is very fun. Go ahead and judge.
Bringing awesome content to you via Go Long. I have some exciting ideas around AMAs (ask-me-anythings) and the concierge/matchmaking services. My goal is to create a valuable experience for the entire community, especially the paid members (a not so subtle hint). If you have topics you want me to dig into, please reply or comment.
I’m leaving out some items but you get the idea. As for what I am doing today, I caught up with a long-time friend for brekkie after hitting the bike early this morning. I’m about to get a massage and a facial thanks to a couple of close friends. And then dinner with the hubs, whom I am always grateful for in so many ways.
MB: You are the “gratest”!
PS — If you’re watching the US Open, how exciting has this year been? Wow!