Wow, the part about your parents maintaining that 'effortless' illusion really resonated. It’s so insightful to consider how true change can come from accumulated wisdom, not just pure exhaustion. But do we always have the luxury to wait for wisdom, or is burnout sometimes the necessary catalist for a new path?
I wouldn't say that you absolutely need to hit burnout in order to change. We go through periods where things are slow, and we do get fatigued in times when the status quo becomes stale. These periods are part of the ebb and flow of our lives.
It was "effortless" in the fact that my parents never showed any signs of stress or burnout when I was growing up. Perhaps in hindsight I can see where they showed it now that I'm on the other side of the fence. They never waited for anything to happen. I think it was more that I didn't start picking their brains until I was in their shoes. The magic of the internet is that we have an outlet to share ours now with a wider audience.
Wisdom comes in small moments doesn't it? You're right. We don't always have the luxury to wait, and catalyzing a new path doesn't always need a "rock bottom" moment. It's more like it's up to us to decide when we want to apply what we discover on the way.
Thanks for the challenge to make me think a bit more about this!
"There's a 20% chance your business will fail in the first year."
To your point, the only real reason any business "fails" is because the owner decides to stop doing it, and in most cases, that's probably because the business owner did not create sufficient alignment with a sense of purpose to motivate continuing on.
"If you’re in your forties like me, you’ve definitely been around the block and are confident in your faculties."
When you're 65, you look back at forty and think, oh wow, when I thought I'd been around the block I was still standing in front of my mailbox. : )
The older I get, the less territory I realize I've covered.
"When you're 65, you look back at forty and think, oh wow, when I thought I'd been around the block I was still standing in front of my mailbox. : ) The older I get, the less territory I realize I've covered." SING IT, Rick I hear you loud and clear.
I fully agree, especially in today's environment, it's a good idea to think about a 'second' --or 3rd or 4th -- ): career. Times change, definitely. Sometimes however, that specific idea or aha moment just comes, out of serendipity, as did mine. We were traveling often to Mexico, thinking of taking the leap from our SanFran corporate jobs, jumping ship. It was nearly impossible to find bookstores there, and I'm an avid reader. We'd ID's the pueblo we wanted to settle in, and I decided as a hobby, I'd open a bookstore. It was one of only 6 in the state (Quintana Roo is home to Cancun) so it was an accident waiting to happen. Just luck. Sometimes things just come to you, but a wonderful second act for sure, through my need to read. Thanks btw for a great post, Vince.
We're surrounded by opportunities to grow and to add to the world, Jeanine. It takes time to realize the potential that is everywhere, not to mention the wisdom to "feel" when the time is right.
I agree with Maryan. It sounds like a great new adventure that naturally came about. 😁
Thanks, Maryan. We had plenty of time to ruminate on it, as we needed a while to get our ducks in a row. I even took a comm college seminar in how to start a used bookstore. We shopped estate sales, thrift shops etc 3 yrs before we moved south, having books trucked cross-country to FL from SF, then barged into our pueblo's port at Pto Morelos. Whew. It became very popular and brought tourists to our town of 1000. Eventually we sold as we wanted to 're-retire.' What began as a hobby became a job, alak and alas. We wanted to sit on the beach, snorkel and see more pyramid sites like our customers! I'd planned on being open 3 days a week and through town uproar, we were open 5. A fun venture, and totally unexpected until--no reading material to be found for me when traveling, haha.
Wow, the part about your parents maintaining that 'effortless' illusion really resonated. It’s so insightful to consider how true change can come from accumulated wisdom, not just pure exhaustion. But do we always have the luxury to wait for wisdom, or is burnout sometimes the necessary catalist for a new path?
I wouldn't say that you absolutely need to hit burnout in order to change. We go through periods where things are slow, and we do get fatigued in times when the status quo becomes stale. These periods are part of the ebb and flow of our lives.
It was "effortless" in the fact that my parents never showed any signs of stress or burnout when I was growing up. Perhaps in hindsight I can see where they showed it now that I'm on the other side of the fence. They never waited for anything to happen. I think it was more that I didn't start picking their brains until I was in their shoes. The magic of the internet is that we have an outlet to share ours now with a wider audience.
Wisdom comes in small moments doesn't it? You're right. We don't always have the luxury to wait, and catalyzing a new path doesn't always need a "rock bottom" moment. It's more like it's up to us to decide when we want to apply what we discover on the way.
Thanks for the challenge to make me think a bit more about this!
Ha . Well sometimes your business needs capital and you need to get a freakin job and that’s just the way it is.
"There's a 20% chance your business will fail in the first year."
To your point, the only real reason any business "fails" is because the owner decides to stop doing it, and in most cases, that's probably because the business owner did not create sufficient alignment with a sense of purpose to motivate continuing on.
"If you’re in your forties like me, you’ve definitely been around the block and are confident in your faculties."
When you're 65, you look back at forty and think, oh wow, when I thought I'd been around the block I was still standing in front of my mailbox. : )
The older I get, the less territory I realize I've covered.
True wisdom, Rick.
I should humbly say that when I write about being around the block...I meant at least once! 😁
The people that I'm inspired by out here have made a trench around it with the number of times they've lapped it.
What was that line from Socrates..."I know that I know nothing..."
"When you're 65, you look back at forty and think, oh wow, when I thought I'd been around the block I was still standing in front of my mailbox. : ) The older I get, the less territory I realize I've covered." SING IT, Rick I hear you loud and clear.
I fully agree, especially in today's environment, it's a good idea to think about a 'second' --or 3rd or 4th -- ): career. Times change, definitely. Sometimes however, that specific idea or aha moment just comes, out of serendipity, as did mine. We were traveling often to Mexico, thinking of taking the leap from our SanFran corporate jobs, jumping ship. It was nearly impossible to find bookstores there, and I'm an avid reader. We'd ID's the pueblo we wanted to settle in, and I decided as a hobby, I'd open a bookstore. It was one of only 6 in the state (Quintana Roo is home to Cancun) so it was an accident waiting to happen. Just luck. Sometimes things just come to you, but a wonderful second act for sure, through my need to read. Thanks btw for a great post, Vince.
We're surrounded by opportunities to grow and to add to the world, Jeanine. It takes time to realize the potential that is everywhere, not to mention the wisdom to "feel" when the time is right.
I agree with Maryan. It sounds like a great new adventure that naturally came about. 😁
Thank you so much for reading!
I dunno, Jeanine, maybe luck played a part, but a good eye and sound thinking didn’t hurt! Congratulations.
Thanks, Maryan. We had plenty of time to ruminate on it, as we needed a while to get our ducks in a row. I even took a comm college seminar in how to start a used bookstore. We shopped estate sales, thrift shops etc 3 yrs before we moved south, having books trucked cross-country to FL from SF, then barged into our pueblo's port at Pto Morelos. Whew. It became very popular and brought tourists to our town of 1000. Eventually we sold as we wanted to 're-retire.' What began as a hobby became a job, alak and alas. We wanted to sit on the beach, snorkel and see more pyramid sites like our customers! I'd planned on being open 3 days a week and through town uproar, we were open 5. A fun venture, and totally unexpected until--no reading material to be found for me when traveling, haha.
Yep—like I said, I’m not seeing luck playing in much here!
Very kind.The idea though, a lucky one!