61 Things I Have Learned So Far This Year
While feeling like I am moving at the speed of light, I wanted to slow down for a second and take some time today to reflect. There are days these past few weeks where I have been working so hard at points that I feel delusional. Maybe that is from the 18-19 hour work days (I will tell you why at the end of this post). I have grown tremendously as a person and in business, yet sometimes feel like the guy to the right with all the mistakes I have made. I have come to understand that my failures are part of the process so I wanted to share with you what I found.
So far, this year I have learned…
- Eating a bunch of bananas in one day is too many bananas.
- Spend a few extra minutes developing a well thought out plan.
We all know the routine well. We all are OR we all were young at one point. A hellacious work week leads to a weekend of “letting loose”. It usually involves the excessive consumption of various cocktails, maybe a little dancing, some good music, sexy people and several more cocktails. That was the routine for me practically every weekend from 17-22. Don’t ask me how I got into the bar or why I was even drinking before I was 21. Wait, you can just call it COLLEGE. I was not as innocent as I look. 
It was fun from what I can remember. I would not trade it for the world. Would you? 
The photographer caught me showcasing my best “Thriller” moves in this action shot. Lol. Yesterday, I had the privilege to speak at the Social Media Bootcamp in Rockford, IL. It is a two and a half day social media marathon for professionals and business owners. In the morning, I kicked off the event with my presentation “Purpose Driven Social Media” and later in the afternoon, I gave a talk on “How to Build a Tremendous Blog and Why.” I had a wonderful engaging audience that I was exceptionally grateful for.
For many, it is the ultimate dream to do what we love and what we are good at and get paid handsomely for it. Does one have to search their whole life to achieve this result? It may seem as if young professionals have to pay their dues, but that is not the case.
Inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere. Even on the big screen. Being a motion picture fanatic, I like to watch movies not only for entertainment value, but I really enjoy ones that have a powerful messaging ingrained into it.
It must be great being you. I can’t imagine how many people would just love to go from where they are at now to where you are presently standing. Just think about all those crazy experiences you have been through over the years. There are probably so many people that you can relate with, who I can’t even connect with. It is like you have walked similar paths’. And what about all those stories that you haven’t even told me about yet. 
There is so much competition, right? So why the heck would someone want to business with YOU? The harsh reality is that no one cares what you have to offer. People care that you care. So again, why should someone do business with you?
I have heard the term “self-made millionaire” thrown around ever since I was a little kid. I always thought it sounded so cool. The dream of being able to say, “I accomplished all this success in my life all by myself when everyone doubted me,” felt quite powerful. Many people on Twitter give themselves this title, which is what sparked this post.
In college, my instructors told me networking was the key to success. In business, my mentors told me “your network equals your net worth.” To be honest with you, until recently, I did not enjoy going to business networking events. It was because I was so sick of giving people the same old sales pitch. I just could not get past seeing every person I met as a dollar sign instead of their true unique value. Once I truly understood that this is not a game of just shaking hands, but building relationships, I started having a blast.