Today I turn 35. Here are 35 things I want to share with you. This list ranges from things I feel pretty good about to things I struggle with daily. Spoiler alert some of them are paradoxical; such is life.
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Decide. Do your research. Talk to your people. Listen to your gut. But DECIDE. Whatever it is. Decide and move on.
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Listen to more podcasts. A podcast is a great way to learn something new and listen to the thoughts and perspectives of others. They are shorter than audio books and free.
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Stop listening to podcasts. After a little while stop for a bit. Digest what you heard and think about how you can apply it.
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Listen to old music. The stuff you listened to in high school.
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Listen to new music. Because ‘can’t nobody tell me nothing…’ (if you don’t know what that is from, case in point).
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Stop getting upset with your kids because they have energy and are happy and don’t share your jaded view of life and don’t care that you had a rough day and just want you to go in the pool with them. Go in the pool. It isn’t that cold.
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Meditate. This is the best way to learn that you are a totally irrational animal and so is everyone else. It also teaches you to that you are not your thoughts or emotions. Revolutionary.
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You are wrong. You are also right. The key is knowing when it matters.
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Write.
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Be where you are when you are there.
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Find an opinion that you hold to be a truth and intentionally read about the opposing view. You would be surprised at how skewed and possibly inaccurate your thoughts are. Donald Trump or climate change, for instance…
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Drive with your windows down; in silence.
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Say the things that need to be said. Listen to the things that need to be heard.
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Revisit your brand loyalty. For instance, MacBooks are the best. MacBooks are the best. MacBooks, MacBooks… I just built a custom PC for video editing and it is dope. Hmm…
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Get off Facebook…. And Instagram.
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Do something really hard that will take you a long time. That is what it means to be fulfilled.
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Learn a trade. You used to hunt and gather food for yourself not THAT long ago. But you don’t know how to use a drill. Stop it.
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Foster self awareness. You are crazy. I am crazy. The difference comes down to, do you know how crazy you are? Do you know why?
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Read Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. It is the hardest thing I have ever read. You’ll hate me for it. You’ll thank me for it.
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Struggle in front of your kids. Show them hard work. Show them your failures. Show them you are human. Show them you aren’t perfect.
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Believe in something.
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Learn to ask for and accept help. It doesn’t make you weak.
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Make stuff. Fix stuff.
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Stop worrying about what people think. Most of us are so self-involved that we don’t have time to hate on what you’re doing.
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Become a better communicator. It will improve every aspect of your life. (Crucial Conversations is a great book about this)
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Get comfortable being uncomfortable. You are capable of so much more.
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Watch every Fast in Furious movie (except Tokyo Drift).
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Your life is but a flash in a pan. Treat it as such. What is the worst that could happen?
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Take more pictures.
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Read more books. There is no better way to learn what took someone else their whole life to figure out.
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Stop reading so many books. At some point you need to apply the things you learn. If not, it is just an excuse for inaction.
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Be scared. Do it anyway.
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The things you love… do them.
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The people you miss… tell them.
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Live like you already lived once and screwed the whole thing up big time because you let your life happen to you instead of taking charge of it. Now this is your second chance.
Life is extremely difficult. That is true. But most things in life are not permanent; I guess your height probably is at this point. But most other things can be changed. They are hard to change but life is going to be hard regardless of if you limp through it like a pawn or try to ride through it like a King. You can choose the source of your hard.
This list is made up of the top 35 things that came to mind today. I struggle with a lot of these. I have learned a lot these lessons the hard way. I am stubborn. Maybe you laughed. Maybe they punched you in the stomach. Maybe you should try some of them. I would start with Fast and Furious and then move to meditation; the rest will fall into place from there. Best of luck to you.
Here is to 35.
– Nate
