How the heck am I already 40?
Age is just a number and 40 really isn’t considered old these days but damn that happened fast! It seems like just yesterday I was 21 graduating from college with stars in my eyes dreaming of a long career of clawing my way up the corporate ladder. Yep, that was me. 100%. I was also a gym rat and a smoker – who was that? When I envisioned my future it was as a successful whatever I was going to become but it always revolved around working and tying career success to life success. Man have things changed!
I’m glad we changed direction. On my 30th birthday we were well immersed in the American “dream” living a rat race of a schedule. We owned our own IT consulting company comprised of just the two of us but we took on enough contracts for four. We had two duplexes that we rented out and managed ourselves and somehow managed to flip a condo in there somewhere. Do you know how much free time I had then? Close to none. And what little time I did have was spent exhausted, stressed, and worrying about everything I had to do. That’s no way to live!
That wasn’t what triggered our change though. There wasn’t an “a-ha” moment. We’d both been becoming increasingly disenchanted with the standard American life for a while at that point which was also when we started traveling a lot more. In traveling we met people on every path imaginable and it got us thinking if they can do it so can we – and so can you. We had a great life where we were without a doubt. We could have stayed right there, worked till 65, and hope to whatever upper beings exist that we’d get to enjoy a few healthy retirement years. No guarantee there. I can’t tell you how many of my friends parents retired only to die within a year or two.
We didn’t want that to be us and we didn’t want to spend anymore time sitting inside in a little box in a field of like boxes staring at a screen day in and day out. I want to know what it’s like to be free for some period of time and to do something I truly love. We (most likely) only get one life. Just one. So we decided to make changes with the ultimate goal of leaving the grind behind and following our passions. We tried to plan what we thought that would look like but we’ve stopped planning now. Stopped isn’t the right word but we’re not planning more than 6 months ahead at this point and we don’t have to. Our only commitments in life right now are the remaining four months on our lease and our jobs. So for now we’re enjoying the Keys with our eye on our next move whenever and however that comes.
Welcome 40! I’m excited for this decade and all it has in store for us!
Until next time…
Stay warm!