Your Life in 75 Summers: A Wake-Up Call to Start Chasing Your Dreams.

Time is an interesting concept and our perception of it moves differently for all of us.

A little personal background…

Time used to scare the hell out of me and here’s why. My father was 60 years old when I was born. He was 64 when my younger brother was born. I’m the 5th of 6 children, and my older half siblings are almost as old as April’s (my woman) father. My father was the 8th of 10 siblings so I grew up with his siblings (my aunts and uncles) passing away starting from an early age.

My point with that bit of personal information is - I became aware of the concept of death early on. That is what gave me my concept of time and the speed which each day passes.

How do you see the clock ticking?

Most people go through life and move as if they have an infinite amount of it, or they act as though they’re still at an early stage within life and have an abundant amount of time left.

The ones that act this way are usually the ones who don’t apply much pressure to accomplishing any of their dreams. They talk a lot about what they want or wish they could do but then go back to scrolling endlessly at night or binge watching show after show. Sleep late, wake up late.

Then there are some of us who see time differently. We see it as a non-renewable, scarce part of life that needs to be maximized. And let me clarify, maximized can sound robotic but when I say this I mean used to the best of its ability, however and whatever that is to bring fulfillment to one's life.

Changing the way we see our decisions

Time is quick and slow at the same time.

We experience periods where a month can fly by in what feels like a week, and then there are weeks where it can’t end quick enough. Yet each one of those moments, in retrospect, becomes a snap of the finger.

There was a comedy movie I saw as a kid called “Holy Man” with Eddy Murphy. A scene in the movie has him discussing if we are lucky, the average person lives to 75. The way he frames it though is you have 75 falls, 75 winters, 75 springs, and 75 summers. Then proceeds to call out “when you look at it like that, it doesn’t sound that long, right?” And it doesn’t.

Seeing time in this way should make us question our inaction.

We are making decisions all the time. Do I scroll or do I work towards what I want in life? Do I look at others and be happy for what they’re accomplishing or do I go out and make myself happy too?

Everything you do requires making a decision whether you know it or not, and our decisions dictate how you experience your life.

What fills your cup?

Understanding yourself and what you want out of this life is important, but also remember that we are the ones in control of this ship. What I mean by that is, we need goals or something to shoot for but as we begin to make progress towards that milestone, the journey changes us - that means our goals may change too and that is ok.

But at the core, learn to break down whatever it is you’re thinking and feeling to understand what you are truly in it for.

I’ll dive into this in the future, but motivation is such a fickle thing. It’s like a caffeine or sugar rush - there is a massive surge but then you come crashing down to your baseline (and sometimes further).

Taking the time to deeply understand what you want and why will become your biggest driver. It will be the backbone of your discipline - it will create the repetitions that become your consistency.

It starts with making a choice.

This is what I believe will separate you from 90% of people. Making a choice and being aware that this is the choice you’re making.

90% (personally, I think more) don’t even take a moment to truly think about what it is they’re doing and the role that decision has in the big picture - Then they wonder why they’re living a cyclical life of stagnation.

The details matter. This is to not be misconstrued with hustle culture. It’s not about working hard all the time, 24/7, 365 days a year. This is about being actively aware of how you spend your time, on what, and why.

Now, if you’re in a place where you’re happy and content then this article isn’t meant for you. But if your headspace is occupied about how to level up, find ways to achieve the next goal, or feeling stuck and want to figure out the next move - Then I hope this piece helps you think about the daily decisions differently AND that you have the ability to make ones that will guide you to where you want to go.

I want you to take a minute to think about something - Would you rather have memories of regret for the chances you didn’t take? Or, would you rather have memories of the chances you took and the failures you experienced along the way to your success?

Time moves quick. Align your decisions for the journey you want to have.

I challenge you to spend the next 24 hours being hyper-aware of your time. Track how you spend every minute. At the end of the day, reflect on where your time went and identify areas where you can make more conscious choices.

Win the day, and win the week my friend - Conrad M.

Next Week | I’ll be diving into Value and What drives it. In it, I’ll be discussing what has helped open the doors to working with globally recognized brands, how we create value in our partnerships, and shifting perspective on what you provide.