On Turning 35...

3 minute read

Recently I celebrated my 35th year of not dying. Congratulations self.

As I’ve gotten older, I find myself spending more time on introspective thought. Contemplating where I’m going. The mistakes I’ve made, and opportunities both taken and missed.

I wonder where I might be in another 35 years.

I often look at my twenties with regret. Something I shouldn’t spend time doing. One can’t change the past. Yet, there is this lingering feeling that I wasted a lot of my potential. Spent to much time pursuing things in hindsight were unimportant.

I don’t want to look back in my forties and have the same regrets about my thirties that I do about my twenties. For that reason, I’ve been taking stock of my failures and successes these past couple of weeks.

A lot has happened in the past five years.

I started my current job when in 2012 before my 30th birthday. And I’ve been fortunate in this career. In that time my wife and I developed our love for traveling. We brought two beautiful girls into the world. And we chased a dream to travel the country in our Airstream. That lead us to moving out west.

There is a lot that makes me happy.

But in that, there have still been some personal failings. Things I want to fix.

My health has been on a downward trajectory for a couple of years. My weight continuously fluctuating. And recently a month ago I hit an all time high of 230lbs. It’s embarrassing and shameful.

No real excuses. I eat like shit. Don’t exercise, and not as active I used to be (or think I am). My career has me in front of a desk for a better part of the day. And if I want this to change, going to have to put in the work. It’s as simple as that.

I’ve also known for some time that I need to put in the effort to laying down a solid foundation for our families future.

You know, adult shit. Like having a retirement. Saving for kids college. Not being dependant on the system.

I can’t write code forever. Fact of life. We have some savings, but it could be a lot better. Hell, I should be making more money than I am.

For the last couple of years, I’ve been conversing with my friend Shawn about buy and hold rental real estate. For an average person, it’s the perfect avenue to build wealth. And the only way I can think with my skill set to lay down a foundation for my families future that is not dependent on me working a JOB.

It’s another goal that has been on the white board for the past five years.

But, I’m not as far along in that goal as I want to be. The wife and I only purchased our first rental property this past Septemeber. And right now, we’re living in it. So it’s not making any money.

I want that to change in the next five years. No regrets come my 40th.

The past five years have been good.

My only regrets are choosing instant gratification over delayed gratification. That might of allowed me to be in a better position today. Oh, and my weight. That one is weighing me down. (Pun intended)

But with my birthday I’ve found a renewed mindset.

It’s time to buckle down and focus on some of my larger goals. And forget about things I can’t change.