On Turning 30

I turned 30 last month. Leading up to and following my birthday, I've been pondering my next 10 years. Looking back, my 20s were filled with trial and error experimentation, getting married, having two kiddos, changing church 2 times, working at multiple different gigs, both for employers and fiddling with projects at home that I hoped to monetize.

Then Pine View happened, which has been one of the biggest decisions in my life. I did not have a full understanding of what I was saying yes to when deciding to purchase the business. I knew it would be stretching, challenging, and hard. But it was impossible to fully understand the ramifications of that choice. We are more than 2 years in on that journey and it has been a crazy ride.

I am grateful for the opportunity to lock myself in. With a business like Pine View, there is no easy out. For someone like me, who likes to start things and not finish (my Working Genius is invention, not tenacity), this commitment has been great. There have been times when I questioned whether or not I wanted to be the operator of the business. Sometimes, there are endless fires to put out and I feel mothered out. I've reckoned with my lot and am at peace with it.

What feels like the first time in life, I see the results of working hard at one thing for a long time. (There is no easy and quick way to build a team of great people and systems that make a business run smoothly.) I've had very few days off in the last two years, and have worked many of the stat holidays. But I am seeing traction, where decisions and sustained effort are yielding results.

I have asked myself how I can lock myself in in other ways besides the business. Disciplined actions over long periods of time will yield results. The minimum result - I learn something. The maximum result? The sky's the limit.

As I consider the next 10 years, I think about my impact on others - good or bad. My wife, kiddos, the Pine View team all come to mind. I think about how my actions and communications affect those I rub shoulders with and their families and friends.

I think about what other positive things I should be doing that I am not doing right now. What negative or useless things should I stop doing?

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” - Bill Gates