A Slow Burn Kind Of Person
What if the greatest thing you accomplish in your life doesn’t come in your twenties or thirties, but in your forties or fifties instead?
How would that change the way you work on your goals today?
When I was 22, I moved to Venice Beach with my good friend Jeremiah. Within a few months, Jeremiah’s video career took off. He toured with The Chainsmokers, did a real estate video for The Grove, and made some good money. As his roommate, I had a front row seat to this success, and came along to a lot of the parties he was invited to.
Within a year, I had met Sam Kolder, Taylor Offer, Jacob Riglin, Kyle Houck, Rory Kramer, and half a dozen other successful 23-year olds. I was 23 too, but I was struggling to pay rent, living project to project, and not feeling very successful.
While none of these people made me feel this way, I lived in the shadows of my own insecurity. I compared my trajectory to theirs, wondering how long it would take me to catch up. But then I realized something. Every one of these people made sacrifices for their careers that I wasn’t willing to make. They moved away from their friends, traveled constantly, networked all the time, and saw their families less than I did.
I came to the conclusion that maybe I wasn’t the kind of person to be successful in his twenties. Maybe I was a slow burn kind of person. I couldn’t move mountains in an evening like these guys, but I could stack a brick every single day. And if that’s the kind of person I was, then maybe my dreams would come in my forties.
This obviously isn’t a popular or sexy idea. This isn’t something that plays well at networking events (trust me, I’ve tried). But if it’s true, then it certainly changes how I view my work today. I can skip the viral opportunities. I can say “no” to the cash grabs. And I can say “yes” to research. To honing my craft. I can stack a brick every day, enjoy life’s slow things, and be patient.
Slow burn.
Read more posts on motivation here.
Find out what I really think here.
