Deja vu
- S. A. Gibbs
- Oct 28, 2016
- 2 min read
Standing at the local Starbuck’s having a conversation with one of my older son’s high school friends. My son chose the path of the northwest, coffee shops, good bourbon, good food, a great dog named Brady – yes, after The Tom Brady – Texan wife, and world travel. My son’s friend chose the path of accounting, large house, three kids and stay at home wife. So, the conversation rambles through various topics ranging from lawyers and the value of becoming a partner, younger millennials and their work habits, working out of the office, and my older son’s lifestyle.
Colin and his wife live a unique lifestyle. They are childless with no immediate plans to change, take various adventure trips including Cost Rica and six weeks in Europe, hike and camp, live in a very small apartment in Downtown Portland Oregon, treasure artisanal dinners, drinks and craft brews, and treat their Karelian Bear Dog as the third person in the house. Yes, Colin has a high-pressure professional job; however, his identity and survival are not linked to the job or his trajectory up the corporate ladder. It is what it is, and by no means does he see his current employment as a long-term gig.
I’m not passing judgment on either lifestyle. Lifestyle is a personal decision and with that decision comes the plusses and the minuses. What concerned me was a statement made by my son’s friend. I could see the wheels turning in his head – maybe it was his heart - when he indicted that he would have liked to build houses. This expression was quickly followed with the statement, that horse has long left the barn. My retort was, why? His response, my three kids have closed the door to those options. Déjà vu; I saw a younger me saying the same thing a couple decades ago, and now I truly regret it.
I think it is sad when we define our limits by past decisions. In my opinion, anything is possible when we set our minds to something. I argue that our options are not constrained by how many kids we have or how large a house – and debt – we have, or even our age. Of course our execution strategies for launching new lives will have to reflect our unique situations, but our dreams remain achievable. So please, never say, “the horse is out of the barn.” Get out there and corral the horse, work with your significant other to devise a future vision that is shared by both, and then execute with a vengeance. Your only limits are those that you accept. Have a great day!
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