Tag: inspiration

A couple months ago, while I was updating my work resume, I suddenly asked myself: What am I actually proud of? I don’t give a shit about how I improved X% of a client’s operations, increased efficiency by Y, or saved Z amount of dollars for capitalistic companies that treat people as a number and data point.

So what do I care about? Enter the life resume: things that I deem important milestones for me about what I value and what has shaped me to be the “man” I am today.

• Scored 10 goals in a park district soccer game when I was 10 years old, received claps from over-competitive parents and was told that I’m a stud, thus beginning my egotistical nature and God complex 
• Became an IHSA All-State Tennis player in Doubles due to quitting (being cut from) the varsity soccer team, missing school dances, having no social life, and realizing that Tennis players are, on average, less athletic than other sports teams
• Won a $10K Business Scholarship after building a business plan and pitching my company called “Cake & Bake”
• Failed building +30 side hustles, ranging from: lemonade stands to E-Commerce, selling “friendship” and the “possibility of giving my number” to affiliate marketing, coaching Tennis to selling books, trying to build physical products to coding social media apps, and everything in between
• Built and sold Crazy Men’s Dress Socks, which, after all was said and done, probably broke even due to all my failed marketing campaigns
• Read +50 books on self-help, productivity, and psychology to improve my crippling anxiety about not currently being Michael Jordan or Elon Musk
• Created a Mental Models life guide that is +50 pages long and is structured on a use-case basis (when I am eating, when I want to sleep, when I want to get a job, when I want to develop a new skill, etc.)
• Mastered how to play Riptide, Viva La Vida, Cigarette Daydreams, and other generic white boy music (except Wonderwall) in order to be campfire-ready, impress my drunk friends, and convince pretty girls that I’m actually a cool guy
• Failed at becoming a “college dropout” and ended up getting the meaningless Magna Cum Laude accolade in Finance and Marketing
• Cold emailed +5K prospective employers/mentors and scheduled +200 calls/coffee chats in order to land internships and full-time offers
• Skipped my graduation and booked a bus from Ohio to meet up with some mentors in NYC
• Made coloring books for executives (aka Management Consulting), where I became very good at going to meetings, preparing for meetings (I can make slides very fast), presenting at meetings, taking notes that could be included in meetings, and of course, scheduling future meetings
• Cut my chin open and got stitches while riding my longboard around a neighborhood (you should have seen the pebble)
• Traveled around North America (US, Canada, Mexico) with 3 friends for 2 years, where we visited +40 states, worked remotely from +50 Airbnbs, visited +20 National Parks, hiked, surfed, skied, and somehow didn’t kill each other in the process
• Saved from drowning by my friend, Ben, while hiking through the Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah
• Gained and lost +$100K in the stock market through my own personalized investing strategy, buying shares in individual companies I believe in, leveraged ETFs in particular high-growth sectors, and speculating on cryptocurrencies 
• Quit my consulting job and solo traveled around Europe, Asia, and Africa for +1.5 years, visiting +45 countries 
• Documented my travels and thoughts through blogs, photos, and films, yielding a culmination of +100K views across all platforms
• Learned how to land a backside 360 on a snowboard after many attempts of falling on my ass, praying to a Snow God I don’t believe in, and putting +150 days in on the mountains (skiing US, Canada, France, Italy, and Switzerland)
• Capitalized on my privilege and learned how to be a subpar surfer, traveling to some of the best spots in the world (California, Hawaii, North Carolina, Portugal, Indonesia, Morocco)
• Given the opportunity to be involved in several love stories while traveling, some that I regret, some that I cherished, and other(s) that may still be ongoing (if only someone would confirm with the other party)
• Played pick-up basketball in +10 countries around the world
• Hiked +3 14ers (mountains over 14K feet) in Colorado, US
• Biked across the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland
• Sumitted Pen y Fan (highest peak in South Wales), Bobotov (highest peak in Montenegro), and Mount Toubkal (highest peak in North Africa)
• Bungee Jumped from Maslenica Bridge (tallest point to jump from in Croatia)
• Paraglided (in tandem, lame I know) over Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia 
• Experienced Oktoberfest (Wiesn) in Munich, Germany
• Hot air ballooned in Cappadocia, Turkey
• Island hopped around Hawaii, Greece, Indonesia, and Thailand
• Trekked through the Sahara Desert on camel and foot with the Berbers (indigenous group of nomads) in Morocco
• Marveled at some of the Wonders of the World (Grand Canyon, Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, Pyramids of Giza, Petra, etc.)
• Bathed in the Dead Sea (lowest point on earth)
• Designed a travel app (WIP) to revolutionize the way backpackers/nomads interact and stay in touch with their travel friends 
• Informed that I could be a professional dancer by +200 drunk people in my life
• Repeated the exact same 3 magic tricks at parties that I learned when I was 13 years old
• Notified that only 1 of 8 of my jokes land and are actually funny, but that has never stopped me from trying (quantity over quality approach)

After writing this out, it’s been great to look back at this to 1) Reflect and show gratitude for the life I’ve been blessed with 2) Use it as an operating model for living. If I ever come across a challenge or opportunity that would make a bullet point on this list, then I have to do it.

“Life is our resume. It is our story to tell, and the choices we make write the chapters. Can we live in a way where we look forward to looking back?”

– Matthew McConaughey