Tag: motivation

Life Resume

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.

LIFE EXPERIENCE 

PLYS,  Incorporated______________________ IL → OH → NJ → NY → Nomad

Son, Brother, Godfather, Friend, Lover, Athlete, Artist, US Citizen, Human

June, 1996 – Current

  • 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)

FUTURE LIFE

Goals: Visit +100 countries in the world, retire from the working world, drop an album, get sky/scuba dive certified, be a better surfer/snowboarder, be a better friend, be a better human

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

Bungee Jumping in Croatia

Im fucking petrified. We are coming to the day, the time.

This has been on my mind for a long time, bungee jumping. Like sky diving, I’ve watched a lot of videos on it over the years, and always told myself “one day.”

Right when I showed up to Zadar, Croatia to check into my hostel, I saw a pamphlet advertising “bungee jumping” and told myself, “this is it.”

Legit company, 15+ years of history and safety. Dope view point over an amazing lake and bridge. And very cheap, as far as bungee jumping goes. It checked all the boxes. Yet my stomach started to curl on the inside. Not in the, I had an amazing dinner and ate too much cheese kind of way. More of like if my stomach was a washing machine. And my guts and inside were all the clothes just getting tossed around and around in a circular motion.

But I have to do it. I just need someone to hold me accountable.

Easy enough, hostels are always filled with people who want to do random shit. After a couple hours on the beach and chilling in the lobby of the hostel, I get 2 other girls to join me for the day. This is great, now my male chauvinistic ass has to do it. I can’t let 2 young girls laugh and jump off a bridge while I stand shaking in the corner.

It’s the night before, and I can’t sleep. Im tossing and turning. I keep repeating the facts over and over again to myself: “higher chance of dying in a car crash…higher chance of dying from a bee sting…” but somehow it’s no longer helping. My new best bet is to try to not think of it at all. Or to fast forward my life 18 hours ahead, when I’ve either completed the jump or died in the process.

I go to a cafe the morning before, thinking I can work on one of my side projects, but end up just watching motivational videos on YouTube to hype myself up. Mateusz M, you are a real G for your videos. Im getting goosebumps all over my arms. This isn’t really a big deal. Im fine. I need to do what scares me. Hell, I even picked out my t-shirt on purpose for the day. On the back it has a quote from Awolnation: “Never let your fear decide your fate.” I need to live by that.

One hour before the jump: The 2 girls are going to meet up with me at the cafe and we’re going to take an Uber over to the bridge. I’ve now decided to just not think. Let’s turn my brain off for the next hour. Yes, that will be better. I don’t have to do much. Just jump. Im good at jumping. Ive jumped a bunch in my life. I just have to move 2 feet. Thats it. The more I think about it, I don’t really need to be brave for long. Really just 2 seconds. Just for the jump. Everything before that, I’m not in any danger. And everything after the jump, it’s too late anyways. So I just need to be brave for 2 seconds. Thats such a small period of time. I can do that.

Well at least bungee jumping would be a cool way to go out. None of this “died of cardiovascular disease” or some bullshit. My nieces and nephews will think their uncle was a badass.

The ODDS are SO LOW. But what if that rope tangles around my neck? Hanging would be a brutal way to go out. Bloody execution style. On video and everything. No one would want to watch the tape. Go pro footage 4k definition and all.

So I’m back from the bridge, thoughts more collected, adrenaline still pumping, and oh boy, I can honestly say that was one of the best feelings of my life. You are literally a bird in the sky for a couple seconds. The rush of that “free fall” is liked getting kissed by the earth for the first time. You literally feel the gravitational pull. Unbelievable. I now have a new profound feeling to relate to when I’m playing Fortnite and drop into the map. After the free fall experience, you get so close to the water you think you are going to crash, until last minute, you feel the bounce from the rope, springing you back into action. And up you go, with a little less power and a little more control, bouncing around until you come to an eventual stop. You are then lowered into a boat below, where you drop and unstrap. Floating around the water and looking up at the bridge towering over you, all I can think about was “damn, I was up there a minute ago?” Such a surreal experience.

I can’t wait to do it again.

Boiled Water & the Sun

Boiled water softens potatoes but hardens eggs

Sun darkens the skin but lightens the hair 

The same difficult (or easy) situation could cause 2 people to have 2 different results 

Its not whats happening to us, but how we react or respond to the situation 

When life knocks us down, are we getting up as quickly as possible?

Are we learning from the punches, learning how to dodge and counter?

When life gives lemons (as it often does), are we willing to create something from it? 

Are we squeezing the lemon as much as possible?

Enjoying all the taste and flavor?