The new ROI (return on INVOLVEMENT). At the 11th grade lunch table in high school, a really good (incredibly smart – AJG) friend of mine took and I took the time to map out our lives. I have to admit, I’ve kept the template for all these years.
It was resolved, that in our 20s:
-We experience EVERYTING
-We take the time to meet EVERYONE
-We learn EVERYTHING. Skill acquisition is critical in this phase.
-We say no to NOTHING.
Our 20s should be about gaining experience and exposure, with very few limits. Building our networks and learning new things is what it’s all about.
In our 30s:
We look back on all the jobs and skills that we have experienced over our 20s and pick something that we enjoy and that has some long term money-making potential. Our 30s should be about taking what we’ve learned and establishing some ROOTS.
We understood that there might not be much profitability during these years, but that’s ok, because the focus should be on planting seeds with the education and experience that we acquired up to that point. In short, pick a direction and go with it!
In our 40s:
Our 40s should be where the seeds we planted in our 30s gains some traction, allowing us to gain significant profitability and optimize our careers / businesses. We should be working really hard, but still have time for our health and for family (Little did I know that this particular theme would be repeated several times throughout my life).
In our 50s:
We should have ample money and health, allowing us to figure out and choose what we would like to do with our time. It’s all about flexibility at this stage. Winding down, ramping up, retiring, thinking about retiring…anything goes. We should be focusing on the next generation and bringing up the ‘young guns’ that show promise.
I’m highlighting this lunchroom breakdown so I can say that there have been countless experiences (jobs, businesses, skills, ideas, side hustles, etc.) that have been completely out of left field. So many people have criticized me for being ‘all over the place’ and ‘without focus.’ At the time, I wouldn’t have said they were wrong, BUT I knew that as long as my wild ideas fit within the above framework, in the long-run it would be more of an asset that benefits me rather than a liability, or tangent, that takes me off track.
There have been countless experiences where I didn’t make ANY money, and everyone criticized me saying that I was ‘wasting my time.’ Again, they weren’t wrong, but I absolutely knew I’d win in the end.
The reason that these events would lead to victory is because I knew (very early on) the power of RETURN ON INVOLVEMENT. All the crazy, nonsensical things I’ve done through the years have ALWAYS come back to me. Nearly every day, I’m thanking my 20-something self for getting involved and doing everything because now I have an incredibly valuable and unique skill set (especially relating to business). Without this atypical path, that wouldn’t have been possible.
My advice to people (older AND younger) is to go out and do things. Never stop learning, never stop experiencing, and even if there’s not a huge payday at the end, there are still seeds that have been planted for harvest when you least expect it.
Focus is important, and I think the older we get the more important it becomes, but it still shouldn’t deter us from having new, sometimes weird experiences that make us see the world in a whole new light.
