Ok, I started this blog in March with this: Wow, is it March already? Spring is coming! Already turned on the air conditioning last week, so I'm concerned about the number of days over 90 we will see in the summer! ...but March flew by and since I had so much going on, I didn't get to complete it! Maybe I'll do two this month. It's now been over 2 months since my last day at my previous employer and I'm having a wonderful time. My wife says things about me being 'unemployed' like I have lots of time but I feel as busy as ever (just no paycheck😊)! Things continue to develop, and my 5 focuses have changed a bit.
I'm writing this from my mom's house in New Jersey and it is always a good place to reminisce about the past. Though I didn't grow up in the house where she now lives, NJ always brings back memories of childhood. I turned the big 5 0 a few weeks ago and on Facebook I said I was going to discuss my thoughts about it in this blog. I guess at 50 I'm now officially middle age and my kids now keep calling me a 'boomer'. I'm not a boomer!! I'm generation X! To them it's all the same, and we all get a laugh at my expense. I call them 'young whipper snappers' but that doesn't seem to have the same effect. Though overall feeling great, I guess I still have some mixed feelings at 50, and I'm guessing everyone that turns 50 has some mixed feelings? So let's go through some of those feelings:
1. Well, I'm still alive. That's a plus! There have been many that didn't make it to 50 and another day here is another blessing.
2. I feel a lot wiser than I did in my 20s, 30s, and 40s. I've been on quite a journey and made so many mistakes that I feel 'I've seen it all', though at the same time sometimes I feel I haven't really seen anything. I love those that say the more they know, the more they realize how little they know. I guess this realization is the epitome of mixed feelings, I feel wiser, and yet in the big picture feel like I don't know anything.
3. Family life is different. I love having teenage and older kids. Though kids this age have different challenges, overall it seems easier then when they were much younger. Also, we can do more together, and in general they are more self-sufficient, or at least on the road to self-sufficiency.
4. I still haven't 'arrived'. Though I don't have the financial windfall that every entrepreneur dreams of, I'm thankful I came out alive after my major entrepreneurial attempt and much wiser (also thankful to be able to take some time 'off'). I also am getting excited about the next season. Whatever I do, my approach is definitely going to be different. I've been thinking about co-laboring with God. If we try to do everything on our own it is just a real slog, and such a heavy weight to carry. In this next season my wish is to have His wind at my back, and though I know nothing is easy, let it be hard (or even easy!) but not necessarily trying to attempt the impossible and improbable. Maybe if I had obtained the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I would have been much less apt to do anything else, but I still feel hungry to apply these lessons and build something that people can benefit from!
So what am I focusing on now? So a few things have been delayed, or faded away and here are the things I'm currently focusing on:
1. Do Good University/Leadership is still a big focus. I had a wonderful trip to Arizona for a meeting about DoGood and beforehand Andrea and I got to get away for a few days in Sedona which WAS amazing. (See the pic above) I got to get to know the Do Good team better, and I am impressed with the foundation that has been built. Continuing to walk it out and will report more each month!
2. RentOrShare.IT and the 'tiny house & event' village concepts are merging! So I was talking to a Realtor friend who was telling me about some time he spent with Spencer Rascoff, the former CEO of Zillow. I've had a few interactions with Spencer, and know he launched Pacaso, a group ownership model for vacation homes a few years ago. So after talking and thinking more about some of my presuppositions for RentOrShare.IT, I decided my original desire to stay away from property rentals may just not be the right initial approach. So I would like to combine the efforts for my planned event center/destination for our land in Kentucky, and RentOrShare.IT. The idea is to allow for co-ownership of cabins/tiny houses built on the property to house people for the events. More details to come!
3. I continue my efforts as Executive Pastor at King and City Church. I'm leaning in to help as much as I can at our church plant. As our organization grows, it definitely needs organization at every level and I'm focusing on helping to make that happen.
So that is my update. This blog always goes out to my e-mail subscribers first, so be the first to know and sign up below to be on the mailing list!
If you have any comments, thoughts or suggestions, please let me know.
- Andrew
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