I’ve been posting and writing a little less than usual.
For anyone who’s missed me, sorry I’ve just been learning to focus.
The fact is, I’m making some big break throughs in lots of areas
and I think you’ll soon start seeing some new stuff from me.
One of the reasons, I am having sooo many breakthroughs are
my bike rides. If you’ve followed my blog for a while you know
that I have a goal and an adventure I want to take of cycling the entire PCH
coast line. So, I’ve been spending a lot more time on a bike, and it’s let me
have my headphones in, iPod on with a lot more new information and books.
Lots about marketing and persuasion and success and strategy in general.
Anyway, I took a little bit of a different route this week, and realized that I
was near an old familiar place. It was the house we rented as a family when
we first moved to Utah from Colorado. I took a picture of it for you here.
This is the duplex we rented before becoming entreprenuers...
It’s not an impressive house. It was actually our half of a duplex and was supposed to
be temporary but lasted quite a bit longer than we had hoped.
I won’t go into all the details of where we were and why, and where we are now and
all of that story would take too long. I will just say that I live in a completely different world now.
Things have progressed and changed a ton.
What fascinates me though, is how little we realize we have accomplished, until we go back.
Go back 5 or 10 years in your mind, go back there in reality if you can. And then look forward down
the path you have already traveled. It’s an interesting, and awesome experience. You’ll look at where
you are, what you’re doing and achieving, what you have become etc, with different eyes.
If you’re in a rough place right now, I get it, this may not be fun it may actually be depressing.
All that means is that you have to go back further. You may even be able to feel grateful
for some of your problems and challenges. That was a fun experiment for me, and exciting for me
to remember and think through.
That said, I have to include something a wise Brazilian friend of mine once told me:
If you are always looking backwards, you trip.
I am sincerely interested in your story, your thoughts, and where you’ve been and where you’re going and how all that makes you feel.
Leave your insight below, I’m really looking to start a conversation here and see what we can all learn from each others experience.
3 Comments
Andrew James
on 24th Sep, 09 09:09am
So, I know this is weird but I’ll leave the first comment just to start the conversation. What’s your story? If you go back 5 or 10 years and look at where you were to where you are now, what do you see?
Jacob S Paulsen
on 24th Sep, 09 10:09am
5 years ago I was living in Brasil. My life then was much simplier and my focus and inner strenght was perhaps much greater. What I remember most is the way I thought about things and the way I interacted with others. I also remember how simple and naive my perspectives were. I miss the simplicity but not the naivety. The strongest feeling looking back is one of emptiness and lonliness. Having been married only 4 years ago and having our 1st child not quite 2 years ago it already hurts to imagine my life without them. I love my wife too much to consider her absence from me. Not the physical absence but the idea of my soul and hers being 2 distinc beings instead of one spirit.
Remembering the past will always be important but perhaps looking forward into the future should be equally weighed.
Andrew James
on 24th Sep, 09 01:09pm
Thanks so much for sharing Jacob! Amazing, I loved the idea of missing simplicity but not naivety. Interesting how much more you have now isn’t it? Even if sometimes you feel like there’s things that aren’t where you want them to be or things that aren’t complete yet.
I hope your wife reads that comment!