You don’t have to change just because you’re 30, or 40, or 50.
Many people do reflect on their lives as they reach milestones. Some like to coast. Some go through a midlife crisis. For others, their family or their kids start taking precedence over all else.
There’s nothing wrong with any of it.
But I felt the need to change.
I wasn’t necessarily looking to transform myself wholesale. But I knew there were aspects of my personality and skillset that had yet to find expression.
I’ve had the privilege of diving deep, not just into music, but also into personal development, leadership, entrepreneurship, productivity, publicity, digital marketing, and social media. I can sing, play most instruments with strings and frets, write songs and lyrics, produce, and mix music. I can draw, paint, design graphics, and make websites. I am also fluent in Japanese, and I love food, comedy, fishing, escape rooms, and skateboarding (although I cannot skate at all).
It doesn’t usually come up in conversation because I like to practice, as Dale Carnegie termed it, “conversational generosity.” I listen to people. If I started talking about myself, there would always be more layers to peel back. It could be hours, days, weeks before I ran out.
But exploring the outer reaches of who I am, led me to the point of reassessing. And I realized how much “square peg in a round hole” thinking I’d done to that point. Not that a change in direction would ensure success. But a change in direction could be enjoyable, needed even.
There are things I value. One of my greatest values is freedom.
I’d thought of business as my ticket to freedom. But there are many roads leading to that destination. And I began to think, “Maybe there’s a road better suited to me.” Again, a seismic change may not be required. But change is required nonetheless.
