If I had to describe this year in a sentence? An absolute whirlwind of emotions, lessons, and building blocks for what I think might just be a pretty exciting future ahead.

I’ve discussed some of the major events that happened to me this year in previous posts, so I guess I kind of wrote my year in review haven’t I? Alright I guess we’re done here. See you next year.

Joking.

If anything, that life has taught me, it’s that it will continue to serve you lessons on a consistent basis whether you’re prepared or not. Since I last wrote in September is no different. Rather than bore you with all of the details, I figured I’d keep it brief and summarize a few lessons that I think all of us could learn from. I’ve touched on these in the past, but I don’t think it hurts for a few refreshers through new ways that I learned these so here goes.

Don’t Get Comfortable

Comfort is what kills relationships, businesses, and personal growth. Couples that stop going on dates or find new ways to keep the relationship fresh and get used to each other are usually what initiates the ending of them. Companies that don’t continue to innovate their product or service, die. Humans that stop striving for more, working towards their future, or attempting to build a better life because they get used to a certain status or environment usually find it gets yanked out from under them and they have no plan on what to do next. Comfort is a good feeling but doesn’t necessarily yield good results when you practice it too much.

So, what reminded me of this? Well, after losing my job at the top of the year and failing to find a new opportunity that sparked my interest; I kind of got used to the part-time working life. On one hand this was great for some of my personal goals, like having the time and motivation to write my first book this summer. It also gave me time to spend on things and people that are important to me. Although, something that is also important to me is my career… and only consulting part-time was not really helping me find a new opportunity or advance my career. I’ve described this experience to a few of my friends as “putting my career on hold” which was a blessing in disguise for a part of the year… but as I got my employment authorization to work & travel again, the itch to do some kick-ass marketing also came back. The problem was, I didn’t really have any opportunities to build a brand since I had put my career on the back burner and focused on my personal goals instead. That motivated me to do a few things:

A) I started to create the foundation of my own brand: The Unofficial Guide to Being an Adult by finishing the book, starting on a book proposal, and fleshing out the marketing plan on top of building this website

B) I started to put myself back out there which resulted in a gang of new job opportunities to present themselves

C) I explored what a full-time opportunity would look like at Netflix and how I could possibly turn that into my next launchpad

While I haven’t quite finalized what my career path is going to look like, it’s definitely a step closer by moving to full-time at Netflix and leading their marketing efforts for the e-com shop in the meantime. That brings me to my next lesson:

Keep An Open Mind

If you had talked to me about 6 months or so ago… I would have told you that I would never have considered working for a giant corporation as part of my next career move. While I was consulting for Netflix, I still was interviewing at startups (and even briefly worked for one in the summer) which is what I thought was going to be where I ended up. Spoiler alert – it isn’t, and I actually think that it’s for the better.

While startups can be exciting and fast paced… I’m also starting to realize that I don’t have as large as an appetite for the hustle culture as I used to, and something like the opportunity at Netflix gives me something that I haven’t had at my last two jobs: work-life balance. Don’t get me wrong, there are times where I am absolutely drowning in work (cough…this current Q4… cough) but that isn’t the norm. I can’t fully express how much it means to me that I am not constantly stressed or thinking about work because the culture at Netflix doesn’t encourage you to do so; it knows that it gets better output from people who are relaxed and put their personal lives first. You won’t find this mentality at any company below $20M.

How does this connect to the lesson of keeping an open mind? Well… if I had not opposed to working for Netflix for so long, then I may have actually come to this realization sooner which would have been great in saving a ton of time that I spent interviewing and talking to companies. It’s really affirmed that we should walk into opportunities with an open mind and explore them to see how they play out rather than make an assumption about their result and never try. What’s the worst that can happen? You may end up back where you started but with another lesson under your belt at minimum, or a life changing experience at maximum. I’ll take those odds nowadays.

People

What a weird title… people? What about people? Well… people are the most important part of our life and I’m just starting to realize that this year. Finding your group that loves you, supports you, and truly wants you to be YOU is… such a wonderful feeling. Don’t ever take that for granted.

I can’t stress enough how much we should be prioritizing the people we care about. What does that mean exactly? Well, it’s spending time with them whenever you can. It’s calling or texting them when you think about them. It’s telling them how much they mean and how much you love them while they’re still here, not when they’re gone.

I’ve lost a few people this year, whether it was physically losing them or just growing apart. This is never easy, but it’s also made me closer with those still in my life as I make the time and effort to deepen my relationship with those people. This summer I was able to travel back to Canada for the first time in 2 years and see my family and friends… that was truly a priceless memory for me. I’m also about to fly home next week for my first Christmas in 3 years and also think it’s going to be extra special because instead of prioritizing a ton of gifts, we’re currently planning spending a bunch of time together as a family instead.

We’re all going to get sucked into the chaos of life and lose sight of people once in a while… and that’s fine, but just make sure to find your way back to them eventually.