This upcoming September will mark the 10-year anniversary of Fossum Creative. More specifically, it will mark the decade that has passed since I got laid off from my last full-time job and decided to branch out on my own and follow what I believed to be my true calling.
At this point, I have spent a quarter of my life working for myself, chasing project after project, rowing through the ebbs and flows that is business ownership. It is all I know. It is exhausting. It is exciting. It is fun. And it is terrifying. (Sometimes all in the same day.) And it is the second most rewarding this I have ever done.
The most rewarding thing I have ever done is the ongoing project of being a dad. I have built my adult life and my business around trying to be the best father possible for my son. When I'm comparing myself to the Joneses and beating myself up for not having this or not having done that or not being exactly where I thought I'd be at this point in my life, I remind myself of one thing: raising my son is my top priority in life.
I designed my entire business around that. And because of it, I have been there for every milestone and special moment in his life. Sure, it isn't always the smoothest path, but most things that are worthwhile aren't. We make choices and we go with them. The Joneses have their own sets of sacrifices to make and they experience their rewards in their own ways. We do what works for us.
All of this is coming up for me because I just finished watching Scott Stratten's presentation at TEDx called "Keep Going Until We Stop." He ties his experiences as a father and as a social media Big Deal back around into the reminder that our culture is taught (trained) to keep going at all costs.
Through heartbreak, tragedy, triumph, ruin, success, we just keep going and keep going, no matter the toll it takes on our personal, emotional, physical, or spiritual lives. We are constantly connected to the outside world through smartphones and tweets and updates, but we need to shut them off every once in a while and appreciate what's right in front of us. We have to stop to keep going. Because it can all disappear at any given moment.
I can't encourage you enough to set aside the 15-minutes it takes to watch his presentation below. May it find you at a place in your life when you can stop long enough to acknowledge that you're on the right path and doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing.
You can follow Scott on Twitter at @unmarketing and definitely read his book Unmarketing. I just finished it last night and there are truths and rants in there that made me smile ear to ear.
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