Last week was 23 since I began wearing my badge for any company. Feels too long on some days but too short on most. Money, fame, power, accomplishment, experience, innovation, colleague count, friends, and connections have all trended the right direction. Growth has not been linear owing to recessions, politics, personal situations, mental health, immigration, and pursuit of different goals at different times. For instance, after several years of little to no raises, you pursue money. After several years of pursuing money without vertical growth, you crave promotions. At other times you want to expand your knowledge or gain experience elsewhere, you pursue horizontal expansion. You get the point and yes, you can always do any of these in parallel but you optimize for speed, vertical or horizontal. If you fun for all three at the same time, you are but, STUCK.

All said and done, one thing I can always feel is a sense of gratitude for my employers, my managers, peers, reports, recruiters, friends, and associates. Most of all, without the sacrifices made by our families to let us do what we do, to travel as we need and to work crazily stealing personal time, it would be impossible to accomplish anything. More than all, our maker who gives us the drive, the brain, the resilience and fortitude to accomplish what we set out to, or get close to.

The key thing to sustain this for the next 23? Learning mindset, flexibility and maniacal prioritization of what matters most. Are there another 23? Well.. depends on my ability to stay relevant, fit, and keen.

Last week was 23 since I began wearing my badge for any company. Feels too long on some days but too short on most. Money, fame, power, accomplishment, experience, innovation, colleague count, friends, and connections have all trended the right direction. Growth has not been linear owing to recessions, politics, personal situations, mental health, immigration, and pursuit of different goals at different times. For instance, after several years of little to no raises, you pursue money. After several years of pursuing money without vertical growth, you crave promotions. At other times you want to expand your knowledge or gain experience elsewhere, you pursue horizontal expansion. You get the point and yes, you can always do any of these in parallel but you optimize for speed, vertical or horizontal. If you fun for all three at the same time, you are but, STUCK.

All said and done, one thing I can always feel is a sense of gratitude for my employers, my managers, peers, reports, recruiters, friends, and associates. Most of all, without the sacrifices made by our families to let us do what we do, to travel as we need and to work crazily stealing personal time, it would be impossible to accomplish anything. More than all, our maker who gives us the drive, the brain, the resilience and fortitude to accomplish what we set out to, or get close to.

The key thing to sustain this for the next 23? Learning mindset, flexibility and maniacal prioritization of what matters most. Are there another 23? Well.. depends on my ability to stay relevant, fit, and keen.