Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed I take everything that’s between the ears and put it on paper and that’s what this blog is – a brain dump. It’s a practice that helps me to declutter the mind and organize the chaos within the cranium. If you’ve never put your thoughts on paper without an agenda, I would suggest that you do and without further ado (I’m a poet), here’s what’s on my mind for anyone who’s interested.
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Fitness
I’ve been training for the 2022 New York City Marathon and at 30 miles each week, running volume is starting to cut into life (lifting, relationships, business). More than anything, I’ve been sacrificing sleep and feeling drained more often than not. Something has to give but I’m not sure what that thing is just yet ( refuse to let that be the meaningful relationships that I have). I’m realizing that this marathon prep (8 more weeks) is going to test me in ways that I haven’t been tested before – that both scares and excites me. I’m also on a running streak (152 days) which I hope to keep going for a while.
Finance
I’m becoming more and more aware of just how much I think about money and I realize that finance takes up a lot of space in my mind. Upon reflection, I don’t know why that is but I do know that financial freedom is something that I want (and that I strive for). I have to do a better job of balancing the “here and now” with building for the future. In regard to the past 14 months of entrepreneurship, I’ve made more money than I ever thought I would (I’m surprising myself) and I love the endless opportunities to give impact and earn income. When it comes to sales, I like to focus on building relationships and on adding value to others only where it makes sense – that mindset is a lot easier to embrace when things are going well and the financial pressure is low. I’ve learned that I would rather have no floor for support if I can also have no ceiling for potential. This is what I think of, often.
Business
Over the past few months (since the in-person event), I’ve been oscillating between feeling great about business (Project Endure) and confused about future direction. Despite the ups and downs, I trust that consistent and intentional forward action will bring me to where I need to be; each step will reveal the next. The main goal is to add value to others in all that I do and lean into the truth that even when we don’t know what to do next, if we choose to be vulnerable, we can add value right where we are. I’m also realizing that my time is a limiting factor for growth. I don’t want to be a bottleneck for business growth and for that reason, I’m looking for people that I trust to help me spread the mission and impact others.
Communication
I’ve been SO frustrated in recent weeks with how other people communicate (or don’t). To be specific, I’ve had multiple leads reach out to me over the past month and more than ever before, people have not be responding to me (ghosting me). I don’t expect people to jump through hoops to get back to me in an instant but how hard is it to respond to a simple text message or email? When people don’t communicate well with me I feel very disrespected but in the end, all that I can do is control what I can control. Regardless of how I feel, I will continue to follow up until I hear back from the people that I need to communicate with (being persistent and respectful). If someone can’t communicate on a reasonable timeline and in a clear manner, I’m realizing that, that person does not belong (deserve) space in my circle.
Friends
I have a small, close circle along with many people who I would consider “good friends” who I know through the world of social media. The friendships that I value the most are the ones where we don’t need to see each other often to maintain the depth of our relationship. In other words, I value people who are willing to be authentic, open and vulnerable anywhere, anytime. I’ve been doing a better job as of late with surrounding myself with people who are a few steps ahead of me so that I can learn from them and grow with them (that’s the premise behind the group coaching I’ve created). Overall, I feel very supported and loved and I couldn’t do anything that I do without the people closest to me, especially my wife who gives me so much grace, love and support (she makes me the best version of who I can be).
Miscellaneous
I’m convinced that in the end, nothing will matter except the way that we loved other people – it’s sometimes hard to match that truth with the way that I prioritize my time (I need to put people over being productive). If I could have one superpower it would be persistence – I want to be prolific and that requires that I show up over and over and over again especially when I don’t feel like it. The world of social media has been taking moire from my life in recent weeks than it is adding to it – I need to slow down on social and reset (it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to be prolific that I’m not present). If someone else is reading these thoughts, I hope that something here resonates with them – there’s no reason not to share these kind of thoughts. Everyone is going through something and we all feel a lot weaker than we would like to admit at times. We’re all human and the ups and downs of life can get to any of us – I’m here to embrace it all.
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If you’re still reading, I want to thank you for giving me space to share what’s on my mind – I wouldn’t have this blog if it weren’t for everyone who encourages and supports me in my writing. One last thought that I’d like to share before I get back to work – being successful has less to do with outcomes and more about who we become and how we impact others along the way. It’s all about the process and it’s time that we all lean further into that.
“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”
Zig Ziglar
I appreciate you!
Joe Rinaldi
IG: @joearinaldi
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