The Arena

Day 0 – The Beginning

Tonight (Friday – May 8th, 2015) finalized my last day at my job. I had a lot of heartfelt goodbyes; I didn’t think I would end up being this emotional saying goodbye to some of the people there.

For those of you at 188 that I had the opportunity know for years (some less than that!), I want to thank you for an amazing journey on my first official job. Looking back, I don’t think I could have gotten any luckier meeting some of you guys. Some of you have made an impact on me in a way I hadn’t thought possible and a way you may never understand. Thank you for everything. I’ll miss you guys.

Tomorrow, I enter the arena.

Inspired by a new-found quote by Theodore Roosevelt, “The Arena.”

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Where do I go from here?

I’ll be spending the next 90 days (3 months) learning how to further my skills with my online business and become an entrepreneur. What happens after that depends on the results of my venture. The next 3 months is more than just business, however. While learning to build my business is the main feature of this 3 month venture, I’m also looking to expand myself, test my limits and continue to grow and shape myself into someone unrecognizable from the beginning of this year.

1.) Spend the next 90 days learning to continue building a business.

2.) I’ll be doing my best to chronicle my progress here as a way to keep myself accountable, keep friends and onlookers in the loop, and help archive my progress as something to look back upon.

3.) Embark in a ‘Rejection Therapy’ adventure. Discovered through Jia Jang’s WDS video about Rejection. I’d LOVE it if I could find some people to do this with (or) some people to help me come up with some crazy ideas. Talk with me!

4.) Cold Shower Therapy! I still remember the first time I tried this. One of the most profound feelings I’ve ever had.

5.) Working on ‘Project Quickstep’ and ‘Codename Flight.’

6.) … And whatever else! Stay tuned.

My itinerary is already looking pretty awesome.

The first half of my 90 day venture is going to be jam packed with all sorts of interesting experiences. A lot of it involves “winging it” as I put myself in less-than-comfortable positions and locations. In the next month and a half I’ll be…

– beginning ‘Codename Flight’ tomorrow. A perfect opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and learn something I’ve always wanted to do. No longer will it be ‘hey, that would be cool to do.’ Now it’ll be, ‘hey, I tried that!’
– traveling with family to 2-4 different states and getting to experience one of the most amazing events in Knoxville that helped change my way of thinking last year.
– completing one of my long-term goals that I’ve been budgeting for, for nearly~2 years.
– getting to meet an out-of-state high school friend that helped me with my shyness, perhaps without realizing it.
– living with a close friend for 1-2 weeks to simulate “moving out” and learning a lot of new fundamentals that go along with it. And experimenting with running a business while on the go.
– meeting an online friend I’ve known for years but never met.

Inspirators that made this venture possible.

I owe a huge thanks to a few select individuals who have made this a possibility. While there are a LOT of people who have played a part in making this a reality, there are a few that have been the figureheads for helping me get to where I’m at today in the entrepreneurial world.

– My parents for being amazingly supportive.
– Sean Ogle and Location Rebel for opening my eyes to a completely new world. Seriously. I have a hard time believing what I’ve accomplished already because of Sean and the community.
– 2K-a-Month Mastermind for keeping me grounded, a meeting to look forward to every week, and for providing me the inspiration to keep plugging. (Nathaniel Wilson, Paul Garcia and Scott McKinney have been instrumental these past few weeks).
– Mike Harrington for a glimpse into a world I want to live in and being a huge source of inspiration.
– Close friends for showing interest and support in what I’m trying to do.

Summary: Time to stop wishing and start doing.

I want to meet and connect with people that share the same philosophy, regardless of what stage you’re at.