I just finished my second to last semester of my MBA, and now I just have 12 more weeks until I’m done and can get 16 hours a week back to apply to other parts of my life. I’m also trying to see people one last time here in Oregon before I head off to Latin America in November for the next two years. My goal is to to become 95% fluent in Spanish so that I can work on the next part of my business plan.
My life has not been a straight line based on what I thought would happen, but it has been like an explorer trying to make a map. I’m just trying different things and seeing what I can do to help me make the best map possible and help me live my best life.
One of the new things I’m getting into is finding ways to combine data analytics and data visualization with financial planning and personal development. Here is how I’m apply data visualization with a sample budget. I feel this tells someone a better story to ignite positive behavior change than looking at a spreadsheet.
I’ve been an entrepreneur for the past 7 years, and if I wanted complete order in my life, I would have quitted on day 1. Entrepreneurship is absolute chaos, but I love it. No day is alike, and I get to decide which direction I want to go in. Even if I wanted a life with complete order, it would be a fool’s errand trying to accomplish because it would require more than 24 hours a day. Complete order also requires me to control other people. And if I could control other people, that would mean that other people could control me, and I don’t want this.
Some paths can be taken to give more stability, but they require more work to create the order since it’s like a garden. You have to spend every day watering the garden, weeding it, adding fertilizer, and protecting the crop from the animals to get your reward.
Or you can take the path of a wolf. A wolf needs to average seven pounds of meat a day, and it requires a wolf at least nine attempts before it can secure a meal. But this path allows the wolf to rest, play, and explore, but it’s always keeping an eye out for the next opportunity.
A wolf can roam around and be where they need to be to succeed. A farmer has to stick it out. They already put so much energy into their piece of land that starting over can cause a considerable amount of stress. Especially if a natural disaster happens and wipes out everything. Hopefully, if this happens, the farmer has a backup plan to handle the setback, but it goes back to trying to establish more order in life, which takes up more time and resources to make happen.
In life, it is not as easy as do this thing, and you’ll be successful. There might be times when you have to be the farmer before becoming the wolf and vice versa, but there is the price for whatever decision you make.
Though, we shouldn’t want things to completely be known to us about the future. Instead of advancing in life, we would simply be standing in place and having the world rotate around us. This will never happen, but what’s beautiful about advancing through life is that conditions of the new order of life can only be created through our own labor. We learn about the unknown and adapt our actions to the new knowledge we gain, which creates many of the delightful things we enjoy.
This is why I learn so much so that I can help shape the future that I want for myself and society. And if you’re going to change the world, start by changing yourself. But realize that it’s going to be chaotic, and if you can train yourself to be strong enough to handle the heat, that heat can burn away the impurities that prevent you and your future from shining.
PS.
Take my personal development quiz if you want to get a baseline to see if you’re physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong enough to handle the chaos and accept the upcoming order of life.
PSS
If you want to get emotionally stronger, I recommend reading Amy Morin’s book, “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do.”
Also, this blog post was inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s book, “The Kingdom of God Is Within You.”
