Another Turkey Trot has passed! Before drifting off to the lul of the holidays, let me share the happenings and wisdom of the year. In itself, the year has been remarkable. We have seen the rise of AI and many new companies starting up around it. We had to learn new skills and change how we interact with news. Coming out of the pandemic, many of us had to learn anew how to interact with other humans.
Yet, this year has also been a change on a personal level. It marked the tenth anniversary of several events and ventures in my life. I acknowledged how work and life changed my preferences and habits for the first time. As well as how they change them. Plus, all the big and little successes make life worth living.
Success and Being a Dad
Yet, none of the successes is as remarkable as seeing my kids grow up. Running the turkey trot today, I must admit defeat to my oldest, who was several minutes faster than me. Yet, the fact that he ran is also a testament to the fact that sometimes you only understand lessons when teaching them. We registered for the 5k back in March. Yet, last week Tuesday, he decided we didn’t want to run it anymore. He reasoned that it was pointless because he wouldn’t win it.
The thought is fascinating for multiple reasons. For one, my son never ran a 5k. Thus, he couldn’t know his performance. Yet he was sure he wouldn’t win. From the outside, it seems ridiculous. Yet, it is something we all struggle with. “I won’t do a sales call because people won’t buy anyway.” “No one will like my product, so why design it.” “Someone else can sing it better, so why audition for the role.” Someone else telling you makes them all seem ridiculous. Yet, we sabotage ourselves all the time.
While the “how do you know” argument would work for me, it has the risk of validating his concern. After all, there are a lot of runners on the field. Thus, I changed the challenge in his mind. I know he is faster than me, but he doesn’t. Consequently, the challenge for this year is to beat me, and the challenge for next year is to beat his own time. With only the long-term goal of ever-improving till he is the first. (In his mind: “So when I’m 22?”) He beat me this year and is looking forward to running again next year.
Life Long Learning
Yet, this year hasn’t marked only the finish of some fast runs. There were also some long-term victories to collect—ten years at Univention North America.
Looking back, I showed how we change in this time and how success and new skills change our perspective in life. Ten years ago, nothing was more daunting than networking, calling people, or standing in front of a crowd and having to introduce myself. Today, these are some of the most enjoyable tasks of the day. Programming, in contrast, has lost its luster. It has gone from figuring something out to a simple chore. It may be age or the realization that people can make me strive, but it is a profound change that has influenced many other parts of my life.
Yet, the learning and growing part wouldn’t have been possible without all the mentorship and support I have received. Constant feedback and a love for learning and growth have brought me to where I am today and will carry me in the future.
Time has Flown By
Univention North America wasn’t the only tenth anniversary this year. I have lived in the US for ten years. Own a house for ten as well. Most importantly, I have been married for ten years. While all of them are unique, they share one thing. All of them required a lot more work and communication than initially expected.
Take owning a house as an example. It usually starts with a place to live, mingled with some financial considerations about the future. Add in all the work to make it a home, and you suddenly have someone disagreeing about the color you want to paint the living room. Yet, not just the choices define home ownership. Gutters want cleaning, trees need trimming, and many other things arise.
All things that last require work after the initial appearance. Often more than we think at the onset.
Time for Change
Yet, with all the long-term accomplishments, one should not forget all the changes happening in the world. One of the biggest technological revolutions over the past years has come into the open. AI has suddenly entered the forefront of many minds.
It further marked my career change as I joined an AI startup as a board member. Thus, I could see the power firsthand and the challenges the new technology brings. However, it also required me to practice the oversight and mentoring aspect that I honed at the Constructor Foundation of America and during the NACD Certified Director course. Going from theory into practice was an extremely steep learning curve, but I am happy to have found my place. I’m confident that all the startups where I’m involved, whether as board members, advisors, or investors, are set up for success.
However, my becoming a board member, advisor, and mentor wouldn’t have been possible without my mentors. I’m happy for those who have worked with me over the past couple of years and helped shape me into who I am today.
You Can’t Stop the Flow of Time
We are living in exciting and challenging times. With technology marching ahead and many societal changes, one could assume that life looked completely different every year.
Yet, many of the fundamental tasks remain the same. Human-to-human interactions haven’t changed, and communication still needs work, regardless of whether Zoom is here to stay.
It also remained true that things don’t “just happen.” From the outside, it often seems that good fortune suddenly appears, and some are just lucky. Some lucky circumstances, like being born at the right place and time, determine our lives forever. Yet, a lot is due to hard work. Thus, no matter the achievements and changes, we shall not forget to improve ourselves and our lives a little bit every day, all the time.