42.

In baseball, it represents Jackie Robinson’s retired jersey.

In football, it represents 6 touchdowns and extra points.

In my life, it represents reflection.

Turning 42 this week caused me to pause and take inventory. Where am I at? How did I get here? Where am I headed?

In the past, we used to look at climbing “over the hill” as the beginning of the “back nine” (golf reference) of one’s life. The sun was closer to setting than it was rising.

Once you hit 40, it’s easy to look at each birthday as “just another day”. Not a day of celebration, but a day of recognizing you are one year older. Sigh.

But, here’s the truth…

We’re living longer. We’re working longer. Our days seem to be getting brighter not darker, longer not shorter.

Hell, at 40 you haven’t even arrived at halftime yet!

This birthday was special for me because it represented a year, in which, I made some dramatic leaps forward in business and mindset.

It wasn’t that long ago I was complacent. I feared risk. I enjoyed the comforts of a steady paycheck. I relished living “inside the box”. Sound familiar?

Yet, this year I changed things up. I took less opinions. I took a different path. I walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped. This year I realized a birthday is not about getting older, it’s about getting better.

At 42, I learned 2 very important lessons that I want to share with you. If followed, they are lessons that WILL help you become a better version of yourself every single year and WILL shorten your path to creating the life you know you deserve to have

Stop taking notes and start taking action.

Action trumps everything. This year I stopped attending so many damn conferences. I stopped jumping on so many damn webinars. I stopped listening to so many damn podcasts. I just started taking action. Speed wins and taking imperfect action every day has been the key to my transformation. The answers you are looking for are not going to be found by constantly taking notes and incessantly drawing on whiteboards. Take action. 80% of done is better than 0% of perfection. Quit listening, quit planning, and start moving.

Enjoy failing.

If you’re not failing, you’re not learning. I used to be so afraid to lose. Whether it was sports or business, I would stew on a loss for days. This year I became friends with failing. You see when you take imperfect action every day you are going to fail…a lot. However, when you use failure as an opportunity to learn, you grow. Growth is about trying new things, determining what worked and what didn’t, and making the appropriate changes to be better the next time. I urge you to do, test, tweak, rinse and repeat. Fail forward every single day!

It’s a known fact that every year your age becomes greater. You must do the same.

 

At 42, you quickly realize that you’re either growing or dying. There is no static. You have a long life ahead of you so start taking action and start running towards failure. It’s the only to way to grow. Whether you are 2 days or 10 months aways from your next birthday, act today and become a better version of yourself every single year!