I couldn’t afford it. But I couldn’t afford not to.

The world kicked me in the nuts pretty hard in my twenties.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t ready to be an adult.  When I got out of college, I was lost.

I had no purpose.  No direction.  And no real skills either.

I bounced around entry level corporate jobs, but I’d always end up quitting. 

It’s hard describe how those jobs felt…it was like my soul was being crushed every day.  They were all dead end jobs, there was no path to victory…just wasted time.

And wasted time is wasted life.

I’d work a job until the weight of knowing that I was wasting my life away got too heavy and I’d just …quit. 

And float around until the next bullshit “opportunity” came my way.

And then the financial crisis of 2008 happened, and I, a 25 year manchild with no real skills and no traction in his career, was left more hopeless than ever.

So I started working odd jobs to make money.

And I took the first steps towards my fitness career…I bought an at home study guide to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning specialist.

And that changed something in me.  Cracking that text book open, watching the courses DVDs (lol…dating myself there)..it made me feel alive.

I actually looked forward to studying…something I had never experienced in school.

I had a path.  A purpose…I was going to throw myself into this career and become EXCELLENT at it.

I had never felt a fire like this before.

But here’s the thing- I had to make up for lost time.

I would hire coaches and trainers to write my workout programs.  I wanted to experience what it felt like from a client perspective to work with the best.  I wanted to see how they put the pieces together.

And in 2009, I took a massive jump…I paid $3k tuition (on a credit card, naturally) and went up to Madison, WI for a week (hotel and food on that same credit card) to take a course with a coach I respected. 

This financial decision was against everything I’d ever been taught about money.

I didn’t have the income to pay the balance off right away, I was going to get charged interest (gasp!)

I felt the guilt of “immediate gratification” when I had been taught to save up first before buying.

Put another way…I couldn’t afford it.

But also- I couldn’t afford NOT to do it. 

I was on a path.  I could see, VIVIDLY, in my mind who I wanted to become, what I wanted to accomplish, what it would take to get there…

And I couldn’t spend another day NOT sprinting down that path.

This wasn’t a one and done either.

I kept my living expenses low (a $900 apartment and 10 year old Honda accord) so that I could continue to take courses, join mastermind groups, and travel the country learning from the best minds in my field.

I was spending money to accelerate learning.  I was buying TIME.

Many people in my life didn’t understand this, and I was often told that I was “bad with money.”

I and understand the well meaning concerns of those closest in my life…but also…I felt something else.

Even if my decisions didn’t make a ton of sense to Dave Ramsey, they made a ton of sense to me.

And years later, one of those mentors who I paid money to and traveled to learn from, was able to put words to it.

In a “traditional” sense- money is the only currency.  And so, you spend as little as you can for what you need, and hold on to as much as possible.

But Dan Nicholson saw it another way- 

He taught me that there are 5 Currencies-

And we can trade one currency for another. The most common way is to trade Time for Money, as in “I work for $X/hour.”  It’s simple and straight forward, but there are other ways to exchange currency.

 I can give my TIME to curate a RELATIONSHIP.

I can spend my ENERGY to have an IMPACT.

And so what I realize now is that yes, I tend to be a little looser with Money than convention says we’re supposed to be.

But man, at that time in my life…my mid twenties especially…I was buying something that it’s hard to put a price tag on…

I was ENERGIZED by learning and taking courses, by meeting people, by growing.  

I built relationships with mentors and colleagues that last till this day.

I obtained the skillsets to have an impact on my clients.  I learned how to run a business, which impacted my family.

But more than anything, I bought back time.  Once I knew who I wanted to be, what I wanted to accomplish…

once I had a path to walk…a challenge to sink my teeth into…

I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and wait for everything to be perfect.  

I had to get into the game IMMEDIATELY.

It’s been awhile since I’ve thought about those days in my twenties where I felt completely lost, but for whatever reason it was on my heart today.

If there’s something in your life that you’re waiting for the “right time” to jump in on…let this be your nudge. 

There won’t be a perfect time.  Life won’t settle down.  

Every day spent NOT pursuing the person you were meant to become is day you can’t get back.

Go get in the game.

Much Love,