I turned 50 years old this year. Not too long ago, 50 sounded pretty old…Now I feel like 65 is pretty young! My birthday is in January, which coincides with most everyone’s New Year’s resolutions. For me, it’s a time of looking at the last year to see what I accomplished and looking forward to see where else I want this life to take me.
Life.
What does that word mean to you? LIFE. Do you only have one? Do you have many? Who really knows? Does it matter? Does it matter to you? How do you know? What have you done…are you doing to find purpose? Meaning?
Life changed for me on October 30, 2021, when I lost my mother, Jean Pickering, to metastatic breast cancer. My mother came from a long line of strong women who lived into and well past their 80s and has been one of the most powerful influences on me in this lifetime. Cancer took her from me way sooner than expected and it still doesn’t seem fair. However no one ever promised that life would be fair. What is fair, for that matter? I believe every single person reading this blog has some event in their life that just wasn’t fair.
I don’t think anything really prepares you for the death of your mother. I took care of her the last few months and watched as her body filled with inflammation and her mind gradually went somewhere else and I couldn’t help but wonder why all of this even matters. Just like that, the funeral came, and took her away. Just like that, she was gone.
While her body was gone, her energy and her spirit is not. Dolores Cannon said, “When we go someplace, we leave part of our energy there and we influence more than we can ever imagine.” It took me some work through my grief to really understand that her presence on this earth was so big, her impact, so lasting, that it never goes away. While the tears still come, the questions remain to be answered. What is this life all about and what am I going to do for the rest of mine while I still have it?
Eckhart Tolle said, “What will be left of all the fearing and wanting associated with your problematic life situation that every day takes up most of your attention? A dash, one or two inches long, between the date of birth and date of death on your gravestone.” What is life for you, in this dash, in between these dates? For if you are still reading, you realize that we know the beginning of the dash but won’t know the end until it is too late. What do you want this life to be?
For me, life is about:
- Balance - I believe that with all the distractions we have, it is MUCH harder to find this in life than any time before.
- Purpose - What is my purpose and what am I doing each day to move towards that sense of purpose? Am I doing it with a balanced perspective?
- Happiness…Joy…Contentment - This is essential for me daily, or all the purpose in the world would not be worth it.
- Family - Last but never least, family brings the first three full circle and makes the whole thing worth it.
Back to that 50th birthday…I decided that if I am going to make it to 65, it’s time for me to add myself and my health to that list. I learned watching my mother that balance, purpose, happiness, and family can only be what life is all about while you have your health. When your health is gone, it is incredibly hard to make progress in any other area. So as I enter this third act, I enter it with eyes wide open. The wine is put away, the light and focus are as clear as they have ever been, and I see that there is more to do.
I have spent more than 20 years in the tech business. 20 years of selling a product that is built for me with a marketing team behind me to build awareness and an accounting team to go chase the money once I get a signature. I work for one of the most valuable companies in the world, and I love seeing the impact I can make on a daily basis and seeing how AI is changing the world firsthand. I love the rush of this career and I know I’m doing something amazing. Something that provides for my children and helps them see what is possible when you work hard.
As part of that journey, I met my wife. My best friend. My partner in crime. Amor de mi vida. We were the best software sales team ever - she was the brilliant engineer who helped our customers understand how technology could be valuable, and I was the top rep who closed the deals. Through that, we built a friendship and incredible common respect and eventually a knowledge that we were two souls that were meant to grow in this life together. Grow professionally and personally as individuals and then as a team. So now we really are the best team ever.
The Taste of Balance is a continuation of that journey. This is our time to see what we can do if it’s our product…Our journey into entrepreneurship opens a door full of new challenges, and I hope, new opportunities to learn. We believe that we can build something that people will enjoy, will use to find balance in their own life, and will love the experience we bring them so much that they will come back for more. They will return because the experience itself provides a way to step away from the day to day responsibilities, the hectic daily life, the device overload, and will find joy and pleasure in coming to a canvas with some paint and see what happens. They will think about the dash and think about what else is important.
Because I don’t do anything without thinking about the outcome (well, maybe that’s not true, and there might be some good stories there, but that’s for another blog on another day LOL), I see that this effort is going to keep my marriage growing and fun and strong. It will give me a different kind of opportunity to show my kids the breadth of what is possible when you truly find something you love to do and work at it. It will allow me to expand my reach and give balance to others…Time to think about the dash.
I have enjoyed art for my entire life. My grandmother was an amazing artist, and so is my wife. I love art as a spectator but creating from nothing for me is stressful! Paint by Number has always given me the ability to be creative and find peace and balance, without having to think about what I am going to do next. All I have to do is select a brush and a color, and find a place to paint. Find some good light, some peaceful music, and all this creates a truly meditative space for me to disconnect, and find rest, which drives my strength. If I am honest with myself, I am still painting inside the lines, but I love this journey and am proud of my masterpiece when I finish!
Now watch, Mama, as Catalina and I bring two worlds together and really see what is possible when we put effort into creating Generative AI art that we think people will love and then making it easy for them to step outside their box and find balance and peace and joy through their effort of creating something that truly becomes their own. Maybe even find their purpose. I think you would be so proud. I know you would be so proud as I enter this Third Act.
Life happens now.