I am thrilled to share some exciting news. From now on, I will be focused on something new. It is called [x].
I recently started working full-time on [x] as a part of the founding team. It is not uncommon for people to say that they have come upon a dream opportunity. Well, this was an undreamable opportunity for me.
I could never have imagined all that has happened since I quit my job in investment banking about a year and a half ago. At the time, I had basically no idea about anything that I was going to do next. All I really had was a one-way ticket to Italy and the confidence that I could figure things out from there. I trusted that the dots would connect in my future, and that everything would work out in the end. Now, as I turn the page to my next chapter, I can see clearly that it has.
I am more excited for this next chapter than I have been for any chapter at any time in my life. As I close this past chapter and get ready to begin anew, I cannot help but to feel extremely fortunate and incredibly grateful. I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I often think about the butterfly effect, the idea that small and seemingly meaningless decisions can change the rest of one’s life completely. I feel now as if everything I have ever done and every decision I have ever made was worthwhile because it brought me here to where I am now, and there is nowhere I would rather be. To me, it goes to show the benefit of believing that everything happens for a reason, that if you seek to make the best of things, if you keep a positive attitude, if you stay patient and persistent, and if you have faith, it all works out in the end.
Of course, this is only the very beginning of my story, but it is also the end of a chapter and the culmination of all those that came before it. I think about my most recent chapter in three parts. I first spent a couple of months traveling, then several months writing, and finally several more podcasting. Not to suggest that I did not have any down days along the way – like everyone, I did – but generally speaking, I loved all of it. I got to explore Paris, Copenhagen, Japan, and Israel. I got to write this blog that thousands of people from over 100 countries cared to read. And I got to record more than 50 podcasts with some truly amazing guests, which I expect to continue to do, only at a slightly slower pace.
A few other themes from the last year come to mind. I picked up the habit of running and ran over 600 miles last year, including my first marathon on my 26th birthday. I got accustomed to a much lower cost of living which helped me to be profitably unemployed. I probably read more books and listened to more podcasts than I previously had in the rest of my life combined. I started tweeting and met some amazing people from around the world while discovering that being authentic on the internet could bring me great luck. Between some bonus time living at home with my family and many months spent in Airbnbs with Lauren, I got to live in South Carolina, New York, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Georgia, all for at least a month.
It has been an amazing 18 months, but I firmly believe this next chapter is going to be my best yet.
I hope you will follow along at [x]. I believe it is going to be something special.
Thank you for your ongoing support. I feel so fortunate and grateful.
- Jake
