You ever look back at your past and feel like a different person? I've been reflecting on my goals and ambitions over the last 8 years or so, and I realized that there's something that has remained constant.

I was talking with my buddy about a free marketing training series we're running (if you haven't heard about it yet, just leave a comment or message me), and I wasn't feeling well physically or mentally that day. So much so that I was unable to finish a task that day that had a deadline. And in our discussion, he asked me a singular question, "When we grow this, and we have people who pay us and depend on us for help, will you be able to perform?" And that's a fair question. But after looking through my past, I realized something. That every single time my job was to help someone directly (either in my personal or professional life), I threw away every single pain I was feeling to focus on the task at hand.

And yes, this is not necessarily a good thing when it's not balanced. I've hurt myself by not focusing on my own wellbeing and so damaged my ability to help others. But this moment of reflection helped me in that moment of intense pain to put that suffering into the perspective of my whole life and see it for growth and pitfalls I've gone through since starting my career.

I still facepalm at my younger self, but at the same time, I can't help but smile at how open and good-hearted that little scrawny kid is.