10 things I've learned about myself and the world from Quarantine

It's been a challenging couple of months for me, most of my friends get it when we count via zoom or telephone they always say man this must be challenging for you because I know how social you are.

Yes, it has been but also a blessing in disguise.

1. Give yourself time to think- Having the privilege to reflect and think about your life and journey helps you realize all of the amazing people's lives you've touched along the way. I started writing Reddit Sales forum posts again and appreciate the feedback I'm getting when random people reach out to me let me know that I've made a difference in their careers. When you are in service, and the focus is not on you, you tend to be more grateful and see the opportunity in times like these.
2. Don't be so hard on yourself- We are often our own worst critic, I always hear people say I wouldn't be friends with anyone who treats me the way I do in terms of my inner critic. When you have perspective and get a second opinion, you realize that your stories are not valid and that you are blowing it out of portion. During these times, I've been uber critical of myself for not performing at where I want to be, but I do understand that everyone is going through a tough time. I'm not that special :P
3. Distance is no longer a barrier in connection- Leveraging technology tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and zoom has been amazing in being able to connect with friends, family, coworkers, and loved ones. I enjoy doing daily journaling practices with Pan Tang- a fellow Accomplishment Coaching graduate. We would only touch base once a quarter before this quarantine, but because of what's going on it's incredible to share and see the commonality among everyone's thoughts and perspectives. We are all going through this together, and even though we might be on different boats, we are riding the same waves.
4. Value of relationships- I've reconnected with so many wonderful people during this Quarantine (Kevin Sun, Dean Karrel, Mike Liguori, Juan David, Jeff Zachrarski, the list goes on) I've never forget when Jameson my friend who lives in California now said Man it took a quarantine for all of us to get together. I reached out to Davis in California and then the 5 of us guys 1 in NYC, 1 in Philly, 2 in Socal, 1 in SF for all of us to be zooming around. I get it. People are busy we have doctors, business folks, achievers out there, but we all value our relationships with each other. I' m grateful that this quarantine helps me realize that I do want to stay in touch with everyone instead of seeing them once a year or so.
5. Double down on the things that make you happy- Figure out what that thing is for you. For me, being able to learn a new skill in making Youtube videos luckily taking advantage of Linkedin Learning I am about to learn how to edit videos and podcasting- something I was dreading for a while but thanks to Vivian, Jackie, and Rose persistently and professionally pushing me to work on my craft. I've been so proud of myself for consistently getting better. It's a practice like anything else.
6. Value family time- I'm someone who is "too busy" to focus on family, but it's all an excuse. In reality, I do want to grow and build a family of my own. When I finally saw my sisters, mother, grandmother again, it was that much better because it's been so long since I've seen them. Now I am in the process of writing a book about my mother's incredible journey as a refugee into America.
7. Work on your weaknesses- Working closely with my financial advisors, I now have a game plan on how to tackle long term planning for my mother which is something I've never thought about but this reminds us of our mortality and its always better to have a game plan then winging it.
8. Have some fun along the way- my relationship with fun is interesting. I always think that you can't have it all, but that's not true. I know plenty of people that are killing while having fun. Interviewing Elizabeth Rice during this quarantine helped me see not to take myself too seriously have goals but as long as you are having fun along the journey, everything works itself out.
9. You are not alone- There has been plenty of times where I sank into this oh man why does it have to happen to NYC. I miss rooftop summer bars. I miss hanging out with friends and being able to go to Crossfit, etc. I see all of the fantastic things happening with my friends leaving their full-time jobs whether it's due to furlough or not, but they are pursuing their passions, whether it's being a yoga instructor, nutritionist, or coach. It's pretty inspiring to see people go after their dreams. Don't be so hard on yourself. We are all going through lulls and if it seems like no one can relate, that's certainly not true. Your version might be different from someone else, but who says whether what you are going through is worst than what someone else is. Comparison never does anyone any good.
10. Mentor and connection is the key- One of the bright spots is that we live in is the power of connection and being able to meet amazing people such as Nick Thomas, Zack Mulhall, Joe Brummitt, Jackie Shao, and Vivian Liu. Anything is possible when you surround yourself with people with amazing mentalities and personalities who want to serve the world.