43 Summers: A Manifesto for the Rest of My Life

I turn 39 on Monday. Thirty-nine. A strange in-between age where you’re expected to have your life dialed in, but not so old that you can’t still make wildly ambitious, possibly reckless, definitely interesting moves.

By the numbers, I have 43 summers left. That’s 43 more years of sunrises in cities I haven’t seen yet. 43 more years of meeting people who will change me. 43 more years of pushing the limits of what’s possible. If I’m lucky.

But luck is a gamble, and life isn’t a passive experience. Most people don’t live every year. They repeat them. And that’s the thing about luck. It’s a gambler’s lie, a bedtime story we tell ourselves so we can go to sleep at night believing we have more time. We don’t. Life doesn’t deal in fair hands. It’s a one-way ticket, no refunds, no reruns, no pause button. And most people? They spend it waiting. Waiting for permission. Waiting for the right time. Waiting to feel ready.

They never are. I refuse to be most people.

If I really only have 43 summers left, then I’m not coasting. I’m not spending them in meetings that don’t matter, relationships that don’t inspire me, or routines that numb me into forgetting what I’m capable of. I will maximize my time, my impact, and my ability to make a difference. And I will do it on my terms.

Have you ever been sitting at a red light, late at night, when there’s no one around? You look left, you look right—nothing. So you take a deep breath and run it. Just because you can.

And for a second, you feel alive.

That’s the exact feeling most people are missing in their lives. The rush of breaking the expected pattern. The jolt of doing something that isn’t “by the book.” The realization that you can take control of your own damn life at any moment.

Because here’s the truth: Most of the rules we follow are imaginary.

Someone, somewhere, told you that you need to wait. That success takes time. That risk is dangerous. That you have to ask for permission before going after what you want.

Bullshit.

Life is the green light you’ve been waiting for. But no one is going to tell you to go. You have to decide to hit the gas.

Have you ever walked across a room and introduced yourself to the girl of your dreams Have you ever stood at the ledge, heart pounding, and bungee jumped with no hesitation? Have you ever quit a job that was draining your soul, with no backup plan, because you knew you were meant for more? Have you ever booked a one-way ticket just to see where life would take you? Have you ever looked at your life, realized you were playing too small, and done something about it?

Most people haven’t.

Because most people live like they have unlimited time to take the leap. They don’t. It’s not about cramming in more things. It’s about living with intensity, with purpose, with clarity. It’s about refusing to sleepwalk through your own life.

Here’s how I plan to do it:

1. Treat every year like a lifetime...

If I only had one year left, I wouldn’t be wasting time. I’d be building, traveling, creating, loving, and making a dent in the world. So why wouldn’t I do that every year?

Every year should be its own legacy.

At the end of 2025, I want to be able to say:

• This year, I built something that mattered.
• This year, I deepened relationships that fuel me.
• This year, I pushed past fear and went all in.

Because if a year doesn’t feel meaningful, it’s wasted.

2. Measure life in impact, not time...

What do you want to leave behind? A stack of “busy years” or a real contribution to something bigger than you? I don’t care how many years I get. I care what I do with them.

For me, that means:

• Building businesses that create jobs, opportunities, and real value.
• Mentoring and developing leaders who will go on to build their own legacies.
• Writing and speaking about things that challenge people to stop sleepwalking.
• Funding scholarships that open doors for kids needing a shot at something better.
• Leaving people better than I found them.

If I die at 80 or next week, I want to be able to say I used up everything I had.

3. Chase the right kind of success...

Money is a tool, not the scoreboard. I know a lot of rich, miserable people. People who spent their best years chasing numbers, thinking an extra zero would make them feel alive. It never does.

Real success is:

• Time freedom—the ability to do what I want, when I want.
• Geographic freedom—the ability to wake up in a new country just because I can.
• Emotional freedom—being around people who elevate me, not drain me.
• Creative freedom—building things, writing things, launching ideas into the world without fear.

Success isn’t just money in the bank. It’s waking up excited for your own life.

4. Build more than you consume...

Most people consume. They watch, they scroll, they take in—but they never create.

I don’t want to be a spectator. I want to build.

• Businesses
• Content
• Books
• Experiences
• Connections

If I’m not creating, I’m dying. If you're not evolving, you're dying.

5. Live without hesitation...

The biggest risk isn’t failing. It’s never fully showing up. It’s easy to be guarded. To keep relationships surface-level, to avoid real vulnerability, to keep a little distance so you don’t get hurt. But that’s not living—that’s self-preservation. And I didn’t come here to just survive.

The 43-Summer Challenge

Maybe you have 50 summers left. Maybe 30. Maybe 5. But here’s the thing:

The real countdown isn’t how many years you have left. It’s how many you will actually live. A year spent on autopilot doesn’t count. A year where you just exist isn’t really a year at all. I don't want to live the same year 43 more times and call it a life.

So here’s the challenge, for myself and for you:

• Make this summer count.
• Make this year a full lifetime.
• Make the next 43 or 30 or 50 or 5 years legendary.

Because when it’s all said and done, nobody will remember the meetings, the deadlines, or the things you almost did. They’ll remember the impact you made. The risks you took. The people you changed.

So stop waiting. Stop hesitating.

Go all in. Now. I know I am.

Derek Lutz is a full-time traveler, investor, and business owner, who thrives on helping others succeed. He runs Bottle Rocket Search | Coworking & Flex Space Recruitment, Lean Six Search | Supply Chain Recruitment, and has a few other things in the works (stay tuned!) When he's not doing that, he's writing, traveling, exercising, and trying to experience all the world has to offer.