Turning 40, Life in the Gray Zone & Asking Myself: "Is This As Good as It Gets?"

I had turned 40.

Big milestone? Perhaps. Half of my life over...

I actually didn't know how to feel about my age?

I felt conflicted.

I had a good life? Or did I? I did, didn't I?

I was conflicted about that too.

I had an outstanding academic record, top of the class kinda shit.

But I failed to rise to the top, in the bowels of Corporate America.

I had done well...I think (conflicted again).

I had worked at these big name companies - Lucent, AOL, Washington Mutual, Microsoft.

I had reached the mythical 6-Figure mark ($100K).

But rather than a source of relief or joy, it was a source of anxiety.

Part of me felt that it had happened by mistake.

Someone in HR had overlooked something and not noticed that I wasn't quite worth that much money.

That they could easily hire someone:

• Younger than me
• Smarter than me
• Willing to work longer hours than me (No Family; curse those youngsters!)
• Willing to work for less money

I worried that if I left this job (or they laid me off), how would I ever find a job at the same income level.

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And besides money, there was that bigger question: Did I Love My Job?

Forget love, did I even like what I did.

Well, the real answer was - it depended on which day/month/year you asked me that question.

I had been in Corporate Job for 15+ years and had seen it all.

• The Ups and Downs.
• The politics, bureaucracy.
• The favoritism.
• The insane subjectivity of the Annual Performance Review. (It pretty much came down to whether your boss liked you).

It wasn't all bad. There were good times. Even great times.

Managers I loved and adored. Managers that I would follow over a cliff's edge.

But then there were reorgs and new managers who didn't really care. Or had their own favorites already. And of course the lay off.

Only someone who has gone through a layoff knows how it feels. Let me just say, it was one of the hardest experiences of my life.

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So there I was...40. And asking myself...

Is This As Good As It Gets?

And I didn't know the answer.

I didn't know any other option.

Like the horse with blinders on, corporate job was all I had seen and known.

But then I met with an accident.

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The Accidental Entrepreneur

I was never one of those people who aspired to leave their jobs.

Who dreamed of breaking the chains and leaving the 9-5 clock punching days behind.

The Corporate Job was the only life I knew. And the only life I ever thought was possible for me.

So even now, sometimes when I wake up - I don't believe my life.

How did I get here? How did I become an Entrepreneur? Am I really running my own business and controlling my life and destiny?

It feels impossible. Because for me it was a series of "fortunate" accidents, one leading to another, which ended up with me as a "Solopreneuer". Running my own independent business.

It's a blessed life. I feel happier and more fulfilled.

And I have fallen in love with this journey of improving your own life and improving the life of others. Making an impact day after day. And if every day you get better...trust me you can accomplish a heck of a lot in 1 year or 3 years.

I didn't know that such a life existed. May be I heard others speak of this...

But either I didn't believe them or figured "that's just not possible for me".

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The Long Road Here...

But the truth is, the journey for me, to get to this life was excruciatingly painful.

And, as I hinted earlier, it was only thanks to a series of fortunate accidents that I made it.

A few things here and there, and I would have been right back at my corporate job with a lesson learned and my tail tucked firmly between my legs.

I wanted to make this journey more achievable for others.

So with some trepidation, I started training and coaching others to walk on my path - to become Independent Power BI Consultants and create this life.

Life of freedom? Bliss? Money?

I just like to put it as "Life by Design". Create the life that is meaningful for you. Filled with things and people and work that you are passionate about.

Witnessing the results that our members been able to create has been truly fulfilling. At the same time, it's only made me hungrier to perfect this art.

• How can I help more people reach their goal of Life by Design?
• How can I help them get there faster?
• How can I improve our success rate? (All who join this program have great potential, but not all of them make it. I am constantly obsessed with studying and improving this factor)

And every time we enroll a new batch, is an opportunity for us to learn together. Help each other on this journey. Put collaboration before competition. Create inner success as well as outer success.

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Does this path intrigue you? If so, learn more about our Training & Coaching program for Power BI Consultants at https://www.LearnPowerBI.com/pro

Enrollment Opens Jan 2021.

Power On! / Avi