It’s dark when I walk out the door.
No alarm. There never is. Anyone who knows me knows I’m up before the roosters. I lace up, step outside, and walk the neighborhood while the stars are still out.
It’s my time. Nobody needs anything from me yet. No phone calls, no fires, no meetings. Just me, the quiet, and the world slowly coming alive.
Some people meditate on a cushion. I meditate with my feet.
You Can’t See The Forest For The Trees
For the last two weeks I’ve been buried in Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss. That book is a monster. Over 600 pages of some of the sharpest people on the planet answering the same handful of questions.
I loved every page. The wit, the humor, the passion. My eyes got bigger than dinner plates.
But the biggest thing it did had nothing to do with business advice. It made me look at my own life. And I started seeing things I hadn’t been able to see for a while.
You know the old saying. You can’t see the forest for the trees. We get so locked into the next task, the next problem, the next fire, that we stop seeing the whole picture.
I’ve noticed something over the past week. It’s not nostalgia. It’s gratitude. For the family I’ve built, for what we’ve accomplished, and for the life I get to live every single day.
Anchovies Are Not A Crisis
Here’s something funny about people. Me included.
We complain about everything. The delivery guy brings the wrong pizza. Some guy on the freeway is in such a rush he cuts you off and almost causes a wreck. The coffee’s cold. The line’s too long.
Yeah, pepperoni and mushroom beats anchovies and mushroom. I’m with you. But do you really need to blow a fuse over it?
Most of what we get worked up about doesn’t matter a week later. Most of it doesn’t matter an hour later.
Meanwhile, the things that really matter are sitting right in front of us. Quietly. Every single day. And we walk right past them.
Sometimes you’ve got to stop and smell the roses. That saying’s old because it’s true.
The Experience Is The Lesson
The journey is one thing. But the experiences along the way, good or bad, those are the lessons.
You never know what you’re going to find around the next corner. But when your best friend is next to you, it’s a little more fun and a lot more special.
Think about how cool this is. I go to the office every day and my wife Melisa is there. Our little puppy Dante is there too. How cool is that for those two? My oldest son is part of the business. My youngest is driving his own train, and that’s cool too.
We’re all doing what we want to do. That’s the magic.
You Built It That Way
That’s the lesson I’ve taught all of them. Live the life you want. But you can only do that if you build it that way.
So many people tell me they don’t have time. Or they could never do what I do.
You know what? That’s not luck. That’s design. It all comes down to how you built your life.
My day clock is different from most people’s. I’m up somewhere between 4:30 and 5 every morning. By the time most folks are pulling into the parking lot, I’ve already walked, worked out, and had a couple hours to think.
You schedule what’s a priority. For me it looks like this:
- Up before the roosters, 4:30 or 5
- A walk with Dante
- Workout class at 7:30
- In the office, maybe 9 to 2, maybe 10 to 5, depending on what the day needs
- Dinner with Melisa
That’s not a lucky week. That’s the calendar. On purpose.
Everybody has the chance to design their life. Most people don’t. They choose the chaos and walk right past the roses.
Beat The Sun Up
So back to the walk.
Most people miss the sunrise. Not because they can’t see it. Because they make the easy choice. They hit snooze and stay with the herd.
Break out. Get up. Beat the sun up and go see your old friend first thing in the morning.
It gets your blood moving. Your mind starts working. And if you let it, you start noticing what you’ve got to be grateful for.
And no two sunrises are the same. The sunrise in northern Alaska is nothing like the sunrise in southeast North Carolina. The sunsets in LA are different from the sunsets here in Wilmington. Different doesn’t mean better or worse. It just means you’ve got to go out and experience it.
Every day brings something new. Every sunrise is one you’ve never seen before.
Follow Your Star
This isn’t just for CEOs. It’s for busy people and lazy people. Owners and workers. Kids and grandparents. Anybody breathing.
Your star is out there every morning. The life you want. The people you want to share it with. It doesn’t go anywhere. You just stop looking up.
So here’s my challenge. Look at your calendar this week. What’s on there because you chose it, and what’s on there because you let it happen? Put one thing on it that you’d actually be grateful for. A walk. A dinner. A sunrise.
Design your dream life so you’re happy, and the world gets a happier you.
Every day brings a new experience. Who do you want to enjoy it with?
Me? I’ll take my bestie any day.
If this one hit home, I’d love to hear about it. Tell me what your ideal day looks like, or what you’d change to get there. Reach out to me directly anytime.
About Gabe Salinas: Gabe Salinas is the founder and CEO of Window Ninjas Franchising. He picked up his first squeegee in 1992 and calls himself the world’s greatest window cleaner, a title that’s more about attitude and staying power than glass. He lives in Wilmington, NC, and is usually up before the sun.
