Do you wanna start it off? Just to see how it will end?
May 25, 2016It’s been a month filled with media attention, logistical planning for expansion, and staying above the fray in terms of my own sanity. In a lot of ways, I don’t even know where to begin in terms of capturing the awesomeness of these last few weeks. It’s been humbling, it’s been overwhelming, and it’s kept me on my toes.
In the Chamber piece, I’m quoted, “No matter what age you are, realize you need genuine mentors in your life, and you have to be genuine too. Nothing ever happens quick enough, and you have to accept that.”
And, as I look back at the journey of the last 
four years, I have such an appreciation for that thought process. I can think of a million stories with Nine13, with growing my role serving this great city, of my personal life with friendships and relationships. I had wanted so much of this to happen overnight, but the reality is that this slow process has made me a better man, better equipped to handle the organization and my own internal expectations. Between mentors, work, and being a (somewhat) functional 29 year old bachelor—I think it’s sorted out for the best.
I think relationships have been a prominent thing on my mind recently, navigating my own, watching some friends go through breakups and divorces, watching people lose loved ones and coping—it could be really easy to have the mentality that no matter how good something is, it’s going to end.
I don’t know–maybe it’s because life has thrown me so much in such little time, but I’m willing to give just about anything a shot without any idea if it will work or if it will blow up. I’ve stayed away from the jaded and self-sabotaging mindset that things have some sort of guaranteed destiny of implosion.
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about that with Nine13….there were a thousand days that it would have made more sense to go get a job as a janitor than it would have to continue trying to get a vision of bikes and kids from idea transformed into reality.
And in looking back, I realize that some of my absolutely biggest mistakes and errors in life are some of my proudest days. That those moments of self doubt made me more resilient. And ultimately, it got me to sitting here and able to reflect and appreciate every single one of the frustrating and heartbreaking moments that have been part of this experience.
It took hundreds of “no’s” before somebody said “yes” to Nine13. It took four years to get to this moment in time, and no matter what happens…I know that what we’ve built just isn’t going to end.
Cheers,-th