No One Takes You Serious Until You Are 30

So now what? Tomorrow is D-Day, out with the old, in with the new, except that phrase needs to flip flop, as a new decade inches my “oldness” odometer a little higher, with new expectations. The fact that I share the day I enter into a more mature, wiser decade the same afternoon the United States of America enters into a historic, more mature and wiser leadership makes it even more interesting, in an amazing way.

This is a meme I was told several years ago, and have since followed as I navigated through the uncertainty also known as “your mid-twenties.”

So as I approach the pearl anniversary of my time on planet earth, I have come up with a list every person should seek to acquire. Granted, not all of these nuggets of wisdom are things I have mastered, and those that know me might think twice, or three times, about adapting any intelligence I pontificate into their daily life.

So in no order of importance, here are a few things you should seek to have:

-A go-to drink. This could be rotated like a season, but there should always be a fall back when trouble arises. (Like a friend with benefits, when you are not in a relationship, of course). You might forget about them, or be too cool for school with your hot new Mojito or Bud Lime, but they’ll be there for you when you come back, catching up like old times.

-A Charity, Cause, or Passion. Find one that does not benefit you, with the exception of the good feeling you receive for your, time, talent or treasure. Find something that you can get behind, and even if it is a few hours a month, there are thousands of organizations that could use your help, and ideas, but make sure you do it for the right reasons. I have aligned myself with some wonderful organizations, and while it can get tedious attending board meetings, mailing in a check each month or doing menial work, all I need to do is see a kid suffering from cancer smiling or receive a genuine thank you, and that currency is better than the paper kind.

-That one skill only you can master. Well that would be impossible, I doubt you can pul a Jesus and turn some aqua into vino for the hell of it. But there has to be something you can feel some pride about that most others can’t. Some are great with cars, some are good listeners, some people actually understand accounting. I know, crazy right? But it is good to be sought out for expertise, I just need to figure out what mine is now.

-A Support Group. Not a weekly AA meeting, the circle of people (and pets) you deem worthy enough to be graced by your presence. If this was me turning 20, my circle might have been bigger, or had several roles that were not defined. As you age, you narrow down the sphere to only include “true friends,” which are those that reciprocate an effort back to you. There is a wider circle of acquaintances, which are nice, serve a mild purpose and can feel nice to have 600 Facebook friends, but the handful that you keep close are priceless. I have been absolutely blessed to have found what I feel is an irreplaceable collect of talent, and just like a sports team, the roster might get tweaked over the years, and some may have more defined roles, but keep your All Stars around as long as you can.

-Passion. Enjoy everything you can while you can, cause things change quickly. If you have the chance to meet friends out for a drink you haven’t seen in awhile but are kind of tired, suck it up and join them for a few. If you keep planning to get to the gym, but find an excuse, again, suck it up, set some short term goals and get at it. If you want to learn about wine, put in the effort, want to be adventurous, go sky diving from as high as you can. It is easy to be distracted, but when you realize things change quickly, and experiences can be missed and regretted, if you gave everything you do your all, you can live the way I do, never regretting anything, there is always a lesson to be learned.

-A Sense of Humility. You may be the guy at the party with the hottest new sports car, the fattest bank account, or the biggest swinging dick in the place. But if you have to tell everyone about it, you are simply just a dick.