It’s important to know where you came from and chart progress. I’m a strong believer in writing down goals and reflecting on them as a way to ensure you are doing all you can to achieve them.  It’s a practice Billy Beck, world class personal trainer and someone I’ve gotten to know from his amazing facility here in South Florida, advises for anyone looking to build a better body.  The same tactics apply to Internet Marketing, and well, life in general.

Exactly 10 years ago I was packing my bags and taking the risk of my life.  I was leaving the cold Minnesota winter and all of family and friends that I grew up with, shared many memories with, and looking back and to me, most importantly – TRUSTED.

I was on my way to Miami to find somewhere to live and start my career as a cold calling “Internet Marketing Guru” for a company called Web Genius, who offered me a FAT zero salary and a “fight for every penny” commission structure to sell their search engine optimization services.

Little did I know I’d stumble into some of the top minds in the game, learn the trade faster than a Usain Bolt 100 meter dash, and really enjoy doing it.  I was surrounded by people from all walks of life.  IT geeks had their own area and fit the “Social Network” mold, strapped in and with headphones on 24-7 eating Cheetos and drinking two liters of “soda.”  (Back home we call it “pop.”)  Ex Wall Street brokers were on the phone hustling new business.  These guys weren’t afraid to dial a phone.  Not once.  Not twice, but 300 – 600 times per day.  They weren’t all that savvy with explaining the search engines idiosyncrasies at first, but they sure could get to the all important decision maker – not always an easy task for a cold caller.

We had others in my age bracket (23) that were just there to see what this was all about.  A stoner-turned search engine addict and smooth talker became my best friend at the company, and he showed me the ropes of not only how to make money and learn about how Yahoo! worked to index web pages, but he also convinced me to live way above my means in a bayside condo in South Beach.  It turned out being the best move ever.

Just two weeks in, I was already living the life.  Sure, the pay was slow, but steady.  That would all change. One thing I learned is if you set challenges for yourself, you’ll go above and beyond all expectations to reach them.  The way to make things possible is to make them seem impossible.  I was living  rent free on a nice salary from a huge company when my parents posed the question “why don’t you finally move out and get your own place?  You are 22.  You have plenty of money.  You aren’t going to live here in our basement forever just so you can have more discretional income and vacation every two months.  You can either move out or start paying rent.”

Whoa.  I wasn’t about to give my parents a dime.  Sure, they were right.  But, I was there because 1) it was a nice place, and 2) saving all the money I’d spend on rent, utilities, etc, etc, etc let me vacation, party harder, and buy unnecessary items.  (Back then I was buying compact discs – times have changed.)  3) I spent every single weekend at a different college town, following football programs around and catching many rivalry games in the process.   So, I was really only “sleeping there” and had no qualms about heading home after work to a hot meal and nice environment.

So go from that to a super expensive South Beach Bayside apartment with a view of topless women.  Try from going from $1.25 tap beers to $9 bottles.  Try impressing a woman in Minnesota who is just looking for someone who keeps the thermostat above 76 in the winter  to trying to impress a South Beach model.  Things changed fast.  Very fast.  There was pressure all around me.  I signed a six month lease with the thought “I may run out of money but then I can go home.”  That thought changed to “My next apartment will be bigger, more expensive, and have a better view.” 

I’ll spare the rest of the details of how my career took off as it’s detailed on my bio page, but the point I wanted to make today was that I set some serious goals for a ten year period.  Well, some weren’t serious, looking back.  Some where downright stupid and childish.  But I still had them and was able to cross them off my list.  When you can say “Mission Accomplished” you aren’t failing.

I dug up a piece of paper that said “10 year goals.”  I made most of these goals while still in Minnesota, and then added to it once I arrived in Miami. One thing I learned – life moves fast on the East Coast. If you want something – legal or not – it’s there for the taking.  Things are different from the Midwest.  Rednecks and Hillbilly’s aside (that’s not a diss, I have plenty of friends that fit both categories!) people do things the right way ALL the time in the great Midwest.

The paper is crumpled up and not legible to the point where I can’t even post a photo of it as it wouldn’t do it justice.  So, I transposed them onto this post.

• Live on a beach.
• Drive a fancy car.
• Make a million dollars.
• Own my own business.
• Be able to work from anywhere from a laptop.
• Attend as many Vikings & Twins games in other markets as possible.
• Travel frequently, but more importantly, whenever I want.
• Start some sort of business venture in Costa Rica.
• Go to a Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State football game.
• Become an expert at something.
• Drive down Ocean Drive in a fancy car.
• Valet my car even when the place I’m attending is a block away.  Just ’cause.
• Eat wherever I want, whenever I want.
• Buy a condo South of Fifth Street in South Beach.
• Buy investment properties in South Florida.
• Write  a book.

Looking back, some of these are sort of corny.  I once saw Heat player Eddie Jones driving a Lamborghini down Ocean Drive while I ate breakfast at News Cafe and thought “one day I’ll drive down that street with a nice car like Eddie.”  The day I achieved the “drive a fancy car down Ocean Drive” goal, I regretted making that goal.  Sure, everyone likes having nice cars, but nobody knows how stupid you feel in a nice car on a tourist-packed street like Ocean Drive.  Tourists take photos.  They don’t see these things in Davenport, Iowa, or Bozeman, Montana.  I had a 2002 Final Edition Viper GTS, numbered as less than 400 were made in that Final Edition year, and the moment I went down Ocean Drive, not only did I feel like a douchebag, but I felt like a zoo animal. I’m in numerous spring break photos and there is nothing more stupid than cruising.  A great friend of mine was down visiting and said he felt so uncomfortable he was going to walk to our destination.  Live and learn.

Goals change just like the times.   I grew up 10 years since making some of those goals. I’ve had a son in the process, lived abroad in the process, and been through all sorts of hula hoops.  Nothing is easy, but guess what?  Out of that entire list, every single goal on there was achieved EXCEPT the final one.  Most of them weren’t just achieved, but achieved by great lengths.  Not to toot my own horn, but I feel it’s worth noting that I lived on the beach multiple times, have had multiple luxury vehicles, made gobs of money – and more importantly – lost it (which really humbled me more than anything and taught me how to make it back), I’ve owned several businesses and sit on the board as a director of others, I own property in my favorite non-US country, Costa Rica.  I did valet at Prime 112 and spend the $40, “just cause.”  (Even though I could walk there in under 90 seconds.  Since 2003 I’ve worked anywhere, from a laptop – on my own time.  I’ve visited most countries in Latin America – some of them multiple times over.  I had a very unique property South of Fifth Street with a roof top bbq and hot tub where I had a 360 view of South Beach and Miami.  Ironically, 9 months later my son was born.

Lastly, while I was admittedly banged up from an all-nighter the night before at Crobar, I was at the  famous “wide left” game.  Being a life long Canes fan (yes, even from Minnesota – I was a fanatic and wore their starter jacket with pride).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nQtpPIbQvk

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=222852390

Willis McGahee was incredible.  I sat on a step and paid a security guard $20 to be there.  The announced crowd was over-capacity and 88,000.  I maintain it was 100,000 plus.  This was my best memory of the Orange Bowl.  (R.I.P. Orange Bowl)

I have a few ideas for books and several have extensive work put into them already.  I’d also argue that the goal of writing a book, a quality one at that and not just some spammy e-book, is also the hardest.  I won’t release anything unless it can challenge the likes of thought-provoking, ground-breaking books like The Four Hour Work Week and The Four Hour Body, by Tim Ferriss.

So that’s it.  My last decade in a nutshell.  I’m sure I left out a lot (on purpose) and forgotten a lot (South Beach does that to you) but that’s life.  Looking back, the high’s greatly outnumbered the low’s, and I can say I’m not even close to reaching my potential.

Here’s to another great decade, and a Happy New Year to everyone.

Here’s a quick trip down memory lane.  Feel free to make fun as you see fit.  I certainly do.  I’ll add to this when I come across more blog-worthy pics.