12 Mar 28 Things I’ve Learned in 28 Years of Life (Part 1)

28 Things I’ve Learned In My 28s! This is the first part of a major ”rant” or ”self-observation” that I wanted to share with you. This past year was my real first year as a solopreneur. A year where I discovered myself more and definitely a year that changed my life and perspective. Read below 14 lessons I’ve learned in the past year.

1 – Relational Over Transactional

This one comes from my friend and business partner Thierry Lindor. During one of his keynote, he points out the fact that everlasting business opportunities and success often happens because of a good relationship. I must admit that I keep in touch with most people that are important to me and value more the friendship over the monetary value that someone can bring in my life. From free collaborations to giving advice and mentoring, this is the secret to my success.  In life, you meet a lot of people (that knows a lot of people) so stay nice and authentic.  It is important to understand that if you want to win in life, you have to go for the long run. 

2 – Life is An Adventure

Since I quit my day job, I have been an adventurer FULL TIME. That would be the best word to describe me. From living every day at his best by trying different places to going on trips with friends; I realized that life I truly felt fulfill when I was being an adventurer. That being said, an adventure can start really small: from trying a new restaurant to go on a road trip with friends, discovering your city and more; are GREAT ways to have fun and live. ”Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to show.”

SEE MY 2017 IN RECAP HERE

Living the life in Guatemala!

3 – Create Quality Content is Important

Being a content creator is tough and it demands authenticity and creativity. I noticed that some people just put out content to put out content. I do understand that Gary Vee suggests that you need to document your journey but in addition, you have to understand what value you bring to the table. When I started vlogging, I was just doing daily vlogs but soon realized that most of my first daily vlogs brought no value. I quickly changed the way I was creating content and decided to showcase something in every video, trying something different and since then, I enjoy doing vlogs WAY MORE. The same applies to your pictures and your blog posts. Bring quality and value to the table.

4 – Tackle Your Weakness

So let’s just put it out there; I AM NOT ORGANIZED. This is my biggest weakness. I live day by day and go with the flow which means that I often to do some things such as my taxes (I know), or to work on some projects that I started either by myself or with other people. If you want to be a better person, tackle your weakness. You can either delegate what you can’t do or work on it to become a better person. Last week, I wrote about the Productivity Planner (you can read the article here) and I can’t say that I am more productive at this moment BUT what I can say is that  I am aware that I am definitely not productive enough and need to work on that. “Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.” ~ Peter Drucker

5 – Surround Yourself With Go-Getters

You probably heard the saying ”Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” by Oprah Winfrey. Believe me, it makes a difference! Since I am working for myself, I noticed that the people around me help me to go through tough times. Surrounding yourself with go-getters makes you more hungry. Watching them win, makes you want to win more. Seeing them work hard, makes you want to work harder. Watching them believe in yourself, makes you believe in yourself EVEN MORE. Trust me on this one, you need to surround yourself with winners; that’s how you will win in life.

SQUAD GOALS

6 – Don’t Chase Money, Chase Passion

I used to be a money chaser. I remember talking with my good friend Stephen Selao and he would often ask me ”Steve, what’s your goal” and I would answer ” I want to make MONEY”. I would say that but with no amount in mind, no goal really attached to this statement and Stephen would tell me that this is not a goal. When you set goals, you have to be SMART about it (here’s how to set SMART GOALS). I used to have a really good job, and then I left it because I didn’t feel that it was enough. You see, money is good to get what you want but then you won’t feel happy about your life because the most important things in life can’t be bought. By chasing my passion, I found freedom, peace, and fulfillment and I suggest that you do the same.

7 –  People Are Left Behind For A Reason

I am a people person and often think that everybody I talk to is my friend. Well, I am wrong and naive. In the past year, I can think of 4 people that I used to be very close with; from talking on the phone every time to working on projects together to being strangers and no calls. If you are a friend of me and you read this; please know that I am probably not talking about you since the person I am talking about KNOW who they are. There’s a reason why they are left behind; they can’t contribute to your success. Sometimes your circle decreases in size, but increases in value.

8 – DO YOUR TAXES

The government is the real gangster! Never been a fan of doing taxes because I always end up owing them money. However, this is part of the game and even though I enjoy winning. I have to accept it and lose this battle. That’s it.

9 – There are Opportunities Everywhere; Be Selective

By networking a lot you soon realize that everybody has a project that you can be involved with. I had trouble saying no at first and was spreading myself too thin. Understand that there are business opportunities everywhere and as much as you would like to win them all.. it is IMPOSSIBLE to succeed at all of them (true story). Be selective with the opportunities that you want to be involved with; it will dictate your future and will also eat your time so be sure to choose to spend your time on things that you enjoy.

10 – Inspire Others

”The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do. Kobe Bryant

The past year has been a year of inspiration. From getting inspired to inspire others, I would have never expected my 28s to be the way it turned out. I met the people I look up to such as Gary Vee and Casey Neistat, and on the other hand, I was able to talk in front of young creators, students, and entrepreneurs. Now that I am involved with Influence Orbis, a company that creates events to Inspire, Influence and Inform, I know that this year was only the beginning. Be someone that can inspire others, it goes a LONG way.

Talking about my experience as an Influencer while hosting a Youtube Event.

11 – Accept Setbacks

The end of my 28s has been a year of setbacks. However. Few stepbacks definitely had an impact on my lifestyle but for the better. One of my major setbacks has to do with my car. I used to drive ALL THE TIME and spend ridiculous money on parking, gas and fast-food. However, when I started getting problems with my car; at first I was pissed off. But then, I was spending a ridiculous amount to get it fixed… and yet again, I would have another problem with it. (Montreal Potholes are really the problem in this situation). I decided to use the public transportation more, and coming from the West Island, trust me, there’s not much public transportation around me. However, this set back was for the better since I was spending at least 50% less on transportation and I am not on time at most of my meeting. In addition, taking the bus also permits me to work on my social media, read and listen to podcasts. Setbacks are often blessing in disguise, accept it and go forward with your life. “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill 

12 – Accept Challenges And Challenge Others

The best challenge I had in my 28 came from my friend Pierre André. I kept telling him that I want to start my own Youtube Channel but I was never doing it. I had so much content recorded on my camera but never did anything with it and one day, he challenged me to do daily vlogs and I did it (see my first daily vlogs here)! By accepting challenges, you force yourself to stand tall and prove the other wrong and this is good. It is also important to challenge your friends because you want them to be better and by challenging them, this might be the extra push that was needed for them. Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. Cicely Tyson

13 – Love and Spoil Yourself

YOU NEED TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Trust me, you are the person with whom you are spending the most time with and there’s nothing more important in this world than to love yourself. This year, I kept it real with myself and was able to discover what I love and what I hate. By spoiling myself, I was able to feel better in my body and I was performing better in business, I walked with more confidence and I was able to love others more. My biggest surprise this year was going for pedicure (read my take on it here). “You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy. ”

14- God Is GOOD

I don’t need to say more about this others than I am counting my blessings and they keep on increasing. I faced a lot of challenges and, I could see God’s power helping me surpass them. I wish I could explain this more in details but it is just incredible to see the changes in my life and he’s the reason why I am able to live the life I had the way I am doing it. BLESS.

After reading all this, do you agree? I am curious to know more about your thoughts on this. Come back next week to read the next 14 things I’ve learned in my 28!