It's Time for a Pivot.... Part 2

If you haven't already read it, please go back and read Part 1 of this post which you can find here.  When we left off, I was battling with Katie's decision to to leave her job to pursue her Divemaster certification.  With that, here's part 2:

We started to plan our lives in different directions, and for a while it was really looking like we were going to be going down completely separate paths.  Katie was going off to Central America and I was headed to Vegas to "realize my dream" of becoming a poker pro.  Then everything came crashing down and I finally had my wake-up call.  I remembered that I started this whole journey with the purpose of not being tied down to one option, and I realized that tying myself down to poker was likely going to cost me the person I love most in the world.

While everything was going south, I listened to a podcast where Bill Perkins was being interviewed by Joe Ingram.  Those names probably mean nothing to most of you, but Bill Perkins is someone I've respected the opinion of ever since the first time I heard him talk.  He was asked how he is able to get the most out of life, which is an interesting question to ask of a millionaire who spends like a billionaire.  He told Joe that the formula is simple.

- Step 1: Figure out what is the biggest amount of risk you can possibly handle, and then add a little more.
- Step 2: Whatever risk you take, treat it like your life depends on it, because it does.

At first glance that statement sounds reckless.  When I interpret it, the first thing I think is that that can't be a recipe for success, and that's because it isn't.  In fact, in most cases it is certainly a recipe for failure.  When I think about it a little more, I realize that it doesn't matter if it's a recipe for failure, because the question wasn't about how to achieve success, it was about how to make the most out of life.  Regardless of whether you succeed or fail, this answer guarantees that you will make the most out of every experience, good or bad.  This advice also doesn't just apply to our professional careers either, it applies to every single aspect of our lives including our relationships.

So where wasn't I taking enough risk?  Let's start with my move to poker.  This is going to sound stupid to most of you, but in a weird way I prepared myself too well.  I saved up more than enough to live for over a year on no income, and I built my resume so much that I wouldn't have to worry about finding other work in the meantime.  Even if it came to driving an Uber for cash I was never even remotely worried about failure, and that lead me to never treat poker like my life depended on it.  How about my relationship?  I was so stubborn in convincing myself that I quit my job to become a professional poker player that I was afraid to take the risks I needed to take to commit to us building a future together.

This past month was spent taking a deep, honest, and critical look at the decisions I've made over the past few months, and where I saw myself going over the next year or so.  It was excruciating, and still is at times, but it has helped bring me clarity and an insane amount of excitement for where things are headed next.  So what's the plan?

I hope I haven't lost everyone's interest by now, so if you're still hanging in there, Part 3 of this post will be up tomorrow evening.  Thanks for reading so far!!

P.S. But seriously, isn't she adorable???