My thirties are waving at me from the dock as the good ship ‘Twenties’ slowly pulls into port. That’s right ladies an gentlemen, I turned the big 2-8 yesterday, and while I still have a couple years left in my roaring 20’s, I can’t help but feel a little bittersweet nostalgia as I think to myself, “where did all that time go?”.

I’m usually not a big birthday person; my philosophy always was, and still is to some degree, that you should be thankful every day that you’re alive and the celebration of self should be ongoing.  But this year was a little different.  This year, for one of the first times in my life, I felt that I’m right where I should be at this age.  Finally, I was able to look at the past year and feel as though I’m on a clear path and that my life has forward momentum along with a meaningful present. I’m finally taking charge of my life.  Sure, I’m still a go-with-the-flow, roll-with-the-punches kinda guy, but I feel like my flow is finally going somewhere.  And the biggest catalyst for this change in perspective has been my decision to begin the process of starting my own business.

Throughout my adult life, I’ve always been in some sort of transition.  I was joining the army, getting out of the army, going to school, finishing school, starting my career, going to training to further my career, all while moving from place to place. All of these things, though necessary and important, felt like gateways to ’something else’, things that I had to do in order to get to the next big step, but the next step was never very clear to me.

Now, however, the next step is a little more solid.  I have a goal (my own computer consulting business), a plan (save enough money and gain enough experience to take the business from part time to full time), and a purpose (work for myself doing something I love).  And, for the first time in a while, this has given me the piece of mind to start enjoying the present more…not to always be waiting for what’s coming next.  There are other things in my life that are also helping me feel a little more grounded this year, but I wont go into those things here.  To sum it all up: I’m looking forward to the years ahead…knowing that I’m firmly on the path I want to be.