Baggage is an inhibitor, slowing us down and creating friction for our future journey.
I generally think looking back is a complete waste of time and energy. I have little to no regrets and feel that thinking like that simply weighs you down. The more weight – the more I have to carry and the more I have to carry – the more friction I have for the things I want to get done.
I am moving quickly through my 50’s which means one thing for the purpose of this article; I have a lot of potential baggage to carry through my day. More years equals more baggage just by simple math. What kind of baggage am I carrying you ask?
I left MapQuest too early to completely maximize a financial return. (No multi-coast beach houses yet.)
I turned down an excellent role in my most favorite industry due to a wicked combo of ego and arrogance and never returned to that industry. (I still bleed consumer mapping and navigation.)
I was pushed out of an existing retail business some friends had asked me to join wasting valuable time & energy and ruining a number of great friendships. (We ended up moving for a fresh start.)
Though I consciously don’t think about these experiences, it is obvious that they continue to impact me as at least one to two times a year I have a dream involving the people involved with each one of the businesses. Every one of these dreams has a basic narrative where I am coming back to the company. The storyline is always the same, the entrance to the company is brutally awkward. I am obviously subconsciously carrying some pretty meaty baggage.
This can’t be good.
The rest of the story is here over at Inc.com. One click and 5 more paragraphs that bring this story to a close. See you over there!