You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone, so Seize Your Opportunities with Alacrity

I’ve been planning to write this post like this ever since getting accepted into Startup Chile, but it all came together the past few days.

I have stayed in a hostel in Santiago for the last nine days until I found an apartment yesterday.  When I went to take a shower the first day, it was great.  Nice bathroom, high pressure, plenty of hot water.  After 14 hours of traveling, it was exactly what I needed.  The next morning, I went to take another shower and everything was great again.  After about 5 minutes, the water got cold.  Frigid.  I had to get out.

Some days, there was no hot water at all and I skipped showering, some days I had the same hot shower as my first day.  You never know how good you have it until it’s taken away from you.  Luckily for me, I only lost hot water, not something more important like this young Packers fan. Because I knew what it was like to lose hot water, I got really good at washing my hair as quickly as possible.  I took my chance to shower with hot water with alacrity.  Big word, I know, but my Mom’s been saying that to me since I was 3 to get me to do things, so I had to use it here.

It’s easy to think that you’re living your life to the fullest, but you truly don’t know how good you have it until you lose it.  You can try to live like you’re dead as Dave Winer suggests in his yearly Thanksgiving post, but it’s much easier said than done.  For me, it’s easier to take a step back every once in awhile and think about all of the things I have: health, great friends/family, ability to travel, flexibility to start my own business, rather than the things I don’t have.  If you have a few basic things, you’re pretty much set.

When opportunities come up, seize them.  Take the trip, learn the instrument, start your business, go talk to people.  What’s the worst that could happen?  Live for opportunities and experiences, not things.  When you’re looking back, you’ll remember your experiences and the people you made your memories with, not the things that were around you.  Control what you can, let the rest roll off your back.  If Entrustet‘s taught me anything, it’s that in the long run, we’re all dead.  Don’t diminish what you have, because it could be taken away at a moments notice and when you have the opportunity to do something awesome, do it.  You won’t regret it.