Somebody I used to know would describe it this way; “You’ve got to clean up your messes.”

I recently stumbled upon a bunch of posts I had written for my old company’s blog. We had this clever idea that women would love to read straight men’s deconstruction of the wacky, weird world of love and relationships. It seemed like a good idea at the time, as many ill-fated decisions do.

My personal existence was pretty dismal then. I was otherwise unemployed, working and writing for my startup company, trying to find myself, trying to find something to hold on to that wouldn’t let me fall into the abyss.

When I read the words I wrote years ago, I am instantly transported back to that bad place. But time heals, and not only was it okay to read the words, but I’m going to share a few of them with you. Had I followed my advice, I would have climbed out of the emotional swamp and got on with life a lot faster. But truth has a way of being invisible when our eyes don’t want to see it.

My vision is much clearer now.

Enjoy the blurbs below, then get it together. Our personal lives are part of what prevents us from finding career/life successes. We’ve all got a mess or two to clean up.

There are these two old folks, husband and wife, 70-ish, who used to roll into Nelly’s Coffee shop in Oakland every morning. They would read the paper together, and greet people entering the cafe with big smiles. You could just tell by looking at them – they are a team, they are totally in love.

 

I asked them once how long they had been married.

She looked at him, then at me: “2 years…”

He said, “I finally got it right.”

He took her hand..

Overheard recently in a clothing store:

“During a really hard time during his illness when I was really upset about losing him I said,

“I know who I am when I am with you, but, I don’t know who I am without you.”

He looked at me and said ”Who you are is more than enough.”

John is the digital content manager for unlock.com, and owner of John Scott Media in Cambridge, Wisconsin. He’s been writing about reinvention since 2010.