Clock is Ticking

Hi, guys. My name is Donnie Rouse, and you're listening to the podcast One Life. The clock is ticking. There's this mechanism inside of us that makes us believe that we have a lot more time than we do. I was talking with a friend of mine and we were talking about just age, growing old, and like, just growing older in our years and how age serves as kind of like this internal, like this biological alarm clock to say, hey, you're approaching the end here. What is it that you're gonna do? What are those dreams, those desires, those things that were left undone that you need to make good on? While in theory that sounds great, right? Like, oh, well, you know, the older I get in age, you know, like, the more pressing some of the issues are. But is that really always the case? I'm sure you probably know people who may be like 80 years old, but they act like they're still 10. And I'm not saying 10 in a good way. Like, if you have that youthful spirit, that's awesome. I think you should keep that youthful spirit for your entire life. But when you're putting. When you're naively thinking that things are going to happen without taking the right actions, putting in the effort, then you're deluding yourself. I was on a call. So I've been back in the dating world. Depending when you listen to this, maybe I'll have somebody, but I've been back in the dating world and I was having a conversation with someone, and in the conversation, we were both turned 40 years old. I'm 40. She had just turned 40. And we were talking about all those things that are relevant at that time, like kids and where to live and all this other stuff. And as I was thinking about that, I said, well, yeah, I'm 40, but I'm not old. I feel like I'm 25. And as I was saying this, I was like, well, yeah, that's how I feel. But then when I was looking back at, like, what are the decisions, like, what are the depressing things in my life right now that if I don't do at this point, that they may pass and I may never get to do them. One of those things was children, and I'm not ready yet. And some of the other issues that came up were, one, how I want to live my life, the countries I want to see, I want to visit. All I once said, 230 countries. I think there's, like, territories, but it's really only 193. So I misquoted that. But I want to see every single country in the world. It's one of my biggest bucket list items. And then when I was looking at that, I was like, oh, my God, I have to get going. Like, I have to take bigger action if I'm going to get these done. But it wasn't just things, like, it wasn't just my travel list that was the pressing issue. I was looking at my business, like both the coffee business, both the one life coaching and podcast. I said, where do I want to take this? Right? I'd been kind of laxed about everything, thinking that, well, you know what, eventually things are going to slow. You know, things are building up and eventually I'll get there. But without the right plan, without the right actions, without the right goal and putting a deadline on that, not so much a deadline, but something to aim for the chances of me getting there, yeah, Maybe one day, 100 years from now, maybe I'll reach that point. But in this lifetime, when it matters, it might take longer than expected. I might not reach that. That was like the big wake up call for me. I was like, man, if I want to do these things, I've got to start taking bigger action. I've got to get even more clear about the goals that I want to achieve, so this way I can go after them. One of the things that I've been wanting to do for a very, very long time was travel to Istanbul, Turkey. Mainly I wanted to check out the coffee scene, but I also wanted to go to Cappadocia. I wanted to fry the hot air balloons. And then after watching a few YouTube videos, I realized that there's so much more in the country that I want to see that I'm not going to probably be able to cram in the week and a half that I'm going to give myself. And the reason I bring up Turkey is because, I mean, I've been trying to plan Turkey. My trip didn't fall through twice, so I planned it twice. I got the visas and everything, and then twice I canceled. One was an issue where, like, there was just this gut feeling that I had on my stomach that was like, it just doesn't feel right to go. I was like telling people, like, my recipe for my, my beverages and all this stuff, as if I wasn't going to come back. And it was a very scary thought. I was going to carry through with the trip. But then thankfully, my father was like, pressing. He said, listen, I'll pay. I'll pay for your other trip if you just cancel this one. And I Didn't take. I didn't make him pay for it, but I ended up getting scared, and I canceled the trip, and I end up going to Prague instead. So there are no, like, you know, that was another podcast thing. There are no bad decisions. You just learn from them. And then I canceled. Then I booked another trip, and then Covid happened, and I canceled it. So now Turkey had just opened up for tourism again. Well, they had been open for tourism, but they just loosened restrictions for their own citizens, and now things are probably a little bit more lively. One of the things I found myself being was very hesitant, kind of saying, yes, I want to book this trip, but then also kind of being hesitant to say, okay, well, what do I have to do to book this trip? Like, not taking the steps to make it a reality, like getting the visa again, reaching out to some baristas in Istanbul. So this way I could learn the proper way of doing Turkish coffee and do some of those things that would make the trip an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life and something I could share with other people. I had been resisting taking the action to start planning that trip, but that conversation happened yesterday. And all of a sudden, now I'm like, man, if I want to make these things happen, I have to start moving. I got to start putting some pep in my step. So as I get off this podcast here today, right now, I am going to book that visa, and I'm going to make that trip a reality. Now, the time period, let me just go there this way, because it's all interrelated. It's all related to what I'm saying is the clock is ticking like the time period. When am I going to go? Like, right now, I'm in the busiest season of my business. And some people may disagree with what I'm about to say. Other people may disagree. So I'm going to take the a week and a half, which is a very, very short period of time, just to do Istanbul and Cappadocia. So people are like, well, why take a week and a half? Because if that's all you have, then why not? Are you going to wait for the perfect time? Like, for you to have the perfect allotted time where you're going to be able to do everything you want to do in the country, and chances are that's never going to happen, right? Because even when you go to the country, there's always going to be something else you want to experience. So I have this time that I'm willing to give, Then why not Just book it. Why not just do it? Some people get stuck in waiting and thinking, like, oh, well, maybe next year when I have a little bit more vacation time. Well, you know what? Something else is going to come up next year. You're not gonna have the time. Something, another priority is gonna come in, and then that trip or whatever it is that you want is gonna get pushed back and it's not gonna happen. Right. You have to do the things that you know that if they were left unsaid, that you'll regret. And so this is one of those things for me. What are they for you? So to wrap it up, and we're gonna close it off here, but I want you to just start to wrap your head around the things. Like we have this thought that things are going to go on forever, like our parents are going to be there forever. We forget that there's mortality. We forget that life doesn't. Things aren't perfect forever. We get old, things change, economies change, countries change, everything changes. What are those things that you want? What are those desires that you have that you'd been putting off? What is the cost now of putting them off even further? Because if you're honest with yourself, you've been putting it off for maybe years. What are the chances of you actually making good on that, to be honest with yourself? And then lastly, what is the result? What are the emotions you'll experience as a result of taking that action? Maybe it's starting the business, maybe it's having the kid. Maybe it's deciding to date again like me. Or maybe it's going on that trip. What other benefits could. What other good things could come in your life as a result of taking that? It's so easy to focus on the things that we lack, the things that can go wrong when we fail to look at there. There's an upside to everything. What is the potential? What. What happens if things just turn out right? Right. We unproportionately weigh the negative against the positive, and we make the positive weigh very, very little. And then we really weigh the negative. And as a result, you don't take action. But the truth is that there's a lot in your control. You can control how you respond, you control how you react. You can control the actions you take. And that's a big thing. That's a big part of success, is constantly taking new actions. Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoyed this post. It was really kind of like a spontaneous post, but I wanted to put it on here because I thought it was pressing in my life. Well, if I'm feeling this, then I know that other people are feeling comes with the realization that life is happening now. Don't put it off. You know, the last thing you want to do is look back and regret. So guys, I hope you enjoyed this podcast. If you did, please give it a share. Give it a thumbs up. Share it with your friends, family. Tell everybody about the One Life podcast with Donny Rouse. You could like me on Instagram O n N Y R A U s. You could also send some questions there. And then lastly, if you want some amazing coffee, check out rousecoffee.com One of the things I pride myself on is my ability to select coffee and my ability to roast coffee and modulate and bring out like the flavors that very few roasters can actually do. And then because it's all about that moment, it's all about giving you that moment to stop, to be, to feel life. If that resonates with you at all, please check it out and use the discount code One Life to get a discount on your first order. God bless, guys. Thank you so much for tuning in and I will see you again soon.