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"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds."

- Aristotle Onassis

 

Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.

Coming to the cumulative end of something is quite the feeling. It can be satisfying. Relieving. Relaxing. Introspective.

It can also be terrifying.

With most things in life, coming to the end of anything almost always inevitably means that the start of something new is just around the corner.

That's just the circle of life.

But coming to the culmination of that project you've been working on, that workout you've been pushing through, or even just finishing the end of a long, hard week means something.

It means you sought something out and completed it.

You're a finisher and that means you get a break. For a moment, you get to cut loose and free your mind. All of the energy, toil, sweat and tears has come to an end. 

Life is a cycle of beginning and ends. If you're the kind of person with big goals or a huge vision for your life, you’ve got to work to cultivate that seed and see it to fruition.

And at the end of the day when you’ve given all that you can and spent all of yourself on your love for that thing, you need rest.

But don't sleep for too long.

I hear a lot of people say that they can't wait to retire. They fantasize about long walks on the beach, extravagant vacations to rich cultural cities and driving fancy cars through beautiful pastures. They romanticize the luxurious, carefree highlife and insist it is the only representation of a peaceful, cumulative life.

For the longest time, I wanted that too. But when I thought about it, I realized that a lot of people may say that, but is it what they really want?

If you could retire today, what would you do for the rest of your life? 

If you were born with the spirit of a hustler and the mind of a business person, could you really just sit back on a beach and think about frivolous things all day? Or would you find yourself eventually falling back into that hustler's mentality?

Some people say they want that life. They say they want - even need - rest. They're also the ones who work when everyone's asleep. They're scheming while others are dreaming. They save while others spend. They plan while others play.

Can they really stop? And more importantly, would they want to? 

For those of us with a hustler's mentality, we know that there’s something great inside of us that doesn't let us sleep at night.

In fact, the very thought of finishing something becomes a never-ending tangent of possibilities. We're constantly on the move for the next thing we can do.

But there's a time and place for everything. The key thing is to learn how to balance your life and understanding your time. And at the end of one milestone is a time to celebrate, party, and rest. And at the beginning of another, is a time to refocus and get your zen back. 

So when you've accomplished that thing or overcome that obstacle, enjoy it. Celebrate it. It’s a victory. You’ve made it.

And know that the day is coming when you'll soon get back after it.

- JH

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