Wow, 40! It’s hard to believe that 40 years of my life has gone by. I’m not really effected by the number. In fact, I feel better than I’ve ever felt my whole life. While I wish there were lessons I would have learned about myself 20 years ago, I don’t see any benefit reading the stories of the past. Living in the now and being present are where I’m trying to focus.

This isn’t a wine post on a wine blog, it is more of a reflection post about life, the future, and philosophy…however, it does involve wine. Today, after all, I celebrate my 40th year in Napa California ready to consume mass quantities of WINE with friends new and old.

I’m a goal setter. I always have been. For as long as I can remember, at the beginning of every year I jot down things I want to accomplish for the upcoming year. While I’m not into every piece of “The Secret” and “The Universe is Listening” stuff, I am a firm believer that when you put something out there in writing or verbally then your brain begins to do amazing things to work toward those accomplishments. One of my favorite quotes is “your attention (direction) goes where your energy flows.” When I set out to open Nectar Tasting Room or even publish Spokane Wine Magazine, I had no idea HOW things were going to get done but I started telling people, “Hey, I’m opening a wine business. Not sure exactly what it’s going to look like, but I’m doing it.” I’m proud of what we (you, me, Benny, Christina, Ashley, Breanne, Sulo) have done with Nectar. Business is growing and we are doing it our way. I’ve spent a grand total of $400 in traditional marketing in 2 years. I’m proud of my relationship with each and every one of you. Business is going to keep growing. In the next few months we will be offering wine online. In the next 18 months we will be adding another location to the family. Nectar is the foundation and the fun. It is my creative expression of something I am passionate about.

nectarMEDIA is  my newest business. Currently I’m building my client base and creating the foundation of what will be the Northwest’s premier online brand management company. The Go Social Conferencein Spokane is a first step. We will be looking at hosting this conference in other cities (Boise, Tri-Cities) in the future. Look for 2013 (and my 40th year) to be a breakout year for nectarMEDIA.

I may have made some mistakes in my 20’s and 30’s but the future of the 40’s and beyond looks very very bright. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not into re-reading the past stories, but I do know that I had to make some major adjustments in life and in my character to be content with who I am and to lay the foundation for the best years of my life. Without going into detail (although most of my life is an open book), here are the major thoughts that the next 10 years of my life will be guided by.

LIVE IN THE MOMENT: BE PRESENT

The past holds no control and the future can’t be controlled. The only outcomes that can I have control of are my reactions and my actions. Forcing the future leads to insecurity and often times bad decisions. The ‘grass is greener’ syndrome just means that you are either neglecting your own grass or the other yard is full of shit. In my 40 years I don’t think I’ve ever been just happy being me. The last two years have been awesome and I am learning to love living in the moments that life affords me.

SUCCESS LEAVES CLUES

This thought is from Tony Robbins and is so true. I’m focusing my efforts on learning from those who are successful in business, relationships, life, money management, fitness, etc. These people of mastery can help save time energy and effort in wasted mistakes. I’m surrounding myself with people of excellence, not people of mediocrity. Upgrade your sphere of influence and you’ll upgrade your influence on others.

DON’T SETTLE

It took me 4o years but I finally realize that I deserve the very best and I won’t stop until I have what I’m after. I have goals for Nectar, nectarMEDIA, financial goals, and more. I know I want a family, I want to travel and explore the world with someone I love. It’s pointless to circumvent the best for something pretty good just because you don’t have the patience to wait for the right timing or the diligence to work hard. Going back to my first point, I’m content to live in the moment, enjoying the present, letting life play out because you can’t force spectacular, success is not instant, wealth is built with hard work, and love is a natural expression of two people being in step in every area of life. None of these things can be rushed and all of them are worth pursuing.

WINE

Now to the wine. You all know me as the Nectar guy, or the wine blogger turned business man – I’m cool with that. I love wine. I love the subtle differences found in every bottle I open. I love the celebration of the artistic passion given to the bottles of artisan small business owners. While I love Washington wine and KNOW that our state produces some of the best juice in all the world, I couldn’t think of any better place than Napa / Sonoma California to celebrate the best decade of my life. Everyone I talk to gives me advice on where to go, what to do, who to see, etc; but I’m looking forward to taking each of the next 5 days as they come- hanging out with my friends. If I only get to a handful of wineries, so be it…I’ll be back again. I plan on enjoying several bottles of wine, private parties, VIP tours, amazing food and walking through the vineyards as harvest nears. I plan on spending some time alone enjoying the scenery while reflecting on how incredible life truly is and how blessed I am to have each of you as friends. Thanks again for everything and for indulging me on a 40th birthday mostly philosophical, slightly rambling, minimally wine-centric post.

Enjoy life with friends…drink happy!