June 11, 2018. Day 1.
Eight years ago today, we moved to Colorado to reboot our lives.
We look happy… but behind the smiles was a lot of pain and uncertainty:
—Our marriage was struggling
—I was the most disillusioned I’ve ever been
—The kids didn’t ask to have their lives disrupted
—I had walked away from an 8-figure sum of money
I had no real plan for the future. What I did know was that I needed something different. I had a strong hunch that being in my happy place would give us a fresh start.
My wife was skeptical, but willing to take a leap of faith. (The trust was earned—I hadn’t steered the family wrong in 20 years of marriage.)
On paper, this move made no sense. I had checked all the boxes that define success in modern society. From the outside, we were living the dream.
But it wasn’t my version of success. I vividly remember sitting in my executive office in Dallas, looking out the window, and thinking, “What the F am I doing here?”
Hard things are hard. There’s never a good time to make bold moves. Especially when you have millions of reasons to maintain the status quo. That’s why most people never do it.
Fast forward eight years…
Our reboot was far from easy, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made.
I have the best life of anyone I know (despite being a lot less rich than I could have been). I’ve literally spent 1,000 days outside instead of in an office. That adds up to massive wealth in experiences.
My wife feels the same way. She has hiked 47 of Colorado’s 58 fourteeners and is glad we made the move.
Our marriage is in the best place it’s ever been. We recently became empty nesters and are having fun planning another mini-reboot to take advantage of our newfound freedom.
Our kids have thrived. The adventures I dreamed about as a kid are normal days for them. More importantly, they’ve watched Mom and Dad live the family motto:
"Dahlstroms invest in experiences."
Life is never perfect, but I finally built the one that I (the real me) wanted. So here’s my message to you:
You can do the same.
But only if you muster the courage to make bold, scary moves. There will never be a good time to do it. And there are no guarantees it will work out.
But one thing’s for sure:
You’ll never discover what could be if you don’t try.
🤙
P.S. My hope is that this story inspires at least one person to make their move. If you enjoyed this post, would you give it a like and repost and let me know in the comments?
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