Learning to (Actually) Live: God, Family, and Business
Two friends of mine in our Atlanta tech community made announcements yesterday. The entrepreneur said, "At age 73, I have realigned my interests."
The investor said, "I am moving into a harvest time."
These quotes came from their emails. Two friends, one in his early seventies and the other in his late sixties, are clearly changing what they do. How they operate. What they focus on. They are on to a new season in life.
Both of these men were heavily invested in the tech community. For the last forty years, they were focused on ideas. Creating new businesses, creating new community organizations, sharing their experience, and investing their money.
But not anymore.
They narrowed their focus. As the entrepreneur said, "I have realigned my interests."
I am also entering this new season of life.
I, too, am sensing it is time for a change. It just doesn't seem right to keep doing what I've been doing. And the reason is, like them, my interests and priorities have changed.
Both of these men spoke to family as their priority.
In their prime, these two men were everywhere in Atlanta tech. They were at all the industry meetings, mentoring entrepreneurs, judging pitch contests, doing deals, and starting companies. And I was right there with them. Not any more. The next generation has stepped into the breach.
We've lost a step and are no longer first to the table. We are no longer "prime time." The next generation is now firmly entrenched and doing a really great job.
So what's left for us?
Our desire is to stay involved in the community but with far less commitment. We poured our lives into Atlanta tech. And now I have this sense that we are trying desperately to hold on. But hold on to what?
I believe for us, it is all about relevance.
Our work, which was our priority, brought us great satisfaction. It is how God called us. We served our community. He gave us those interests in starting and running companies early in our careers. He then moved us to be investors and advisors. Finally, he is moving us back to our families.
Our family relationships are our priority now. When we are with our wives, adult children, and grandchildren, life seems right. Not that it wasn't right before. It was just different. We served them differently. We served our families by serving the startup community.
There was purpose in our work. We were making a living to support our families and to make our families' lives better. We were accumulating wealth to give our families security and launch the next generation. But it wasn't just about us and our families. We wanted to see our startup community thrive led by the entrepreneurs.
That work for us is done. So what's left?
Family and wisdom.
We understand, maybe clearly for the first time in our lives, the gift of family. Not as a part of our lives but as the focus of our lives. Family is the priority. Family, not business.
But what about the wisdom we gained from our years of entrepreneurial and investing experience?
Do we just let this wisdom lie fallow?
How might it be used to help others?
Interestingly enough, each of us has our own answer.
My investor friend has taken a part-time job with a lender to help minority, small business entrepreneurs. These aren't tech-based businesses but community-focused consumer businesses. Men and women who can use experienced advice on important issues like sales, customer service, values, and cash flow. Men and women looking for the wisdom they are lacking to help them succeed and support their families.
My entrepreneur friend is helping only one business at a time. And it must be a business with substantial revenue but lacking in next steps, including how to exit. My friend has the wisdom and network to really change the course of the business and help the founder achieve his goals of providing for his family and creating wealth.
As for me, I am focused on sharing my wisdom via my YouTube channel and blog. The Charlie Paparelli Show is all about entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs. I accomplish this by doing long-form interviews with successful entrepreneurs, who are generally older, from the profit and non-profit worlds. It gives them and me a chance to share our experiences via a relevant and interesting conversation.
The new priority of family also has all of us abandoning social media. As my entrepreneur friend said, "I killed my Twitter account and other time sinks."
All these activities aren't important anymore, but each of us continues to serve. The only difference is this: We don't just say our priorities are God, family, and business. We live them...in that order.