Happy Birthday (to me)!

Friday was my birthday and I turned the big 3-0!

I’ll admit…I wasn’t too excited about it for a while. For much of this last year, if you’d reminded me I was approaching 30, I probably would have groaned, rolled my eyes, and told you to stop talking about it. I may have even joked that I was hoping to be in a grave or a nursing home by 30!

(Facetiously, of course.)

However, as it got closer and thanks to this new, wonderful adventure I am on, I became more and more excited. Not necessarily to “turn 30,” but in anticipation of this next chapter in my life.

I vaguely remember turning 20. For most of us, our 20s are really childhood 2.0. We’re out of the house and technically full-fledged adults, but we are in the beginning stages of figuring out how to walk, talk, and survive on our own. In more ways than one, your 20s are an adult version of being a newborn except instead of taking your first steps, saying your first words, and potty training you are paying your first bills, filing taxes, and figuring out how freaking expensive groceries are.

Indeed, the 20s are a tumultuous time and incredibly formative years. The lessons we learn in our 20s, good and bad, shape and solidify the next stages in life.

I’ve learned many things over the last 10 years, and as I reflect on what I’ve experienced in the last decade, I’m honestly amazed (and a little shocked) that I’m alive and sane. I’ve had my car towed at least 5 times, repossessed once (oops), accumulated $20,000 in credit card debt, graduated college (twice), moved 6 times, backpacked across Europe, gained 20 lbs from eating pizza rolls (thanks COVID), and had my tonsils removed the day before conducting a Christmas Eve service and driving 12 hours through the night, surviving on liquid Vicodin, to be home on Christmas morning. I’ve driven 20,000+ miles across the country, met the most amazing, incredible people, and formed friendships I look forward to carrying with me wherever I go. I’ve impacted hundreds of students, trained the best dog in the entire world, and given my poor mother more grey hairs than she deserves.

I often like to joke and say that my mother gifted me with the unique disposition that I have to learn everything the hard way—and most lessons I’ve learned certainly fit that description. I seem to enjoy making my life harder than it needs to be, like quitting my well-paying teaching job to become an entrepreneur with only $2k in the bank.

As I look back on these tough teachings, two things stand out to me:

1. I am an adventurer. I’ve never wanted to do things the easy or conventional way. I like the exhilaration of not knowing, of stepping out into the wide abyss, and flying by the seat of my pants. Life is more fun with a little thrill.

2. Everything I learn I teach to others. My high school calculus teacher told me in my senior year that I would be a teacher, and even though I didn’t accept it at the time, I now know that one of my gifts is being able to take what I experience, the good, bad, and everything in between, and impart that wisdom to others. As I battle the daily struggle of entrepreneurship and look at the $3 in my bank account every day, I am grateful because I know that even though this is hard, I will be able to use this experience to make someone else’s life easier or to inspire them to embrace life as widely as I have.

Beginning a new decade has certainly made me a bit more reflective than usual, and the last part of this newsletter will be 30 short lessons I have picked up on in my time on this planet. They are a mixture of quotes, idioms, experiences, and random thoughts that have fundamentally shaped my world view in a positive way, and I hope they will offer you a modicum of wisdom and light.

Before I get into the list, these lessons will be rapid-fire with no explanation, intentionally so that you can chew on them and apply them to your life in whatever way makes sense to you. At the end of the list, I have some exciting updates to announce, as well as where you can find my elaborations on some of these lessons!

30 Lessons from 30 Years on Earth

1. “To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable.” - Ludwig van Beethoven

2. You are the sum of your five closest friends - choose carefully.

3. Our lives are the stories we tell ourselves.

4. Never turn down free food or money.

5. The universe is a mirror.

6. A bad fisherman in a good spot will catch more than a good fisherman in a bad spot.

7. Retirement is a scam forced upon us to keep us locked into a job, paycheck, and pension.

8. You will never experience the past or the future, only the present.

9. There is an infinite amount of beauty in the world waiting to be explored.

10. Most people don’t know what they’re doing or what they’re talking about.

11. “You are the universe experiencing itself as a human for a little while.” Eckhart Tolle.

12. Progress is never linear and nothing ever goes according to plan.

13. Life does not happen to you, it happens through you.

14. Money is fake.

15. “There are two great days in a person’s life: the day they were born and the day they figure out why.” - Mark Twain

16. Experience will always trump knowledge.

17. We are all creators and the fastest way out of any mess is to create.

18. “Sometimes it hurts more to hope, and it hurts more to care.” - Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender

19. We are always the creators of our own suffering.

20. Your day is your life in mini.

21. Most issues in life can be solved with a cold beer and a good laugh.

22. Longevity and sustainability are the most important considerations for anything in life.

23. Learn to embrace silence.

24. There are few greater rewards than hiking to the top of a mountain with a good view, and few things are more disappointing than hiking to the top of a mountain with a bad view.

25. Music is one of the greatest tools for understanding our relationship with the universe.

26. The “Tomorrow Man” Theory by Chuck Hogan

27. Freedom is found when we consciously choose how to experience life, one moment at a time.

28. Blind adherence to any dogma is the fastest route to a disastrous life.

29. Mind your damn business.

30. Life is an eternal dance of coming and going.

So that's it. There's a brief distillation of wisdom I have accumulated in my time on this planet. I hope you were able to pick up some nuggets to carry with you as you move forward.

Updates!

As you have figured out by now, I’m all over the place when it comes to my business, and it is probably difficult to keep up with me sometimes. While I never intend to come off as scatterbrained or unprepared, I certainly like to keep things interesting and leave you guessing about my next move.

Entrepreneurship is a daily practice in self discovery, and the aspect of being my own boss that I value the most is the freedom to explore, to innovate, and to play. Life is a big game for me right now, and it’s a thrill to have my hands on the controller.

Here are 3 updates on my journey and what I’m working on right now:

1. I have started a Youtube channel! My first video posted on Friday in honor of my birthday. You can check it out here! I encourage you to interact with the video — like, comment, subscribe, and share 🙂 It would mean the world! In this video, I introduce the viewer to the channel by going through the list above and offering explanations on a few of those lessons.

2. I am about 25,000 word in to my book, Techquilibrium: Finding balance, connection, and authenticity in the digital age. That sounds crazy to say! This is officially the most words I’ve written for a single project, including my masters thesis.

   This groundbreaking book explores the causes of mass tech addiction and the long-term effects of outsourcing our humanness to technology. In an age where integrative technology is fundamentally shaping how we interact with the world, it is more important than ever to evaluate how technology is changing us as people and ask where will we draw the line?

   What do we do when AI is cooking our dinner?

   Techquilibrium will launch in early 2026, and all pre-orders will receive a signed copy!

3. I will soon have a website! You will be able to check it out at:

   colemanflentge.com

   On the website, you will be able to pre-order your copy of Techquilibrium, download a preview, access resources, and learn about my coaching and mentorship programs. You can also send this website to anyone who you think would be interested in private coaching or hiring me for a public speaking event.

   The website should launch sometime this week, so be on the lookout :)

There are few other exciting opportunities on the horizon for me, but more on those later.

Until next time, live uninterrupted.

~Coleman