For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little.
I’ve been thinking about that verse for quite some time, especially with the advent of returning back to school. Part of the challenge for me to return back to school was a feeling of the brakes being pulled on my life. However, I’m realizing the opposite is quite true; rather than being slowed down from the pursuits of different [ad]ventures, I am becoming better equipped to pursue them in the future with a higher rate of success than I have had in the past.
Quite bluntly, I’m surprised that I’ve come as far as I have considering the amount of real life experience and value I bring to the proverbial table. There are many things I’m capable of doing. However, the things I’m capable of doing well; in an educated and processed manner, are few and far between.
In order to give you a better understanding of what goes on inside of my head, I have to let you into the little world of Aaron Plaat. Over the years, I’ve developed an internal ‘world’ of sorts where I process the world around me; others, events, struggles, desires, etc. It’s in this self-run world that I’ve developed what I believe has been an unhealthy perspective on the real world, including others.
I’d often hide behind what I felt were accomplishments in my one-leg-over-the-fence career and entrepreneurial ventures; capable of speaking a very large talk because, quite honestly, I’ve been placed in situations that would allow me to do so. However, behind every situation is a core truth that can often take away from any supposed grandeur of each project. VroomLive is a perfect example of this, as I enjoyed the high life of a 6,500sq ft. office, with a huge personal office and wall of windows. 15 x 30. I measured the office one day, perhaps to place a mental bandaid over my inner insecurities. $12,500 – that was the monthly lease on that place. Behind all of the plasma TV’s, internal bar, and and Class A surroundings, the office was nothing more than a duvet for a company poorly funded, executed, and staffed. Everybody, myself included, got hurt from this project; hurt, being a more polite word for screwed.
The rent on that office was only paid because the owners of the building had sold the building and arranged a 3rd party escrow account to pay their rent for 12 months. They wouldn’t have been able to pay the rent if it hadn’t been for that clause (which, by the way, happened to screw over their original investors). Everybody got hurt.
Catharsis. It feels good to come clean.
Yes, there are many things that I’ve done in this world that could deserve some recognition. However, it’s not the ones that I’ve been recognized for. I’ve been in more newspaper articles than I deserve to have been in. There was nothing spectacular or substantial for them to have written about. It was nothing more than a press release-baited news story covering companies that lacked substance.
Hey, you! Relax! This is one of the best things I’ve ever written. It is a catharsis for both my inner soul and also the future for my profesional career.
See, it has become necessary for me to identify the past as the sham it has been in order to successfully pursue the future; because I know what I do not want to do, as displayed in projects and ‘accomplishments’ from the past, I have a much clearer picture of what I’d like the future to hold.
My past has been muddied by an inflated ego that stated I did not need to return to school. My present contains a humbled me that realizes the need for education, with a inner desire to rise high in the ranks of an MBA program. The future is bright.
If there is one thing you can take away from this writing, it is to know that I am in the most liberated state of my life, paired with a newfound determination and drive to succeed according to the rules of the game of life and also God’s law; one step at a time.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”
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