50
Earlier this week, I was sitting in the first of 12 or 13 all-day 10K Small Business workshops focused on how to strategically strengthen and grow our business over the next several years. Naturally, I started thinking about the life I want to live in my 50s, which is only seven years from now.
Me right before a panel discussion yesterday on doing business in the airports as a Black operator/investor
Among many other prompts and questions that our program leaders want us to answer over the semester, how we want to exit our company is one of them. Nick and I plot our lifespan in this business based on how long our youngest child Nico has until he's 18—we've got 11 more years to lock in our model and operational playbook and scale in the ways that we want to either exit day-to-day operations, sell part of the business, or close down all together. The latter doesn't feel like an option for either of us and selling the business doesn't feel quite right either. But the former…exiting the day-to-day feels on point with how I want to be living in my 50s.
When I think about this next decade, I feel a similar excitement to how I felt when I hit 40; life will only be better. I'm not one of those people who had everything figured out in her 20s. Yes, I was checking off some developmental boxes to a degree, but I was very much still a mix of restless, confused, and searching…What did I want to do for work? How would I be paid for what I wanted to do? Could I feel satisfied with whatever answers came from these questions? As the decades have rolled on and I get more worn from lack of quality sleep because small children invaded my bed at night or because I need a little more me time at midnight, I do feel more at ease in my body. I'm also the most satisfied I’ve ever been with the life that I've built.
When I started daydreaming about my 50s last week in class, I liked what I saw.
It looked even better than the life I've lived so far.
Me with friends I hope to still have in my 50s
I recently saw this clip of a conversation with actress Christine Baranski (The Gilded Age and The Good Wife) and Harlem's own Bevy Smith where they talked about life getting better as you age. Bevy shared one of her mantras, "It gets greater later," and that really resonated with me. My goal is to be in the best shape of my life with the most resources (time, relationships/network, and money) I've ever had in my 50s and I'm looking forward to it.
As I think about this near future, I am actively thinking about the decisions I'm making today for my family, business, and health that will help me usher in the decade with ease. Deciding to embark on doing business in the airport was part of making decisions for my future self and so is my renewed interest in running. But there's so much more to figure out.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not rushing any of this but I am eager to experience this next level. Aging feels scary because in many ways we start to lose control of things that used to come easy. But, I choose to think about all of the things that will feel so good because of all the experiences and decisions that have gotten me to that point. I’ll be walking on solid ground.
This Goldman Sachs program couldn't have come at a better time. I'm going to be a new person by the end of this year and one step closer to ushering in my Golden Era.
Petrushka
Your Local Ice Cream Lady & Life/Business Coach
Join me on Sept 23rd as I reflect on the work I did for The Laundromat Project in my late 20s—using art to transform communities—during a panel at The Schomburg
Share this link with any new moms living in Harlem looking for a space for deep and intentional reflection on motherhood thus far plus a built-in community that can walk with them as they get their sea legs.