Turning 30, Italy, & My Most Valuable Resource
Well, I did something I never really wanted to do.
I turned 30 back in May.
It wasn't that bad I suppose. But ideally, we'd all stay young forever.
It did get me thinking though about the most valuable resource I have:
Time.
Making money from running a business is great, but it's renewable and replaceable. If something were to happen I could start over and build another source of income.
I'm never going to be in my 20s again. As hard as I might try, that part of my life is over and it's not coming back.
The greatest thing about running my own business is that I do get more control over my own time. My days aren't spent in a cubicle waiting until I'm over 55 for a chance to see the world.
Both Amanda and I turned 30 in May. We decided to celebrate in style with a few weeks in Italy. If you're keeping track, this is our second big trip this year already. I blogged about my previous one here: The TRUE Measure of Success
As always, I took a few pictures and I wanted to share my trip with all of you.
Lake Como
We flew into Milan to start the trip and we were able to get up to Lake Como to spend some time there. It was one of the most picturesque areas I've ever seen. You can't take a bad picture here as every where you look is stunningly beautiful.
Cinque Terre
From there, we headed out to the coast to check out the five fishing villages along the water. Again, stunningly beautiful and almost hard to believe that these houses were ever constructed.
Florence
Florence was our first major city in Italy. The art, architecture, and surrounding Tuscan hills are a sight to see. Florence was also home to best cannoli I've ever tasted. I'd travel back just for dessert alone.
Vatican City
While we didn't get to see the Pope, we did tour St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums.
Rome
I have about a million pictures of Rome. Every where you turn is another historical and significant landmark. I settled on sharing one of the Colosseum.
Amalfi Coast
From Rome, we went down to the Amalfi Coast to spend some time unwinding and relaxing. Like Cinque Terre, the towns here are all stacked on cliffs down to the water. I could easily see myself spending months on the coast.
Venice
Finally, we made it to Venice and it lived up to every one of my expectations.
I am aware at how lucky both Amanda and I are. We do get to live the life a lot of people dream about, but at the same time, work is always a top priority.
Our businesses allow us to spend our time as WE PLEASE.
We get to dictate how our most valuable resource is spent.
Recent Comments
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Hi Steve! Congrats on your turning 30. For me this happened years ago and I remember being overwhelmed both before my birthday and right afterwards that I had hit the milestone. That was not quite half-a lifetime ago and it is my wish that you have many, MANY more years on this Earth. You have been such a role model for people in the fact that with hard work and effort put in on their own that down the road they can achieve the type of success that you have earned in your online business ventures.
I loved the pictures of Italy. On a bus tour back in the summer of 1994 that mostly included the countries of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria one day in going from one part of Switzerland to another we hit Italy and the town of Milan. I remember we had lunch there which for me, of course consisted of pasta!
The other pictures that you included in this article to the community of some truly beautiful Italian cities are spectacular.
Best wishes to both you and your lovely wife Amanda in the future, Steve!
Jeff
I definitely hit my quota on pasta for the year. We ate pizza, pasta, and gelato almost exclusively while over there. Don't get me wrong, I love Italian food, but man was I craving a good hamburger when we got home.
Hi Steve - we (Laura and I and our boys) will be following you to Italy in late July this year.
Never been - but it's one of those places to add to the bucket list - and all because we've worked hard on our online business, and really struggled through the hard times - but can reap what we sow now.
You've been an (unsung/uncredited) mentor of mine for a while - I've followed your sites and posts for a few years - so I'm really pleased to see you posting about success and what it gives to you and Amanda.
You make a lovely couple, and I wish you both all the best going forward.
Cheers, Mark
That's great to hear Mark! That's really what a lot of people miss when starting their business. You won't see instant success, but with the right amount of effort, focus, and drive, you can build something that will benefit you down the road far greater than you could ever imagine. I'm thrilled to hear you've reached that point. Enjoy Italy!
beautiful pictures! It's my birthday in May too -- I'm 34 and don't worry, (as many people told me and it is true) your 30's are much better than your 20's!! I'm definitely enjoying my 30's now. No doubt you will too!
Steve, outstanding photos. May 20th, I turned 62 going to Italy to celebrate is something to be proud. Beautiful!
Looks like you guys had an amazing trip. All of this pictures are bringing back lots of memories from our trip through Italy (we almost hit all the exact same spots). Beauty!
I have no real desire to go to Italy, I thought it was amazing how they built the houses and buildings on the cliffs. Everything seem so compact. In other words to close I like the country. But, the picture make it seem so real. Hope you both had a nice birthday. That was a great gift.
Thanks Connie
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Amazing trip Steve and congrats on turning 30! I have experienced both so far :)... From your places, I just didn't visit lake Como (I visited Garda instead) and Cinque Terre. The difference was that I didn't have an online business at that time and no job... LOL so, what happened? My account went back to zero after so many corpetos, pizzas, gelatos and boat trips... LOL Travelling is the best thing in life, in my opinion... and travelling with the one we love is even better!
All the best
Stefan
Yeeeeahhh my credit card bill isn't looking too pretty at the moment LOL but the experiences were well worth it.
Definitely! its priceless