A few days ago, I reached a milestone – 14,000 days of (this) Life!  I think that’s a pretty interesting personal factoid (for me at least).  Not many people might look at their lives from this perspective – but it’s pretty neat when one does.

The first thing that comes up for me is “Gratitude” – I am grateful for every one of these 14,000 jewels.  While some days have been brighter than others, and there were certainly some tough ones as well, each one was and is a gift.  I have spent many of those days with cherished family and friends, some of which are no longer with us (in person at least).  It makes me smile to recall all of those friends, even ones who were just passing by for a year or two of my youth – and those whose names I cannot recall.  Many of these gems were spent training for Soccer – my first passion – countless hours, surely over the 10,000 deemed by Malcolm Gladwell as one of the keys to success.  In the past 6,000 days, that primary passion has been transferred from Soccer to Entrepreneurship and Spirituality, which is the lens through which I present this thought piece to the reader.

Personal Science has always been at the forefront for me, in terms of my process for understanding things, setting goals, getting motivated and organizing my life.  Each day is a chance to get to know oneself better, journey deeper into one’s heart and soul, and figure out how to best navigate the complex machinery of our very own human brain and body.  To that effect, I have become a strong believer in Personal Intelligence and Productivity apps, which in and of themselves do not solve your problems.  But they are powerful tools, which if combined with a clear head, willing heart, and some type of guidance (from above, within or peer partnership), can lead us to achieve greatness, happiness or other noble aims.

I have spent over 7,000 days (20 years) conducting my own Personal Science, and the past 3,500 days (10 years) developing customized time and life management tools – mostly for my own personal use (yes, I too am in permanent beta mode), as well as utility within my companies.  This year, I humbly open up this wealth of knowledge and experience to the world, in the form of an ambitious, collaborative research project, and a series of productivity apps, which will be available for testing in the coming months.

It’s going to be 3 whole years until I reach 15,000 days.  By that time, I will be 41 years-old, with a few more gray hairs on the head and chin, each of which will hopefully represent additional capsules of knowledge – perhaps even some wisdom, and undoubtedly, more Gratitude, for each and every new gem that is gifted to me.  This opportunity to live, breathe and experience what we call “Life” is something magical and precious.  Reflecting on 14,000 days – and the flash flood of memories and emotions that are encapsulated within that timebug (my word for “any period of time, past, present or future”) – simply reminds me of that.