(I applogise for this LinkedIn posts leaking onto the fediverse.. but no poetry I swear) I've recently turned 40 and felt like looking back at my life compared to when I was a doomed high school dropout... I am currently * Constantly moving from Adl, Syd, Can, Melb with independent friends groups across the country. * Maintain relationships/friendships over multiple counties. * interim head of internal cyber security at a highly respected IT company. * Side gig 1: Run my own enterprise grade cloud hosting company. * Run A.S with a team of great mods. * Run two registered charities (raising over a $300k for cancer research and $400k for numerous other causes). * Side gig 2: Event management including the PAXAus Wombat stage (3 days of panels) and a massive PAXAus Afterparty. * Regularly meet with heads of state. * Side gig 3: Video production/streaming. (Part of a team making ads for Doom and Fallout games and SXSW Sydney 2023). * Work with multiple secret projects. * Mentor plenty of people. * Volunteer at conferences. Insights: 1) All of these points are about building community and human connections... Computers are evil but "apes together strong". 2) I am a clown car of a human, but also a fixer. I do what I say I will. 3) I am also insufferable to some people, but on balance I'm never bored which is a compromise I can accept. Can't please everybody. 4) This lifestyle also comes with burnout and a lot of downsides.. I need to quit some of these over the next few years and slow down to focus on the important ones. 5) "Celebrate your wins. Fix your damage. Kiss your friends. etc etc" 6) I should blog more (unrelated). 7) Join your union.