Daily insights for city builders, delivered every morning at 6 AM ET. I’m Brandon Donnelly — a Toronto-based real estate developer and founder of Globizen. I’ve been writing here since 2013.

Forty-one

Today is my forty-first birthday.

I had aspirations of making it a slower day, but that didn’t really happen. I did, however, start my morning “on the Bench” for one of our development projects and that was pretty spectacular, especially with the weather we had. Today has to have been the nicest day of the year.

I very much enjoy my birthdays, but the cadence of them seems to only speed up. It feels like just last month that I turned forty. And so in many ways, birthdays are a reminder to me that it’s important to be decisive and not waste time. Life keeps moving forward whether we like it or not — usually quickly. So it’s best to optimize accordingly.

At the same time, this is probably one of my biggest faults. I’m bad at slowing down and living in the moment. I get restless. Neat B tells me that I am at my most relaxed when we are traveling in Paris and just sitting idly in a cafe somewhere. That sounds right. But I’d like to do more of this at home.

So that’s my birthday wish (goal) for this year.

7 responses to “Forty-one”

  1. Tina Avatar
    Tina

    Happy Birthday!

  2. Myron Nebozuk Avatar
    Myron Nebozuk

    Happy birthday, Brandon!

    Your photo reminds me of my in-laws hobby vineyard outside of Budapest, two decades ago. We visited the vineyard a couple of weeks ago; this property has not been tended to for a decade. In place of neat rows, we were met with spectacular growth; so much so that we could not longer see the valley from the ridge of our property. Nature and time march on; best to live every day like it is your last day.

    1. Brandon Graham Donnelly Avatar

      Thanks Myron! I can assure you that these are professional vineyards though 😉

      1. Myron Nebozuk Avatar
        Myron Nebozuk

        On the difference between professionals and amateurs in wine country: a few years ago, I mentioned my family’s overgrown vineyard to a friend and mentor who is an Alberta based developer. He also has a vineyard in the Okanagan. He got very animated and said: “I can help you get the vineyard up and running again!” I pulled out my notebook and started to write down his instructions. Twenty minutes in, we were still in the weeds, so to speak. I interrupted him and asked: “So, how much of an investment are we looking at so far?” He looked at my notes and did a mental tally. “About two million dollars so far”. !!!

  3. AM Avatar
    AM

    Happy birthday Brandon!

    I started taking my fridays off, mostly to spend time with my infant son, but I find that not “having work” on that day allows me at least an hour or two of both physical and mental meandering.

    Having a kid is also a good option. Not choice but being in the moment with them.

    1. Brandon Graham Donnelly Avatar

      Thank you!

      Physical and mental meandering are important!

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