Two Roads

This quote hangs on the bulletin board on my room. It comes from my favorite sports radio personality, Colin Cowherd.

"There's only one way to be a model: have really hot parents. Other than that, there's no one route to anything."

I spent the first few months of my new, post-college life stressing out about the future. I'm only guaranteed 18 months at my new job, so I asked myself, "What's going to happen after that? Where will I go? Will I have enough money? What must I do to guarantee a rise up the sports media ladder, whether at ESPN or somewhere else?"

Like always, I knew that if I grinded my a** off, I'd soar above everyone else.

I'm one of the hardest workers you'll ever meet. If I get even the slightest sense that someone outworks me, I ramp it up that much more. I've always been that way. In my first few months at ESPN, my typical shift was 6:00 p.m.-3:00 a.m.. Sometimes I'd come in at 11 in the morning, stay a few hours, leave, take a nap, and come back. Or maybe I'd come in earlier. I set up a bunch of meetings with high-ranking executives, trying to take away any tidbits of knowledge I could that would give me an advantage. Some nights, I stayed well past 3 a.m. I remember a handful of days where I willingly stayed until 7 a.m., drawing weird looks from the morning crew, getting peppered with questions about what I was doing. I remember putting in several 18-hour days early on. I discovered the magical effects of caffeine, and it pushed me through my efforts to make an impression on everyone. No one could outdo me.

As you could expect, that lifestyle took a toll on me. Fast. I was so exhausted I couldn't think. I didn't treat people right. I stopped eating three meals a day and stopped lifting weights. I lost 20 pounds and all of my muscle mass in a very short amount of time, and I still haven't put that weight back on.

I told myself from the get-go I was on an all-out sprint. I moved to freakin' Connecticut for this, and I was going to continue on the fast track and surge past the competition, just like I always had. I always took advanced classes. I always played above my age group in basketball. I graduated college a year early and landed a really good job almost immediately after. Nothing would stop me from reaching my goal of becoming a sports media superstar one day. I didn't know how I'd get there or what exactly I wanted to become, but I knew I'd get there because quite frankly, I had never met a challenge I wasn't up for before.

Here I was, 21 years old, no college debt, making decent money at a dream job for so many people around the country. I remember it like it was yesterday (it was literally, like, seven months ago).

And I was miserable.

I had good days and bad days. I'm an optimist by nature, and I tried talking myself into positivity every day. It worked some days, but I could never sustain it.

But at one point about two months ago, I had a change of heart. All of my extra efforts landed me in some murky waters, which served as a wake-up call for me. I had to make a decision.

I decided to scale way back on my self-imposed w***load. I needed to focus on the things that really mattered.

To put it simply, now I'm putting in my normal 40-50 hours a week, only coming in before my shift starts when it's absolutely necessary. I've determined it's quality over quantity with relationships I'm building. I'm just focusing on my job that specific day, and nothing else. And don't take this the wrong way, I don't want to make it sound like I've stopped caring. No, I definitely care. I'm just dialing down the intensity, going from a sprint to a brisk jog.

When I'm not at the office, I'm filling my time with things I love doing. I like exploring towns and going to parks. I rarely go to the same restaurant twice because I love new experiences. I like talking to new people. I like reading and writing in my journal and this blog.

To all of my peers who have graduated from college within the past few years, my message is simple: You have two paths to go down. Actually, let's call them two roads, because my favorite CT craft beer is called Two Roads. In my 10 months of "adulting," I've already traveled down both, and I know which one I like more.

Road No. 1: You grind and grind and grind. You're determined to move up the corporate ladder as fast as possible. You want to make as much money as you can, because that's what you're supposed to do. That's the American Dream, isn't it? You're going to sacrifice a lot of your time for your job. You're going to forgo experiences and other cool things because "you're busy." You're going to go so hard that you'll drive yourself to misery, and miss out on forging a healthy lifestyle and great relationships. But it's all for the greater good, right? Because one day, it will all be worth it, right? You'll make a boatload of money so you can buy that big house with the granite counter tops you've always wanted. Because that's what you're supposed to want, right?

But, like many adults I've come to meet, you'll eventually dread your job and the life you've created for yourself. All of those material possessions won't fill the gaping voids of discontent in your life.

Let me now propose the less-traveled road.

Road No. 2: You've got a good job. It pays the bills and provides you with security. You like it enough that you look forward to doing it every day. You probably won't rake in as much money as you would if completely dedicated your life to it, but you'll learn to accept that and be O.K. with that. You put in your time and you shut down when you clock out. You stop looking at e-mail and all of the messages that Road No. 1 requires you to look at all the time. And when you're not at the office, you're focusing on the important things. Like, the things that really matter and make us who we are. That's your health, relationships, and personal growth. Your job takes up a big part of your time and it's important, but it doesn't define you.

Whatever it is that you aspire to do with your life, I'm telling you, you don't have to pursue Road No. 1. Like I said in the beginning, there literally is no one route to any job. No one path to success is linear. It's filled with ups and downs. You end up in places you never expect and come across all kinds of challenges and people that will change you forever.  Don't ever lock yourself into that tunnel vision mode like I did for the first few months of my adult life, because you'll miss so much around you.

And no, it doesn't make you lazy if you go down the second road. You go just as hard, but you're more focused. You actually become more productive as a result. You can take the first road and grind as hard as you want. Just know that, when you're 65 years old and sitting atop your boat load of cash, you'll likely look back with regret, wondering what could have been...

Road No. 2 seems like a winner in my eyes. Who's driving down it with me?

Troy Farkas is an aspiring blogger. Please feel free to leave comments below. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @TFark04.