In my 25 years, I've only moved once, and that was just to another zip code, not even a new city. The idea of moving has always seemed daunting and impractical to me. Move on from a city I’ve put 25 years of work in? I am currently interviewing with an exciting company, and for the first time, I'm considering leaving Houston. This isn't a decision I make lightly. In this Substack, I'll dive into my thoughts and reasoning behind this potential move.
Interesting: Moving in the United States (via 2020 U.S. Census Bureau)
Lifetime Moving Rate:
The average American moves approximately 11.7 times in their lifetime
The average American moves every 5-7 years
Annual Moving Rate: Approximately 9.8% of Americans moved between 2019 and 2020, which is one of the lowest rates in decades.
Reasons for Moving:
Housing-related reasons (48%)
Family-related reasons (30%)
Job-related reasons (20%).
Other (2%)
Distance of Moves:
61% of moves were within the same county
19% were to a different county within the same state
15% were to a different state
5% were from abroad
Median distance moved was 11 miles
Moving sounds terrible because it uproots your life, disrupts routines, and forces you to leave behind familiar places and faces. The logistics of packing, transporting, and unpacking your life is just the beginning; the real difficulty lies in building new connections, finding your place in a new community, and creating a sense of home all over again. There is also no guarantee that this will work or that you will be happy.
At 25, every path feels like a long journey and a commitment. This terrifies me because the things that provide me fulfillment are constantly changing. The cruelest thing about being human is that we are forever restless, never satisfied, constantly yearning for what we don’t have. The job I'm interviewing for would have thrilled 18-year-old me, but to be honest at this point in my life I do not give a single fuck about a career anymore. I never saw these feelings coming for myself, I thought I would be dialed in.
“You know why I didn’t take the job? Because it’s too small! I don’t care about it! It’s nothing to me! It’s a bacterium! I travel in worlds you can’t even imagine. You can’t conceive of what I’m capable of! I’m so far beyond you! I’m like a god in Human Clothing! Lighting Bolts shoot from my fingertips!” Saul Goodman.
I have been watching Better Call Saul, and I can’t get this scene (link) out of my head. It struck a chord with me. True self belief is liberating. I travel in worlds you can’t even imagine. I have finally been starting to buy into Hasib. People say this all the time, but I am actually someone that can be anything.
I want to write movies, make coffee table books, DJ nightclubs, write poetry, design furniture, break foreign girls' hearts, create furniture, bake pastries, paint, run for office, everything! I want to create something that will be studied, be someone that inspires, and have a legacy that is immortal. I want women to want me, and men to want to be me.
But I have to be honest with myself—I'm not on that path. Things need to change in order for me to be who I want to be. I’m way too unhealthy right now, I am not talking to any girls that get me excited, and I’ve been chasing good times instead of good projects. If I were to get this job, I will take it. If I don’t get this job - I will find another one in some other place. I need to blow it all up (not because I’m Arab), isolate, and prove to myself that I am that guy, everywhere. This will be my last corporate job, and I will spend it learning how to be self discipline. In September 2025, I will remove the shackles, and I will start building my own legacy.
I try as much as I can to act with logic, not emotions, so I created a quantitative way to evaluate my life. Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I created a scorecard with key questions for each level, rated from 1 to 10. I tried to be as honest and as kind as possible while completing the table. It is clear I need the two categories I need to work on are Self-Actualization, and Love/Belonging. From now on, I'll fill this out every year on my birthday to track my progress. I will track my weight, net worth, Instagram/Substack followers, and number of contacts in my phone every year. I hope that all of you find a way to quantify your life, there can be no improvement without measurement. If you would like a copy of this excel file, message me and I will share.
The Digital Tombstone
Just a thought that has been on mind. In the digital age, our online footprints will outlast our physical footprint. What a crazy thing to have to be on top of. My brother and I are the last to carry our families name, and first generation Americans. The plan is to build an empire, to build a family of world changers. It makes me happy to think that one day my great-great-great-great grandson could be reading this article, or watching me celebrate the 4th of July in 2019 on my Instagram. Your digital tombstone lets you tell your story your way. I have always treated my Instagram as a digital tombstone for my memories, and I consider this Substack the Digital Tombstone for my mind.
On Repeat
