Full Circle Moment

Full Circle Moment One of my fondest childhood memories was family dinners with my brothers and cousins. Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:08:11 GMT https://healthandfreedom.substack.com/p/full-circle-moment One of my fondest childhood memories was family dinners with my brothers and cousins. Every Sunday we’d get together at a different house.

I remember vividly sitting on a big red couch in our basement huddled around the big TV (now looking back it was tiny).

My Mom was strict about what we watched. But most my cousins were older than me. So when they were there, we’d watch a show I wasn’t usually allowed to watch, which made it extra special.

The show was called Zoey 101.

“Teenager Zoey settles in at her new boarding school in Malibu and makes a wide range of new friends. The Pacific Coast Academy used to be a boys-only school, and since the girls have arrived so has the romance. Zoey and roommates find their way together facing teen topics from a light-hearted perspective.”

~ IMDb

The show took place in a beautiful, dreamy location. It was a fantasy school. I remember thinking to myself, “I want to go there someday,” not knowing where there was. It didn’t hurt that Victoria Justice was a lead in it too haha.

Fast forward to a little over two years ago, May 2022…

I went to Los Angeles for the first time for a retreat, staying at a friends in Venice. When I got there I had a random itch to “just run.” And the Forest Gump in me took over.

With no plan, I ran to the beach and turned right towards Santa Monica Pier.

I saw the mountains in the background and immediately thought to myself, “I’m getting to those mountains.”

Keep in mind, at this point in my life I don’t know if I had ever run more than 3 miles at a time.

Finally, after no idea how long and no idea how far, I reach the mountains. I saw a bunch of surfers right ahead which intrigued me thinking, “this is my kind of place.” (I don’t surf yet but I like surfers and surf towns).

The trail was done so it was either run on the beach by the rocks, run on the Pacific Coast highway, or turn back.

I accomplished my mission of reaching the mountains so I decide to turn back. Plus I’m sure people were wondering where the heck I was.

But before leaving I remember reflecting to myself, “one day I’ll make it to the other side of these mountains.”

Fast forward one year…

I am now back in the suburbs of Philly, where I grew up. My company is about to start a fundraiser and I am leading the charge.

So I think to myself, “where is the most money for this type of company?”

Sandhill Road in Palo Alto, CA. This is where 50% of all Venture Capital dollars in the world come from.

So on a whim, with little thought, I pack up my tiny suitcase and move from Waverly Circle, PA to Waverley St., Palo Alto, CA, knowing absolutely nobody, having no place to move to.

Fast forward three months…

It’s now June. I moved to Palo Alto in late March (right after Silicon Valley Bank crash… Ik bad timing).

But my brother was graduating from high school and some other family things were going on so I decide to fly home to Philly for a week.

While there sitting by the fire, my long lost cousin Patrick sits next to me.

Pat has been in Kauai for 6 years so we haven’t seen each other much. He just happens to randomly be home at the same time.

He was my closest in age guy cousin, was the reason my parents called me by my middle name (my full name is Patrick Shaughnessy Ziegler), and people in high school thought I was his mini-me so we were close when we were younger. And he was one of those older cousins I watched Zoey 101 with haha.

We catch up and he goes on to share that on his way back to Hawaii he is stopping at a retreat his friend Chef Thomas is hosting in Joshua Tree, California and invites me to join him since I am already heading west to Palo Alto.

“Sure, why not,” I tell him.

I land at LAX and Chef Thomas’ friend Nic picks me up at the airport. Not knowing where specifically we are heading, we drive to where Thomas & Nic live before heading to the Joshua Tree desert.

I see the mountains again. And we are heading towards them. I see the surfers and with them a sign welcoming us to Malibu, California, the land behind the mountains.

This moment alone was full circle. But it spirals further.

Maybe this post should be called “Full Fibonacci.”

We pass Malibu Pier and turn right. We didn’t just go past the mountains, we are now heading into them.

We arrive at Chef Thomas and Nic’s home. They live on a community farm called Laudamus Farms, tucked away behind Serra Retreat Center surrounded by mountains. We are in the mountains.

The first thing I see, a new friend Dom building a sauna. Those who know me, know how much I loved saunas. Back in Philly I would sauna everyday encouraging others to do it too. But in Palo Alto, none of the gyms had one. So when I saw this site, I felt home.

We go to Joshua Tree for the retreat and return back to the Malibu farm on Nick and Amy’s bus, a family who lives on the farm as well.

Having hard time leaving, we extend our stay from 3 days to 3 weeks sharing a tent between me and Pat.

Finally we depart heading to Kauai, Hawaii and then back to Philly next. During this time, Nic who originally picked me up at the airport in LAX asks if I want to move into a house on the farm in Malibu with him.

I had zero intention to move to Malibu. I moved to Palo Alto for a specific reason and the job was not done.

But it felt like I was meant to be there. I was drawn to run to that mountain for a reason.

I said yes and on July 31, 2023, a few weeks later, I fly back to LAX and move to Malibu.

Now fast forward to a year later, last week, July 2024.

It’s been almost a year in Malibu, a transformative year to say the least.

I formed deep bonds with the community and now have new life long relationships.

A few weeks ago one of those community members, Tara, asked me to speak to her summer high school class at Pepperdine University on entrepreneurship.

The day before the talk, I got some news.

Something came up with the house I was staying in and we had to move out. This was sad news to hear we had to leave.

It put me in a state of reflection over the past year. I considered cancelling the talk. But I committed to it and wanted to hold true to my commitment.

So the next day I walked into Pepperdine University barefoot and passionately delivered my talk to 14-17 year old high schoolers on using entrepreneurship as a way to produce beauty rather than feed into greed.

As I was driving 5 mins back home all fired up haha looking down from the beautiful Pepperdine University view of the Pacific Ocean, it hit me…

That show I used to watch and wish I was a part of as a child, the place I dreamed of living in, was now the reality that I was in.

Zoey 101 took place at Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA with a group of high schoolers.

I now live in Malibu, CA and gave a speech to a group of high schoolers at Pepperdine University.

Maybe the childhood memory was the initial draw I had to those mountains when I first got to LA. Now me living here is turning those dreams into reality.

A Full Fibonacci moment…

I have nothing but gratitude for my time here in Malibu and based on this past year, I am excited for what comes ahead.

Maybe I should reflect back in my childhood to predict whats next? I think not. I’ll just surrender to wherever the winds blow because that’s what lead me here in the first place.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

With Truth & Love,

Shaughnessy

P.S.

The run from Venice to Malibu is 10 miles there and 10 miles back. I ran 20 miles unplanned to get to those mountains when the longest I had run before was probably like 3 miles. The child in me really wanted to see Malibu.

P.S.S.

In Malibu, I live in a house with my cousins Johnny & Patrick on Laudamus Farms with many neighbors including Nic (who originally picked me up), Thomas (who helped host the retreat and was the reason I visited in the first place), and 20 others.

Patrick and Thomas are now dating different girls named Zoe who live there as well. I have never met anyone named Zoe until them.

P.S.S.S

Fast forward to this moment now…

As I write this, Nic, the person who picked me up at LAX airport just returned from London and is sitting next to me.