My Trip To Google

I had the opportunity of seeing Google a few weeks ago and I know how unusual an experience it was, so I thought I would write down my experience. Thanks to my buddy Ryan, I was able to go on a tour on Saturday and it was awesome!  The day before, I went to the headquarters with my friend Junkyu and we just walked around the campuses in admiration.  I posted a photo of myself and reached out on Facebook and the rest is history.  Thank you social media . . .and Ryan.

The first thing I noticed was how beautiful and well kept the grounds were!  It really felt like I was on sacred work ground.  Every building had bikes for employees to use, called "G-bikes".  They are colored in the famous Google primary colors and thy aren't particularly special in anyway, but the fact that they are from Google makes them awesome.  I had the privilege of riding a G-bike and it was smooth as butter.

In front of every building, they have electric car charge stations and the cool thing is that they are being used. We weren't allowed to go everywhere, but we did go into a few buildings and unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures.  Every 150 ft. there are food stations that look like fully stocked kitchens filled with healthy snacks.  Fresh fruits, the best cereals, the best drinks.  It's all free!

Even the cafeterias are free and they have 2 that I know of.  One is made of all organic food and the other is a normal cafeteria.  Pretty amazing. My friend said that he hasn't bought groceries in 6 months ha ha.  How amazing is that?

The air quality is the best in the world.  The CEO and Co-Founder, Larry Page, is a big believer of air quality and wants his employees to breathe in the best air you can possibly breathe.

We went to the main amphitheater where they have their big announcements every Thursday (they call it TGIF, but it is held on Thursday, for offices that are in China, since it is Friday for them).  All of the chairs and tables are in the Google colors.
 
The building where Larry Page's office is fun more than anything.  He has a slide that goes from his office to the main floor.  The setting where he meets with "important people" is furnished with drink coolers, snacks, pool tables, arcades, and a foosball table.

Outside, we saw their swimming treadmills and they are free to use whenever.  It truly is an amazing place and would be so fun to work.  My friend absolutely loves working for Google and he had nothing, but good things to say. He works with amazing people from all over the world and their working stations are more communal than anything. He has done well for himself and I am happy for him!

The only downside to seeing Google was the depressed feeling I had when I left and realized I had to go to back to my job, which I actually loved before I saw Google ha ha.

It is no wonder why it is ranked the best place to work in America!  God bless you Google. 

Time and Money

TIME & MONEY.  Is it possible to have both?  Which is more important? Which brings more happiness?

I went to an International Dinner last week and one of my former professors, Ali Cook, spoke.  She brought up the point that in life, in regards to traveling, you either have time to travel and no money, or you either have money and no time.  Her point was that you need to travel when you have the chance and she put in a plug for studying abroad.

Anyone who knows me remotely well, knows that I love to travel.  I think it is the greatest and you could say that I have the traveling bug for sure.  The more places I go, the more I learn about other places I want to go.  It is amazing!  My entire life I have heard older people complain about TIME & MONEY.  They say that when you have enough TIME to do things, you don't have enough MONEY.  Or when you have enough MONEY, you don't have enough TIME.

5 years ago, I was living in Houston, TX.  I saw the commercials for the Nissan Cube and I thought they would be fun to drive, so I decided to test drive one. There was a Nissan dealership near our apartment and I went over one day after work.  I wasn't serious at all, I just wanted to experience the Cube. I had to drive it with a salesman, which kind of sucked, but it was still way fun.  My brother was in the back and it was like driving a living room around ha ha - ultimate space.  (does this story have a point . . .)  After the test drive, the salesman said that the Manager wanted to have a minute with me in his office.  I really didn't want to go, but I felt obligated and I was intimidated ha ha.  I was in their for 3 minutes and I bought the car with the worst interest rate you could get ... ha ha.  jk.
The Manager greeted me at the door and asked me and my brother to have a seat.  He asked me what my interest level was and I told him straight up that I was just looking around and that I wasn't in any position to buy a new car.  He asked me what was holding me back and I though about it and said, "Time and Money".  His reply caught me off guard.  He said, "Well neither of us can control time, but I can control the money."  I never bought the car, but I have always remembered his response.

2 years ago, I was working from home doing online marketing.  I was starting my business and wasn't making that much money, but I had time on my side and it was great.  I was going camping and fishing nearly every weekend and golfing almost everyday.  I really wanted to travel with all of the free time I had, but I didn't have that much money.  I was having a good time, but I wasn't content.

Last year, I added a full-time career at USU on top of my online marketing business.  I have consistently worked around 70 hour weeks since.  I have had plenty of money (not rich by any means), but I haven't had any time.  I think I went fishing once and I only play golf about twice a month now.  Now that I have more money, I would love to travel more, but I don't have much time.  I'm glad I'm working hard and have more money, but I am not content.

I ask again.  Which is more important, TIME OR MONEY? Is it possible to have both?  I have thought a lot about it over the years, especially this past week.  Having been on both sides of the spectrum, I feel like I need both to feel content.  I certainly believe it is possible.  I would define a rich man as having both and this is now my ultimate goal.  To have enough money to do what I want and enough time to do it in.  Sounds too good to be true.  Maybe it is wishful thinking.

What do you think?