Tony Nitti has been pursuing passions outside of work since before he even started his first job out of college. Having graduated a semester early, he had extra time before needing to report to the Arthur Andersen office, so he moved to Vermont to ski nearly every day. This lead to him pursuing other passions over the years, including racing mountain bikes, back country skiing, and climbing – all reasons he moved to Colorado. After narrowly surviving a brain aneurism several years ago, he’s now more committed than ever to these passions and maximizing his time here.
In this episode, Tony and I talk about how important it was for him to realize that he was completely removed from the things that made him happy by working longer hours and being stuck in a never-ending race to get the most billable hours. He says, "If I let the passions part of me die then everything in my life is going to suffer." Professionalism preaches a false hope that grinding out more hours is the path to success. It’s much better to feel satisfied in all areas of your life, realizing that your hobbies and passions are much more a part of you than your job is. These are also the ways that we’re able to connect with others in a stronger way. “The real skill I have isn’t my understanding of tax law but that I have the ability to communicate it with people because I am an actual person.”