I have the great pleasure to introduce you to our next month’s theme – Love Life.
Working for Do What You Love does mean that more and more hyperbole appears in sentences that you either write or speak, love being a perfect example. This is not a coincidence!
I certainly do not want to get all bohemian on you but when you find that right direction and combine it with the right balance, life becomes one great adventure. And living that adventure becomes the reason you jump out of bed every morning. It is only natural that you want to share this with your family and friends, and in our case through Do What You Love to the whole world.
As you may be aware if you read this blog often, my life has changed massively over the past couple of years. I have reflected and written retrospectively about my experiences in my old career and during my time in Japan, but now, given the new theme, it is time to dedicate this month’s posts to the present moment.
Depending on your religious beliefs you may well have different views on what life means and the value of it. I believe that we get one shot at it so I am going to make damn sure that I use my time to live it to its very maximum.
What does living life mean to you? Is it grasping every opportunity that comes your way? Is it dedicating it to a good cause? Is it experiencing as many things as possible? Is it about being happy? Or could it be described as leaving a legacy for the next generation? I think it is most probably a combination of them all with lots of others thrown in depending upon the individual. For me it is Doing What You Love.
Doing what you love does not mean drinking cold beer all the time, constantly sunbathing, not working or necessarily getting rich. Doing what you love is finding the right balance in your life to ensure you remain enthused, interested, motivated and healthy. For example, a cold beer tastes so much sweeter when it is earned and sun bathing may be a much needed re-charge of the batteries after being cold or cooped up inside.
Although I have changed career some of my favourite memories of the summer have been spent ensuring huge concrete pours go off (literally) without a hitch. Then having a cold beer and sharing that achievement with my work colleagues. The trouble was the good days were hugely outweighed by the not so good. This balance of my life had to be readdressed. It would be considered stupid to continue down a path so out of proportion.
“Life’s hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.” – John Wayne
My life now finds me down in Brighton. For those of you not from the UK it is directly below London on the coast. It is vibrant, diverse but has a sense of perspective about it. And like most coastal towns/cities it has a relaxed and laid- back undertone to it. Most mornings I wake early and go either running or cycling along the front. This way I manage not only to get my exercise in for the day but also to enjoy the view with a few select others before the crowds flock. It is also my time when the world and my thoughts are mine alone. Priceless.
I return home and shower before most have even woken up. This early bird routine has been with me since my paper rounds at the age of 11. Personally I think it really is hard to beat an early morning, when the air is fresh and the optimism that a great day is in-store is still a reality.
Another advantage of living by the sea is eating on the roof terrace. Nothing special, but it is a quiet private space where my wife and I eat, plan, laugh and look over the rooftops out to sea. Every now and again we do hold our breath as another seagull flies over our heads waiting to see if we are going to be their next victim(!) but that is a small price to pay… I guess gazing out to sea encourages you to dream. Well this is how I feel life is now. Limitless!!
I then work. Yes work! We are forging our own path and we both truly believe that the world will be a better place if more people were doing what they loved. This is a hugely motivating ideal, which I am sure we can help others achieve. So every email that is sent or blog post written or course content devised may just be that little part of someone else’s day that makes all the difference.
I allow time in the day to go to the gym and to get outside. One thing I miss in particular about my previous career is the outside element of the work. For me now to sit behind a computer all day would be hypocritical, boring and unhealthy. It just isn’t me. So to design my day to suit me provides the balance and variety I crave. We can all do this. The level of freedom we have may fluctuate be we are all in charge. So take charge.
After work we cook and chat about various things, whatever is important, humorous or even annoying! At the moment it is predominantly about the prospect of being parents. Then we eat. I have, do and always will love my food. Then most importantly we have some private time. We may walk, watch a good film or just read. The quiet moments are some of my favourites, then off to bed. What the next day has in store I never know but I can’t wait to find out. This hasn’t always been the case.
This is just a snippet of a common day in my life now. I have made changes to allow me to live it and enjoy it. Do not wait for someone else to live your life for you.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts and how you could readdress the balance in your life so it suits you better!
until next time…
Mr K
