Live Like You Were Dying

We all have choices. Some are easy, some are torturous, some are fun, some are painful, some go right, some go wrong.

 

But at the end of the day, and in the words of a line from the Shawshank Redemption: 

 

“It always comes down to two choices. Get busy living, or get busy dying”

 

Do It Again

Reading back over some previous blogs it's interesting how some things go full circle. A few years back I had mentioned that I'd met up with a friend that had left my the company I was working for and was taking the massive step of trying out private enterprise. At the time I had praised his guts and vicariously felt the excitement of him taking this massive step. He was at complete peace and, as he put it, held no fear "for the first time in my life."

Well, fast forward to now and I'm in that said same space - out of the company, trying something new, and naturally stuck somewhere between a little hesitant meets excited. Before I was able to appreciate as an observer - but that's nothing like being fully in the mix yourself. Circumstance pushed the situation but it was an idea that had stewed in my mind for a while. And I was once told that any new insight that doesn't lead to action to help the quality of your life is just a waste. My friend seems to have gone from strength to strength. So hopefully I'll be able to chart a similar trajectory over time and note it in this blog.


 

Life's What You Make It

"Life is like a game of snakes and ladders. There are going to be good times and bad times, but you have to keep throwing the dice to stay in the game."

That's what you get to hear when you're sitting in a coffee shop, reading the paper and earwigging the table next to you. Well, at least that's what happened to me the other day. Two people chewing the fat about life, love and soap operas. And it seemed quite apt for me to hear it as well.

Things have taken a bit of a turn in recent months. I recently left my job, broadly by "mutual agreement", and I'm taking some time out to find some new direction and get some head space.

I've been thinking about it for some time and I provisioned accordingly for time away from the workforce. Still, it is pretty scary. I know there will be ups and downs along the way, but hopefully at the end of this crazy journey I'll be able to say "at least I tried", regardless of the outcome.

So I'm just going to have to keep throwing the dice and live the life I'm destined to live. That's the plan anyway. And at least I get to spend time in a few more coffee shops in coming months as well...

Wishing On A Star

“It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are still alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger for them.” 

- George Eliot

We Don't Need Another Hero

So often we look for inspiration from those that have done amazing things, yet your only connection with them is through the TV or the words written in some glossy magazine. We could be talking about Oprah, Mariah, Madonna - any number of individuals you'll never actually get to meet.

And looking outside for guidance is only right as we all have limitations and many of these exceptional individuals have achieved all sorts of crazy things from the hardest of upbringings. But at the same time, let's not get sucked into the cult of celebrity. These people are as human as the rest of us and, let's face it, a fair few Lance Armstrong posters have been thrown into the bin in recent months.

So rather than idolising complete strangers and placing them on pedestals, sometimes it's worth looking a bit closer to home. I'm inspired by my older sister's thirst for learning and goal of continually stretching herself academically; my younger sister's focus, drive and continued commitment to her calling in lay preaching and writing; my nephew's commitment from a young age to be his own boss, developing enterprises and passive income initiatives. I could go on. These are everyday folk that we can all readily relate to - and, in my case, actually be related to - and that can only be a good thing.

Back To Life

Blog, dear blog, it's been a while. The trouble with having grand designs but very little discipline is that the grand designs tend to gather dust rather easily. To put it another way, I haven't quite found or, in fact, made time for this blog. Hopefully I'll be able to turn that around in 2013.

But one thing that I have found enjoyable of late has been to look back at previous blog entries from a year or two ago. Ok, it's not Shakespeare and I can't imagine future generations poring over the nuances in the writings, but I'm kind of proud and sometimes inspired by the stuff I've written. That's all I ever really wanted in the first place anyway.

E=MC²

I failed an exam yesterday. I haven't got the results yet, mind you, but it's not one of those false modesty things. "Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine - you're quite bright." No, I pretty much failed.

But I'm actually quite fine with it. Very fine with it, in fact. Like every Tom, Dick and Harry I've had a penchant for wanting to run away from failure. Don't take risks - that way you can't fail. Don't commit - that way you can't fail. Don't follow a path - that way you can't fail. Well, this time I did risk, commit and follow a path - and I failed. And you know what? It feels fine.

We all know the platitudes about failure is an opportunity in disguise, how all the great inventors of our time had failures before that breakthrough success, if at first you don't succeed....etc. Well, in the real world it's not always that easy to accept so truism. We've fed our ego with some much garbage, it's no wonder we can't always accept when something doesn't work out.

But for the first time in a long time I'm comfortable with the idea of being willing to "make more mistakes". I know that it will toughen me up a bit and actually give me a bit more focus for next time. For once I'm able to leave the ego at the door and be honest with myself. Cool.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Question: Mr Tyson, can you rank top 3 heavy weight boxer of all time please?

Answer: Ali is undisputed number 1 of all time.

Question: Who is number 2 and 3?

Answer: After number 1, rest just don't matter!