Tuesday 21 February 2012

Winning the Lottery Would Change Everything, Wouldn't It?

After finishing my last blog 'One Step at a Time, One Foot In Front of the Other', another quote quickly came to me. This time it was one I thought up myself and is classed as a credited one if I may say so myself (we'll see).

You may recall from my last blog I said that in order to be happy in what you do, you should take the time to find out exactly what it is you want to do instead of doing everything at once. Well this made me think about that journey we will all endeavor and that end goal we all have in sight. It made me think that our personal fulfillment at the end of the journey would only be reached if the journey itself was enjoyable.

I, like many others, ask this question often: ''Can you imagine if I won the lottery''? Well no, I can't imagine actually, and I'm not sure that I want to either. This may sound a little bizarre at first, but where is the satisfaction in just being given a million pounds? Wouldn't that feel a bit of a let down to know you haven't worked or achieved anything in order to do so? Maybe that's where we go our separate ways in terms of philosophies, but I can quite adamantly say that I would rather bust a gut and enjoy a journey before I became rich.

I suppose ''Life's not about what you achieve, it's about how you achieve it'' can be applied to most, if not all, life circumstances. We've discussed the lottery situation, but what about something as simple as getting a job? Is it better to get a job by 'knowing a friend of a friend'? Or is it better to land a job knowing that you have got that job on merit, through hard work and constancy and are the best candidate for that job? Don't get me wrong, receiving a job through someone else is not a bad thing and that is not what I am saying, but it sure does feel better if you do it on your own.

All of this has made me think and realise that, it is all about the journey we will undertake and I guess the real question you have to ask at the end of it all is 'would I change anything'? If you can honestly answer that question with no, then nothing else matters.

I am on Twitter @DanOverboardNJ

Saturday 18 February 2012

One Step At A Time, One Foot In Front Of The Other

For my second entry I would like to follow on from my first, 'Life Changer', where I dissected a quote from Ricky Gervais. That quote being ''If you love your work, then you'll never work again''. You could call this 'Life Changer - Part 2' (but don't).

In 'Part 1' I recalled on myself being ready to live a life after graduation that was set in stone, even going as far as knowing when and where I would retire. As pleased as I am to know that I am in the transition of seeing the bigger picture in terms of a career, it has opened up a whole new can of worms as to what I actually want to get out of my life.

What will I do as a career? How will I earn money? Am I too good to work for someone else? Those are just some of the endless questions circulating in my thoughts and have been for quite a while now. I cannot answer these questions just yet, partly because I do not know the answers but I think it goes a level deeper than that. Now that I am realising my true freedom and potential, I am struggling to find out how I will become happy in doing what I want to do. It boils down to having so many options now that I don't what or where to start first.

And for good reason. There are simply so many things I want to experience, milestones I want to accomplish and endless places I intend on visiting. I have found it hard to accept the reality of not being able to do these things right now. Not only because I do not have the resources to do so, but for the fact that I wouldn't be able to truly enjoy everything if I was doing it all at once. I have tried that method over the last six months and have got nowhere. It has all been a bit of a blur.

I guess what I am trying to say is that in order to find that thing I want to do, that place I want to visit, that career I want to pursue, I'm going to have to do it one step at a time. A nice quote to finish on then that I think is relative to anyone and is from a song from a band I haven't given much time lyrically to, but actually talk sense. It goes ''One step at a time, one foot in front of the other''. What I take from this is that there simply is no short way round and even if there was, that would be cheating. Where's the fun in that?

Until next time, have a think about what it is you actually want to do and how you plan on doing it. I know I will be.

Twitter is cool @DanOverboardNJ

Saturday 11 February 2012

Life Changer

For a long time now I have had  frequent discussions that have been both detailed and heated at times with peers and fellow students about certain beliefs and philosophies, and now I think it is time that I write these conversations and thoughts down to hopefully educate and inspire others. If I can do this to just one person then my job is done.

I have decided that the first entry into my 'diary' shall be a quote that can apply to absolutely anyone in any field of work, by a man who has played a huge part in my way of thinking in recent times. That man is Ricky Gervais, obviously. Ricky has enjoyed a huge rise to fame in the last decade off the back of hugely successful shows including The Office, Extras, Life's Too Short, and of course, The Ricky Gervais Show. Despite this, I have only started enjoying and admiring his work for the last year or so, but boy has it been a hell of a year.

He has opened my eyes up to the world for what it really is. Before I went to University I was possibly the most close-minded individual one could meet. Back then I would argue this fact but I am now the first one to admit it. I had everything planned out in front of: what I was going to do as a profession, what music I would listen to and even what age I would retire at and where (Miami).

The ten-word quote is, amid many of Ricky Gervais' works, the most true and applicable of all. ''If you love your work, then you'll never work again''. For me, this has set my vision and outlook straight. It has given me a new lease of life. It has lifted that monkey off my back and it has allowed me to be more creative and move away from the black and white future I was faced with eighteen months ago. 

Take what you want from this, if anything at all, but what it has taught me is that whatever I do in life, work or personal related, "just enjoy it".

I like Twitter @DanOverboardNJ