This Guy + You

What do you do? Well, that depends. Like most people, I have a job where I spend a large portion of my day. There are also things I do that people could label as hobbies. A hobby is described as an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation. The first half of that definition is what I take issue with. In a roundabout way it implies that your main occupation isn't fun or relaxing. Granted, going to work isn't like a day at the park (unless you're a park ranger). However, you -- the person reading this -- have one task if you are not having fun at work. Find a new job. I shared this sentiment with a friend, and he claimed it was an immature view on the world. His assertion was that work is what we do to enjoy the rest of our lives. Sorry, don't buy that. Many of us (dare I say most) have been conditioned to think that work (i.e. our job) is this responsibility that we're reluctantly stuck with. But the fact that we need to work to support ourselves doesn't mean we can't enjoy the job.

So what do I do? I spend most of the day as a marketing guy at a software company. I spend time recording music and learning how to make films. I also spend time online, eating, watching (a lot of) movies, playing Scrabble, sleeping on airplanes, listening to music, driving short distances, and talking to people. There's a few more, but you get the gist. If I only told someone the first thing on this list it would be only a partial representation. Ironically, when we meet someone new it's common to ask, "So, what do you do?" When people ask that question they're really asking -- Who are you? If your occupation doesn't sum you up then you should work on a new answer. If your occupation does sum you up -- and you don't like that -- it's time for a new job. You can find a career that will feed your family, almost never give you a case of the Monday's, and really feels like a hobby. That may mean a slightly smaller house or a car you hang onto for a couple years longer. But the result is a type of fulfillment that you can't buy at the mall. As for me, I've found a great balance in the things that get me excited -- people, stories, and technology. Today when people ask me what I do, they sometimes still get the canned and insincere happy hour version. But if I'm talking to a real person and not a name badge, they get a simple answer. I have fun. From there a much more interesting conversation ensues.

The Tagline

Smile. Life is good. That's the tagline I've attached to this version of my site. That may seem like an aspirational statement, or one that is more applicable to some than others. Perhaps. However, perspective is a powerful tool. Life is what we make it. Turn lemons to lemonade. Yes, we've heard the cliches -- but these hold some truth. Not to say that there are no bad experiences. There are many. Still, the pivotal moment is not the bad experience, but our reaction. It is through our reactions and decisions that we are empowered. Bitter and defeated, or exuberant and victorious? We get to choose. Life doesn't always play out the way we have mapped it in our heads. The perfect wedding day. The million-dollar idea. The Hollywood star. We should have a plan, but the goal is direction not replication. If we focus on the latter we'll almost always be disappointed. Strong values, a personal vision, measurable goals -- these assets help us navigate the pitfalls. Our faith and attitude bring these assets to life. Together we should fear complacency, not the unknown. So don't concede to a common existence. And don't forget to smile. Life really is good.

Hello World

Places I've Lived - I currently live in Redmond, a suburb in Seattle, Washington. The map above show places I've lived for six months or longer.

International Trips - Bali / Barcelona / Beijing / Cannes / Capetown / Hong Kong / Jamaica / Johannesburg / London / Madrid / Mexico / Monaco / Nice / Paris / Rome / Singapore / Tokyo / Toronto

The Queue - Amsterdam / Bulgaria / Costa Rica / Dehli / Fiji / Hawaii / Iceland / New Zealand / Shanghai / South Korea / Sydney / Vancouver

The Site

This is version 9.0 of my personal website. Wow. The site was created out of necessity over ten years ago. Before blogging and social networking sites you had to create your own social graph. The process was much more tedious, but the people you called your friends really were. Now our RSS readers are overflowing with feeds and we can make new "friends" with a single click. I'm not down on the state of affairs, just a bit a nostalgic on how things used to be. Still, this is an exciting time to be online. It's amazing that I've been publishing personal content on the web for over a decade. Today it's less about our technical expertise and more about what we have to say. Boo-yah! That's one of the things that made the web so intriguing in the first place. This version of the site pulls together some of the other places where I spend time online. It really is a connected web. But it's not as complicated as it seems. People have been creating and sharing words, images, and sounds for a long time. The Internet is just the latest tool to help us tell our story.