Are You Where You’d Thought You’d Be 1 Year Ago?
Doing What You Love
Are you doing what you love?
Mike’s Blog 149
Year end is approaching. We are all probably thinking about what we are doing with our lives. This comes up naturally during holidays, birthdays, and of course year end / year renewal.
I was able to ask some friends about what they are doing on the video and if they are where they thought they’d be 1 year ago. This topic was sparked from Robbie at Wett Woods – he has a wood working workshop in Shenzhen, China. I have gotten to know him over the years as we both are new dads and have kids hanging out. He had always wanted to have a business where he could practice his craft of woodworking. He’s making cutting boards, piggy banks, Christmas decorations and more. On top of that he has interactive workshops where kids can learn how to cut wood and also practice English at the same time.
Its awesome to see him taking action and making it happen. Have heard him talking about this for a couple years and to see it come to life was awesome. Finally made it out to Shekou to see the shop and what he has been upto.
My friends at Shadow Factory are making things happen – Amit and Devin started this agency up a couple years ago now and I have seen it grow to a massive operation! A cool creative studio for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality experiences for brands and agencies here in Hong Kong and globally, they are taking action and following their dreams.
I think to follow our dreams is not as easy as the movies make it out to be. It is scary. It is going against the norm. Society, our friends, our family want us to take the safe and proven path. Don’t get hurt. Don’t lose money. Don’t take a risk. So if you are going to pursue your dreams, you need to go out there and do it.
For me, I am getting close to living my dream fully but I think it is an ever growing pursuit. Wendy said why it seems to be so hard – I think for everyone it is a challenge – even those massive companies you see. From the outside they look smooth and operating well – but on the inside it must be chaos and challenges on a regular basis. So my biggest tip for those who are brave enough to pursue their dreams in life is – don’t expect it to be smooth sailing. If it were easy then everyone would do it.
But at the same time, I really think that is the basis of life as a human being. To pursue our dreams and goals. To put “ourselves out there” and expose ourselves to pitfalls and risks. Staying comfortable is a natural human tendency, and we have to actively work on pushing ourselves out of that comfort zone.