When I began this at the start of the year I thought of the future and what it would mean. As I started working evenings, mornings & part of the weekends I sometimes wondered when I’d next have proper time off. But I never doubted if what I’ve set out to do is right for me.
I’ve always known what I wanted. Not always in clear or precise terms but always in the form of an end vision or as a “what I don’t want”. I know what type of life I want to live and I knew that long before I met D. When I did meet D the wish but also need for that life grew stronger. We come from different countries and our families live in different countries and that adds some logistical challenges to the future when family life is involved. Staying longer than expected in the UK and in London where the days and the commutes are much longer than what I was used to back home, also made the need for certain parts of my life vision to come true sooner rather than later.
Though I’m not the young entrepreneur kind who’s been doing this since my early days I’ve always wanted to shape things and have influence over my own future. The one just around the corner and the one further ahead. My previous line manager at my last permanent job here in London, and probably quite a few of my old colleagues, would, if asked, confirm how I used to let things in the work environment get to me a little too much. I improved on that over my years there but deep down I’ve never really been able to let it go. The urge to influence, shape and have a say has always been there and only grown stronger. And I don’t mind admitting that I’ve never truly liked being told what to do, or that I really don’t like being told what I can’t or shouldn’t do. I want to have a say and be able to influence the direction something is going and with that I’ve always known that one day I’d probably start my own thing and be my own boss so to speak.
Over the years I’ve worked with some really talented people and more and more cross my path the further I get into this, the teaching and speaking. I absolutely love it and I wish that I could work with all of you. Though all might be pushing it I’m pretty sure that I can work with many of you in one way or another and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve set out to start byflock. And as I’ve grown into my byflock shoes a bit more and have had nearly a year reflecting and becoming more comfortable with talking about us, our products and vision, now I can talk for hours about the why and what of our goals. We may only reach a fraction of it but just by doing that I will have accomplished what I set out to do. This whole thing – byflock, working on our own products, speaking and teaching and one day hopefully becoming a proper entrepreneur, all this is about making dreams come true and build the life I want for myself, the type of life D and I want and hopefully help people out there make their dreams come true. And as cheesy as it may sound even if it’s by just a fraction of a millimeter I want to rock the world slightly on its axis and make it a little bit better. That is why I do this and that is what keeps me going and what will keep me going when I’m not too long from now working even more than what I am at the moment. And to those out there who say that running a successful startup or being a successful entrepreneur and have a family life isn’t possible, just you wait. There’s plenty of us out there who are determined to make it work and others who are already doing it.
Tomorrow – Day 297 | My first lightning talk at Geeky
Image source: www.flickr.com/photos/nicopierce/5492971031
