Location: F'ton
I think it's important for me to put this out there as a basis of what I stand for in that whole "work-life balance" crap.
Yes, this is a fly fishing blog. But, as anyone who has read more than the last three posts, it's a little bit more than that.
What brought this on? A simple IM conversation I had with a fellow geologist.
It went like this:
Not me: "I would think a geology job would be a bit more ideal than working at a bar."
Me: "Yeah, you would think that. But I don't."
Not me: "Well..more respectable at least haha."
Me: "Respectable, huh? I work 18 hours a week, spend lots of time with my dog & gf & friends & other interests without being away 9 month of the year. That sounds respectable to me."
The thing is, I don't just work 18 hours a week. I work 18 hours a week as a bartender. I work my ass off throughout the day, every day. I'm currently working on geotechnical data processing from home. I help out the boys at BabZees Entertainment as much as possible whenever they're doing a show (I actually picked up members of Finger Eleven at YFC this afternoon). I help out at Fredericton Outfitters. I'm on the executive & am the bar manager at the Loyalist Rugby Club. I'm learning to write (hopefully well) and shoot/edit photos via this blog. I volunteer and/or fundraise for the Nashwaak Watershed Association & the Miramichi Headwaters Salmon Federation. I'm attempting to get Fredericton City Council to implement an idling bylaw. And I also get to have a life, girlfriend, dog, etc. In fact, I'm busy as shit & I'm looking to cut back on some of this to have even more time.
The kicker is, I do all of these things, whether they provide income or not, because I want to. Could I do them if I had a "respectable" geology job, being in the field 9 months of the year? Doubt it.
In 2008, I earned more income than I had ever imagined I would in a year. And I was miserable. It wasn't my job; I loved my job. But my entire life was my job. Things came to an end on December 5th, 2008, "due to current market conditions" (my favourite line in my lay-off notice). I had spent 13 out of 16 months in the field...being respectable...and had zero life whatsoever. And it was totally my fault. Not my former employers' fault; it was mine & mine alone.
The last two years of my life have been a total learning experience, and it's definitely not even close to being complete. Do I have all the answers? Hell no. But I can tell you this: I have never been so friggin' happy & content as I have in the last 23 months. Why? Because it's not all about work anymore. Or buying useless shit. Or wearing Banana Republic or Armani or any of that other crap you're "supposed" to wear. It's about appreciating what you have & doing what you love.
While laying on their deathbeds, I'm pretty damn sure nobody has ever muttered, "I wish I worked more" with their last breath.
I'll share two tales, one true, one not, with you. I read these back in early Ought-Nine. Both helped me regain my focus on what's truly important. And both are about fishing.
Tale #1: The true story (taken from Paul Myers' A Simple System to Achieve Your Goals):
A while back I went to a conference in Boulder, Colorado. It was a business conference, but I went because I was curious. There were two people who were going to be there that I wanted to meet.
While there, Jonathan Mizel, the conference organiser, told an interesting story. I'm telling this from memory, so I won't get it word for word, but you'll see the point, I think. It was about his first discussion with his new business coach.
Jonathan was really excited about the process. (He has big goals.) The coach asked him what he wanted to get out of their conversations. Jonathan said he wanted to get rich.
The coach asked him what he meant by rich, and Jonathan said he wanted to make a million dollars. The coach asked him, "What would you do if you had a million dollars right now?"
Jonathan thought for a second and said "I'd go fishing!"
To which the coach replied, "Jon, you don't need a million dollars to go fishing."
Jonathan does a lot of fishing these days. And he's moved from Colorado to Hawaii.
Tale #2: The Parable (what's a parable? Click here):
An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.
The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican fisherman replied he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The Mexican fisherman replied, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos: I have a full and busy life, senor."
The investment banker scoffed, "I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats until eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution."
Then he added, "Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"
To which the American replied, "15-20 years."
"
But what then?" asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions."
"Millions, senor? Then what?"
To which the investment banker replied, "Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
Understand now?
Here's some Finger Eleven. They're playing at the UNB SUB Cafeteria tomorrow night, check them out. Details here.
1 comment:
Great story so far!
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