I can’t believe it is mid August already! Time flies by SOOOO fast… Ethan is 10 weeks old now and is getting bigger and taller each day. We just had our 2 month doctor checkup last week and Ethan is over 25 inches (63.5 cm) and is 95 percentile in height. I have more reason than ever to get the basketball gear ready! Plus… he uses his left hand more than this right. Could he be the next lefty point guard?!
A few weeks ago, I had written about how life is full of changes… and I feel that I am still adjusting to the changes that fatherhood brings me. One thing I am happy to have “figured out” is my sleeping schedule and finding a time where I can be most productive and get my most important things done… and that time is 3:45am in the morning! I’m just a natural morning person and find it must easier to get things done in the early morning than staying up late at night.
My most productive hours where my creativity flows is in the morning… I just love the peace and quiet.
So, as you can guess, it is 3:45 am as I am writing this!
I guess what motivates me to wake up so early is the excitement of life! There is so much to be excited about… from seeing Ethan grow up… to working on new projects… to working my business…. there is just so much to look forward to everyday especially since time flies by so quickly!
But seriously… time flies by so fast. I used to get sad when time goes by so quickly cause I felt that my life was such a blur… but then someone told me that I should be happy because that meant that I was having tons of fun and my life was a blast. That was a good way to put it and totally changed my perspective cause I definitely remember how slow and miserable the days used to be when I had to sit 6 hours in the same classroom in elementary school in PS 102!
My friend Kevin Ou, recently asked me “how many hours a day do I work?” and my immediate reply was that “I worked productively (where my creativity is the max) for only 1 – 2 hours a day”… that is the time that I work on my most important projects… and “then the rest of the day is on lower priority stuff where I don’t need maximum focus/concentration”… Afterwards, I asked myself the same question that Kevin asked me… somehow I never consider the “rest of the day” as work even though it was work… so what was the correct answer to his question? After a day or so, I felt the correct answer to his question should have been “I am always working 24/7” or “never working!
And let me explain the 2 answers:
“I am always working” because as an entrepreneur I am always thinking about new opportunities and new ideas to implement. There is no “pause” nor “stop” button on my brain and there are always new exciting things to do.
but on other hand…
“I am never working” because I love what I do and never consider what I do to be work! To me, work is fun and it is part of my exciting life. So, if work is fun, is it still work then?!
The only thing I can say is that I am in this fortunate position because I am fulfilling my PURPOSE in life.
After reading Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren in 2003 and going through the exercises and drills in the book, I discovered that my PURPOSE was to “play a positive role in as many lives as possible.” Once that PURPOSE was defined, I actively chose a business and career that allowed me to fulfill that PURPOSE.
Once you discover your PURPOSE and work on something to fulfill it, life becomes so much fun!
So, how do you discover your PURPOSE?
Here is 1 way you can discover your PURPOSE: (I learned this from success coach, Jack Canfield)
1) List 3 of your unique personal qualities (for example, creativity, enthusiasm, discipline)
2) List 1 – 2 ways you enjoy expressing each of the 3 qualities when you interact with others (for example, to inspire, to support, to teach)
3) Pretend the world is perfect right now. It is a fun place to be in. What would the world look like? How would people interact? How would it feel? Write it down. (for example, Everyone is sharing ideas, teaching and helping others. Everyone is expressing love and living to their potential)
4) Combine parts 1 – 3 into a single statement:
My purpose is to discipline myself to use my creativity and enthusiasm to support and inspire others to share ideas and help others. Everyone is expressing love and sharing so that they can live up to their potential.
This statement is the first step and a “draft” but it will help you get started and then you can go back and refine it. But it is important because it gets you thinking of what your purpose is.
Once you have discovered your PURPOSE, you should do 2 things:
1) find a career/business that allows you to fulfill that PURPOSE
or
2) find how out you can fulfill your PURPOSE in your current career/business
One last advice is… don’t chase the money. There are many people who decide they will “go after the money first and then have fun later” but often they find themselves sucked into something they hate and the meaningful life of “fun” never comes. Instead, chase and go after your PURPOSE and the money will magically come. And even during the time when the money has not arrived yet, you will be much happier because you are fulfilling your PURPOSE!
Find your PURPOSE and once you fulfill it, you will see how much fun work and life gets. You will never be “working” again. Time flies by and you feel that everyday is an important day! You will find life so much more fun and rewarding!
And maybe we’ll be up together at 3:45 am “working”… just kidding!
Until next time,
Simon Chan
Brilliant!
Needless to state, there are an abundance of
lovely beaches about the island. St Denis is really a magnificent place to explore upon your
arrival in a Zakynthos apartment and obtain a feel
for that carefree, relaxed atmosphere. During the summer,
specially in August, the celebrated sea lily blooms in Zakynthos.
Je ѕuis entièrement d’accord avec vous