Posted by Grant on May 23, 2008 – 8:29 am
A day that I’ve dreamed about has finally arrived. For the last several months I have been trying to build a business as a speaker and author in the work I do with students. As I have worked at this business, I have also been doing some side jobs to help make ends meet.
When I first set out to do this, I thought I might be able to make the jump to full time in about a year to 18 months or so. But yesterday I talked to a guy I was doing some sales work for and formally quit that position. So now, I’m 100% self-employed and any income we have coming in comes from the business.
Holy Crap, that’s a scary thought.
But we’ve worked extremely hard and to be at this point where I literally answer to no one but myself (and my wife of course!) is a great feeling. I love that we’re able to be in control of our own destiny by being in control of our day to day schedules.
In fact, on this first day of working for myself full time, I’m going to take the afternoon off to put together a swing set for my little girl. Why?
The weather is nice. I like to play outside with my little girl. Time with my girls is more important than any project I could work on. But one of my favorite reasons for taking the afternoon off:
Because I can.
What are you waiting for to pursue your dream?
Posted by Grant on May 19, 2008 – 12:31 pm
Filed under Family, Personal
So Saturday afternoon my wife and I went to the St. Louis Cardinals game and had just a killer time! A couple of factors contributed to the “awesomeness” of the day…
- Perfect Weather – it was 70 degrees the whole afternoon with a little breeze…nice
- Great Game – it was a very offensive game with 17 total runs and 31 total hits. My boy Albert Pujols hit a home run and the game ended in the 10th inning with a walk off homer!
- Best Seats in the House – we were in a private section on the 4th row right next to the Cardinal’s dugout. The seats even had built in TVs…easily the best seats I’ve ever had for a game.
- Plenty of Food – our ticket included a pregame buffet (which was amazing) plus all-you-can-eat food during the game with a server to take your order. We figured we ordered around $75 worth of food! The key word my wife wanted me to emphasize was “ordered”…we didn’t eat every bite of everything we ordered! We’re not that big of pigs.
- Hot Wife – yeah, my wife is really hot, so that’s a bonus.
Here are some pictures from the game:
Posted by Grant on May 14, 2008 – 6:35 pm
Filed under Blogs, Personal
I was talking with some friends the other day and we started discussing why people blog. A few of us in the group blog fairly regularly and a few others hadn’t ever really messed with it. So I started thinking through why I blog. Here are a couple of thoughts I came up with:
- I think blogging provides some degree of intrinsic value. It’s a daily discipline that I do to stay consistent.
- Blogging helps me to pay attention more to what is going on around me. So often because of our busy lives, we miss what is going on around us but if I want to have something of substance to blog about, I have to be aware of the world around me.
- Sometimes if I’m personally thinking something through or kicking something around, blogging is an outlet to help me process that.
- I like to think that maybe, just maybe, my writings will help/encourage/challenge/inspire others in their own lives. Hopefully I give you something to think about and chew on…
- In a sense, I’m also creating a diary, a “man journal” of my life. To think that my kids and maybe even grandkids could come back someday and read some of this is a cool thought…
- It is a good way to update family/friends on what is going on in my life. Things such as snakes that I kill or what time zone I’m in this week…
- I like the networking aspect of having a blog. I meet other people who have read my blog or come across it and don’t think it is a complete waste!
- Hopefully each time I write something, my writing is getting better. I’m working on a book right now and hope to write more books in the future and blogging is a good opportunity to hone your skills, or lack thereof.
- My mom reads it.
Part of the reason it’s important to answer this question, not just about blogging, but for anything you do, is so that you continue to evaluate why do you what you do. Isn’t it true how you may start doing something but then 6 months later, you’re not really sure why you started doing it in the first place? Or maybe you’ve been doing something the same way for years and you’re convinced you can’t change it because “you’ve always done it that.”
Think through your average day, week, month, whatever, and ask yourself if there are things you’re doing that maybe you should reevaluate the value of…
Posted by Grant on May 13, 2008 – 5:45 pm
I’m in Chicago for a few days speaking at some seminars and have had a great time hanging out in the city. Here are some pics from what I’ve been up to:
From my hotel room on the 22nd floor…Hancock Building in the back there…
From the Cubs game last night at Wrigley Field…
I walked a few miles around the city this afternoon so here are a few pictures from that tour…
Posted by Grant on May 9, 2008 – 7:27 pm
As I type this, I’m actually sitting on the plane, high above the clouds, headed back home from Chicago. I had a really great week of seminars but I’m wiped and ready to get home. Unfortunately, it will be a quick weekend because I fly back to Chicago on Sunday afternoon. So I definitely want to spend every moment I can with my girls between now and then!
Next week I’ll be in Tinley Park, Chicago, and Arlington Heights speaking at some seminars. They are all pretty close to one another so travel should be pretty simple this week. While in Chicago, I am hoping to go to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field on Monday or Tuesday night. I do have mixed feelings about this however, considering I’m a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan. So going to a Cubs game is somewhat sacrilegious.
To make up for it though, next Friday I’m flying to St. Louis to meet my wife and we’re going to the Cardinals game on Saturday. I definitely can’t wait for that. I’ll try to post some pictures from Chicago and from the Cardinals game for your viewing pleasure.
Stay tuned…
Posted by Grant on April 23, 2008 – 1:11 pm
I have to be honest…I really love my life! I have a smokin’ hot wife that I’m really fond of and I’m pretty sure she likes me back (most days). I’ve got an absolutely adorable little daughter that I love to play with. And I get to travel around doing what I love to do.
Life is really good…
What about for you though? Do you enjoy your life?
Sure there are things you might want to change and tweak but overall, do you really enjoy your life?
If not, what would need to change for you to enjoy your life more?
Do you enjoy your life? Why or why not? What do you enjoy most about your life?
