 |
| But much less predictable |
Seeing this graph, I've convinced myself to start tracking my mood with more structure. A friend created an app for doing so a while ago, time to give it a whirl I guess. It's called Illuum. It's made by Angus. He's great.
That reminds me of a website a couple of people have mentioned in the last couple of days. It's all about measuring various aspects of your life in a structured way. Check out Quantified Self for more. It's on my list of things to investigate.
Anyway... back on track! As I've already demonstrated, my mind is racing all over the place lately.
Here's why:
I left my steady job.
After four years with Verafin I decided it was time for a change. I had started there right out of university and grew up a great deal in that time. For the past two years I had been working remotely from Vancouver. At first that was a fun new challenge; we needed to find new tools for communication, collaboration, and organization. I could write a book about the ups and downs of that process.
As the company grew and departments became more specific, I found I had less and less responsibility. Perhaps this is an inevitable side-effect of growth, when you have fewer people everyone needs to do more. However, I also felt that working remotely was decreasing my opportunity for promotion and growth in the long run. I wanted more challenge, more control, and more human contact, so a few months ago I decided it was time to move on. I set September 1 as my hard deadline to transition into something new.
Over the years I had built some great working relationships which had evolved into friendships, so saying goodbye was difficult. My last day was emotional as I reconnected with some great people and we exchanged best wishes, but all in all the departure was great. Some of the best conversations were with the founders. Being entrepreneurs themselves they could completely relate with my desire to start something from scratch! My biggest piece of advice if you're changing careers is simply to be open and honest with the people it will impact. They will understand. If they don't then you're right to be moving on!
So on Tuesday, September 4, 2012....
I started working for myself.
That's scary to write. It means I'm responsible for generating revenue. Those are words I'm not overly familiar with, but I'm learning! It means I no longer have cushy health insurance, but I got my teeth and eyes checked out before that expired. How responsible.
During the last few months of my time at Verafin, my friend Justin and I had started working on a web app called Funl. We wanted to make a tool to help build good personal habits (i.e. going to the gym, reading, volunteering, etc) and track savings toward specific financial goals (a new bike, computer, vacation, etc). There's a lot more detail on the Funl blog.
So that's my new gig. I'm working on finding a way to make money at it. If you have any ideas or feedback I'd love to hear em!
To shake off the cobwebs I've acquired in working from home for so long, I've joined Launch Academy. It's a coworking space aimed at early stage tech startups, so I'm digging it! It's contagious to be around people with big visions, getting shit done. If you're interested in coworking talk to me, I've visited a few in Vancouver and can help you choose. If you like the sound of this, but live in St. John's, you'll want to check out Common Ground.
During the last few months of my time at Verafin, my friend Justin and I had started working on a web app called Funl. We wanted to make a tool to help build good personal habits (i.e. going to the gym, reading, volunteering, etc) and track savings toward specific financial goals (a new bike, computer, vacation, etc). There's a lot more detail on the Funl blog.
So that's my new gig. I'm working on finding a way to make money at it. If you have any ideas or feedback I'd love to hear em!
To shake off the cobwebs I've acquired in working from home for so long, I've joined Launch Academy. It's a coworking space aimed at early stage tech startups, so I'm digging it! It's contagious to be around people with big visions, getting shit done. If you're interested in coworking talk to me, I've visited a few in Vancouver and can help you choose. If you like the sound of this, but live in St. John's, you'll want to check out Common Ground.
I showed Mom around Vancouver.
I love being a tour guide! My mother owns a sewing and quilting company in St. John's, and was in town for a week for a sewing conference.
Some highlights included hiking the Grouse Grind and Whistler Peak. We also took in some Vancouver staples like Stanley Park, Granville Island, Richmond Night Market, and Na'am. The finale was the musical Jersey Boys. It's nice to have family visit. :)
Hawaii
This will be another post... it's too much to cram in here, but it belongs in the list of September 2012 activities. Check back soon.
First post down, any requests?
Finally, Thanks James
He'll likely never notice this, but the title of this post is inspired by this blog post about choosing yourself. James Altucher has been inspirational in the past year or so, as I've mentioned to many people. If you think you're like me at all then scan through the right column of popular and top rated posts on The Altucher Confidential and I guarantee you'll have a half dozen tabs open before you hit the bottom.First post down, any requests?
