for W3c validation
Everyone has internal conflicts from time to time. Some big, some small. Maybe you don’t know whether your current career path is the “right” one. You don’t know whether you’re going to get an “4.0” on your next report card. Maybe you don’t know whether the person you’ve been dating for 3 years is “the one”. You don’t know if you should move to New York, or stay in San Diego. You don’t know whether you can continue to work for your boss without going crazy.
You get the picture.
Excluding sleep, you spend a greater percentage of your life immersed in your job than on any other single activity. Some people work more than they sleep, too. It’s safe to say, being conflicted regarding the activity you spend 1/3 to 1/2 of every single day thinking about is draining mentally. I know from first hand experience since I’ve been in that camp for the last couple years. When I departed from Seattle right after Christmas for SE Asia, my primary goal was to resolve my lingering career conflict. SE Asia happened to be a cheap place to live for a few months while I mulled my options.
As you can image, 5 months abroad earlier this year gave me plenty of time to think. Being 15 hours ahead of the time zone most of my good friends are on with no real set schedule (read: hard to schedule skype calls) meant a slew of emails being sent back and forth across the Pacific discussing a wide range of options. A few of my close friends are conflicted career wise as well, so it wasn’t a one way communication. Here’s a few of the conclusions I’ve reached:
- I miss working with a smart ass team on a crazy ambitious problem
- The challenge of creating an amazing product, and changing a vertical for the better, is extremely attractive
- The startup technology scene is where some of the smartest people in the world reside
- My mind isn’t being stretched to its limits traveling non stop
The difficult part in life is making decisions. Once you know what you want? It’s just a matter of navigating the waters, overcoming roadblocks, and crossing the finish line. And, if you haven’t already noticed based on my online activity, I’ve figured out my next step in life…
I’ve updated my about page to reflect the fact that Oh Hey World is now my primary focus. Currently, I’m in the developer recruiting phase looking for the right technical co-founder/CTO to build out the technology side of this company and get a prototype built. The vision? Still not 100% final, but think something to the tune of…
Connect individuals with relevant people, places, and activities nearby
You can read more about the long term vision over on the travel blog, or provide some feedback in terms of what travel scenarios you’d like solved.
It took 5 months of soul searching in SE Asia, but the “career direction” burden is finally off my shoulders. I haven’t felt this way about my professional work life since I got bored with Zillow in mid 2009. Suffice to say, they’ll be more thoughts on Oh Hey World going forward since it’s occupying the bulk of my time. Now, if only I knew where to build the startup from..
Lastly, of course I’d love it if you signed up to be among the first group of people to try the Beta once it’s ready.
