Serendipity has always been one of my favorite words. For me, just the sound of the word is appealing, simultaneously connoting both serenity (as in having the patience to await something wonderful) and the act of being adventurous (as in taking a "dip" into something unknown and delightful). Plus, it's just a fun word to say. So, when my childhood friend, John Lusk, suddenly quit his job as a high-powered executive of an exploding online company to go have fun for a while (we aren't 40 yet so it can't be a midlife crisis), started a blog and titled his first posting "A Search for Serendipity," you can bet I took notice. When I saw this picture of him serenely sipping a coffee somewhere in Croatia on Facebook earlier tonight, I knew he was well on his way...
Since I'm feeling a little landlocked at the moment (both literally and figuratively), I am welcoming this opportunity to live vicariously through him and his adventures and am confident that he won't let me (or you) down. He has graciously agreed to contribute his adventures and clever observations on life to the Soak Up Living blog but since he's probably zipping down a Turkish beach on an all-terrain vehicle at the moment, I am going to take the liberty to repost his last 3 blog entries for him. You can follow him yourself at http://www.johnlusk.net/.
A Search for Serendipity - John Lusk
I don’t have a ton of regrets. I might stress myself out analyzing the hell out of my decisions, but once I’ve made a decision, I typically don’t look back. Why should I? What’s done is done and you need to feel like you’re moving towards something. Now, all that being said, I do think it’s important to assess your choices and determine if you’d make the same decision knowing what you know now. A close friend of mine recently reminded me that the definition of insanity is doing something differently but always getting the same outcome. Not too sure if I got it right, but it sounded cool at the time, and if I’ve butchered the ’saying,’ I apologize. [A later correction from said friend on John's blog states that the definition of insanity is doing things the same way repeatedly but expecting different results...]
Three weeks ago, I chose to become unemployed for the first time in my career. I know, I know, you hear that and you’re like ‘what the hell are you thinking?’ I can assure that my thought processes are sane and that my decision was rational…should any of you think I’m a complete nutjob. So what am I doing? I’m going to take some time off and do some of the things I’ve always wanted to do, take a few risks I’ve always wanted to take and see if I can actually go to bed without setting an alarm. I’ve had opportunities like this before, and I’ve blown them both. The first time was after business school when I could have spent 3 months traveling through Africa and Asia (I chose to start a company selling computer mice out of my apartment in San Francisco instead). The second time was after selling the aforementioned company when I felt I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to help build a new group at Microsoft…and chose that option rather than taking some time to decompress.
So, for the third time in my life, I have the opportunity to simply live. History tends to repeat itself, and while I might be going about it differently, there is a good chance that I’m not able to relax and will feel the need to jump back into the fray immediately. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. But I don’t want the same outcome this time around. And what is that outcome? That a couple of months from now (or any period of time), when I’m busting my ass trying to grow a company, lead a team, drive a business, etc..., I’m looking back a this brilliant period in my life and wondering why I didn’t take some time for myself.
Life is too short. And while taking this time off might be hard for me to pull off, I can assure you I’ll do my best to make the most of it.
John
Questions, comments, concerns? Feel free to comment on John's blog at http://johnlusk.net/2009/10/28/a-search-for-serendipity/
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