Mikey Visits: Indonesia
Indonesia is the first country I have visited upon leaving the UK for good. It was an incredible experience and this could have easily been a 20 minute video. However, keeping in line with one-song per video, I have kept it to just my most visual experiences.
Looking to take that next step too? Take it, it’s paying off for me.
The Happiness of Pursuit: Accepting Your Journey For What It Is
“The more we focus on our own personal happiness, the more it eludes us. In fact, it’s only when we’re otherwise engaged, you know; focused, absorbed, inspired, communicating, discovering, learning, dancing for heavens’ sake – that we experience happiness as a by-product, a side effect. Oh no, we should concern ourselves not so much with the pursuit of happiness, but with the happiness of pursuit.” – Hector and The Search For Happiness
I’m not chasing happiness. That doesn’t make sense. Happiness supposedly comes from within.
Whilst I agree, I also think circumstance and context do factor in. For example, I’m someone who likes the coast and sun. So in cold hidden away cities I may not be as happy with my pursuit. That said, this doesn’t make me unhappy, at all, not everything is going to take you to the peak of ecstasy. For that you go to nightclubs and talk to that dodgy looking guy with big pupils and enough sweat to fill a pool… I joke, I joke.
Trying to get your head around being unhappy, sad or depressed is not easy! I’ve struggled with balancing my emotions for a very long time, on and off – maybe I’m just normal? Even now as I sit on this plane thinking… why the hell did I just rush through Hong Kong to get to Australia, I’m not pursuing Australia, I’m traveling. I tunnel-visioned myself all the way there, rather than slowing down, opening my eyes and taking time to appreciate the opportunity. I rushed through it as if getting to Australia quicker would somehow make me happier. Sometimes a chill pill is needed to remind me, it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.
Which leads onto my next, yet, same, point… read more…
Moving On Part 2: Jump Right In, It’s A Beautiful Life
If you haven’t already, please read part one before reading this post.
Now that you’ve read part one and would seemingly be up-to-date on my current affairs, we’ll move swiftly along to the more exciting side of things. You could say that the last post was about closing things down; I stepped down from the company, I moved out of my home, I sold all my shit and now I’m sitting at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on a short layover waiting to board my flight to Bali, Indonesia.
But before we get into that. I’d like to thank all the people, you know who you are, who’ve made the last month in London so special. It was a privilege and honor to carry out my duties as one of three ushers at the Eales wedding. I also give special thanks to the same groom, again, as if it wasn’t for him I’d of not been to Ibiza this year on his stag and met one amazing little person in the ‘meditation chamber’. And of course, to everyone who saw me off in different ways throughout the weeks; with sleepovers, nights out, games of Fifa and a couple of well-thought out and hugely appreciated little gifts. Again, thank you all.
In total, my journey time is 26 hours… pretty damn long, right? I agree. In fact it’s somewhat longer when factoring in the time it takes to get to the airport and the faffing around in between. I’ve never had one this long before, previously my longest journey time was just over 19 hours and that was to Thailand.
Oh god, does this mean I’m a travel blogger now, because I’m traveling, and blogging, and generally writing about my life as if anyone cares that much? As you can see, I tend to write what I’m thinking directly into my posts too, even when it has nothing to do with the topic whatsoever.
So where am I going? And what am I doing?
Well, as it turns out I can’t answer that question accurately. However, I have some basics to inform you of, so we’ll just do that for now – and you can get the rest by following my blog and seeing where the next post comes from ;)
As stated above my flight is to Bali… read more…
Moving On Part 1: What I’ve Learned From Directing My Company
So, after around seven years working full time, which in the traditional British sense would push my age closer to 28-30, I’m now 24 and bored as fuck with my day to day routine. Allow me to sum up what’s happened over the past four years, as those have been the most significant.
- Worked at an agency as a search engine marketer.
- Moved out of my house to get away from the unnecessary disputes and dilemmas of my family, causing substantial pressure to understand life quickly.
- Started a business, Right Casino Media, with my closest friend, David – incidentally, whose house I moved into.
- Moved into my first flat with long term girlfriend, Hayley.
- Mutually broke up with said girlfriend due to changes in life plans and circumstances.
- Decided to take a sabbatical; sold everything, got rid of the flat, went on a road trip for a few months, came back to said friend’s house.
- Had an increase in finances, have used this to take many, many trips to new and exciting places.
- While not disagreeing with my business partner, our wants and needs changed, leading me to fall out of love with our business and personal lifestyle.
- After many changes in the way I feel, think, and act and an eye-opening trip mid-2014, I decided it was time to; sell my business, sell my stuff, book some flights and change my life once and for all.
- After months of planning, organisation and mixed feelings I’ve now; sold my business, am finishing selling unnecessary stuff and have booked my flights.
So how did I get here?
Ah man, who knows what’s going on. Many of the things I’ve done have not been written about yet – trips I’ve been on, learnings from my business and life experiences in general. Fear not though they will all be covered over time.
This story is about the latest business side of things…
To make the decision to leave I went through a very simple process of pros and cons, combined with a thinking time deadline. With all the pros and cons together it was easy to see what the right path was. Though really, I didn’t even need the list as I’ve learned to trust my gut over the years. All the best choices I’ve made have been listening to my feelings and inhibitions, and the worst? You got it… going against them!
With all things considered I felt like it was time to shake things up… read more…
2014 So Far: Morocco, Illness, Taylor, Iceland, Office, Anxiety and Laura
I’ll be honest; it’s been a rather poor start to the year for me in quite a few ways. That said, it’s also been rather awesome – does that mean it’s just normal or that I’m confused as to what life should be like?
In any other situation, I’d say “Let’s start with the negative stuff so we end on a positive, happy note. It’s always good to end on a smile.” However, I’d rather follow a timeline of events to-date beginning with the start of my year; it’s been a wild ride already.
January 1st, 2014 – Morocco Chewed Me Up and Spat Me Out
It’s true, it’s true. Whilst I was having an amazing experience, Morocco had another idea for me. The end of 2013 was a huge high – I’d made a new friend, this awesome lady Faye, and I’d explored a fair amount of Morocco considering my entire trip duration was only 4 days. I’d absolutely dominated Marrakech exploring every nook and cranny I could get lost in, chowing down on crazy food I’d never heard of and enjoying some ‘hashish’… look it up.
Sitting there feeling hazy, confused, guzzling a hot chocolate way too quickly, enjoying a rather pleasant conversation with Faye about the situation we were in – I felt liberated. I enjoyed a sense of freedom and was overwhelmed by the absolutely random scenario I had found myself in, it was brilliant, I’d met this lady just a few weeks ago on a separate flight and was now more than aware that I probably shouldn’t be intoxicated. I didn’t care though, it was awesome. I remember us both being amazed by the amount of youths on the streets at night; as I took another hit of the hashish.
I could talk Morocco for a long time, but I like to keep at least some things to myself… read more…
Highly Generic Update: Barely Worth A Read
Figured it’d be worth giving a small update. Lately I’ve had no single subject I felt the need to cover in detail, which usually leads to the procrastination I spoke about in previous posts. I hate the idea I haven’t updated my beautiful website though; so here’s some generic updates on my life.
Melanie Radliff
As per the last post, Melanie came to visit; it was quite awesome to be honest. It’s one of those situations where you do your best to show someone else a good time but never really know exactly whether they’re enjoying it – you know?
I got to re-explore London which was awesome and I certainly loved that she was able to experience something new. It’s the best when you can walk about a new city learning about someone else. Here’s us having a beer at a random pub.
Business Stuff
Business is tough, exhausting and thrilling. Hours have been in excess of 12 hours a day, and all members of the team put under strain.
This year has been a roller coaster ride for those involved in the affiliate industry. However, we have been able to stay on top and ride the storm. For a while things were very difficult… read more…