Doing What You Love

"When you take a breath and look away from the spectacle it's amazing how absurd it seems when you look back."

Wise words from Russell Brand. Not that surprising really. The man comes out with real gems sometimes. However, this isn't about Russell, it's about me. 

As some of you may know, I recently got back from a three week holiday, two of which were spent by myself, driving around Arizona. Two weeks gave me time to think. I was made redundant just three days into the first week of the holiday, so there was thinking to be done.

There was no better place for me to do all this thinking than the desert. Miles upon miles of nothing but beautiful emptiness for me to ponder in. One thing that always strikes me while I'm away is the actual meaningless of so much which we think, at the time, is important. There is no better way to clear your mind than to get away from it all. As Russell says, in order to see how overwhelmed and confused we become, you have to get some distance. Over in the American Southwest, distance is what I got. 

"To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We've got it down to four words: "Do what you love." But it's not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated."

I spent a lot of my time thinking about what I really wanted to do, what really makes me happy, what parts of my previous jobs did I really enjoy doing, and what parts of them were the kind that made you want to roll over in bed in the morning and close your eyes again. It didn't take too long to realise that much of what I had been doing fell into the latter category, and that the bits that didn't, I really, really enjoyed. So how to do more of the stuff that I enjoyed? How do I do what I love? Go at it alone. 

Freelance. A scary word, but one that has been floating around in my mind for a few years now, and I know that if I don't do it now - at this perfect opportunity - then I'll kick myself very hard, in a very short amount of time. So that's what I'm doing. Digital copy freelance. Prattle & Jaw is no longer just a blog, it is a company. It's a company that will create simple and strong copy for effective online communication, no matter if it's translation from Danish to English, conceptual copy, or good old fashioned PR and news.  

It's an exciting and scary time, but it's a time that so far, I'm loving. It feels right. It feels like one of those moments when you wonder why you didn't do this sooner, but know that if you had, it just wouldn't be the same.

Fingers crossed everyone, and you know where to come if you need some good copy. 

Hmmm. I should do what I love