I have a pre-announcement announcement to make. I am leaving my digital director job at Niche Media and my last day is… tomorrow. It is a conscious decision I made just over a month ago and the timing feels heartwarming and right. My affiliation with Niche started in July 2008 and over this time I’ve built up some absolutely amazing friendships that I’ll take with me for life. A very special mention to one of the greatest people in my world – Kylie, another to my long-term favs Matty, Sean, Liana, Jon and James. Then also to Martin, Jo, Brendan, Robbie, Bonnie, Matt, Alexa, Vicki, Aaron, Danielle and of course, my MD Paul for all the opportunities. There are many more people that I’ll miss – I could practically list the whole company. Most days I am choking with laughter at the jokes and wit in the office, and when we’re not working hard during the day (or evening), we’ve had lots of great Friday nights at our locals here in South Melbourne.
But, when one door closes, another opens. In my case, fortunately, many have opened. There are so many opportunities, choices and paths to pursue. It is a very exciting time – for everyone. But as time is precious, we need to choose where to put our focus. We need to work on things that matter to our very core. What mark do we want to leave? Where is our help most needed? I want to redesign my life with things (or lack of them) that I need and want in it. I want to challenge my being and grow to become the best person I can be.
I’m calling this a “pre-announcement announcement” and I’ve left it late to announce because I don’t have anything finite to share at this moment. I love sharing things with my network (as you’re all aware!) but in this case it’s been difficult to articulate one’s future existence in 140 characters!
A couple of weeks ago, I tweeted the following question: “Would you rather time or money?” Out of the 30 people or so who replied back, all said time (but with the complete understanding that money buys time). Right now, I am incredibly time poor and I have a 20,000-word marketing thesis to submit by late June. Therefore, my next step is to focus on getting this task done. I also want to spend some time on what I’ll call the four Rs – reading, running, researching and reflecting. This will be a welcome micro-break as I’ve worked constantly since I was 15 years old. I fear that I might not get this chance again so want to enjoy it while I can – although, my iCal calendar is already looking a little psychedelic and I’ve got some event and speaking commitments in Sydney in the next couple of weeks.
I’m very lucky to have such a caring, experienced and extensive support network and community around me and have had the luxury of chatting to smart individuals face-to-face over the past weeks. One person suggested that I call this time my ‘entrepreneurial sabbatical’. I like how the description resonates nicely around words like time, change, projects, dreams, inspiration, research and discovery. Experimentation. A journey. It doesn’t work so well when you look at the literal meaning as a rest or hiatus, as I’ve currently found a fitting momentum that satisfies the amount of energy that I have to give.
Anyway, the actual announcement will therefore come post-June. It will revolve around a mashup of consulting (yes, including social media), writing, speaking, travel and alignment with companies that share my philosophy.
But for now, I would love to hear from you. Proposition me. Share your ideas or vision with me. For those people I said “no” to when I was working full time, get in touch again. Let’s see how we can work together.
Best contact methods are via email on: kendall.kate [at] gmail.com or as usual on Twitter – @KateKendall.
Thank you for listening – I continually appreciate it.
Kate
P.S. Official website(s), branding, identity, coming soon… ;-)
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Transience
November 23, 2011 5 Comments
There is nothing permanent except change. ~ Heraclitus
I’ve been meaning to write a post about location independence for a while now… mainly discussing how I’ve been combining work with travel in the last two years and how a PO Box is now my official residence in Australia after recently selling a lot of my stuff. However, I’m going to focus on transience and impermanence, rather than the resulting actions.
You see, I’ve been pondering about how my life has been evolving and the role of the digital world in facilitating this change. I’ve noticed my outer world isn’t as simple or straightforward as it once was – I don’t have a well documented formula to replicate (hello 9-5) and I can’t look around me for guidance. After all, I only know a handful of people able to freely choose their current location, especially at short notice. In a way, it feels those of us experimenting with these shifts are pioneers – prototyping plausible existences in public forums for what’s hopefully the benefit of others. And don’t get me wrong, I understand this position is a rarity and somewhat idealistic in approach – I certainly won’t crave this lifestyle if and when I’m a mother!
Firstly, I believe transience is coming about due to changes in our work, which are largely a result of advances in technology. As soon as flexibility and freedom from a physical world arrive, we are given the opportunity to decide on location for ourselves. I first got a taste for this flexibility when I started connecting with web developers – specifically the Ruby on Rails community. Here, these well-paid, mostly-male, mid-20′s programmers were deciding when and where they wanted to work. They seemingly had no problem travelling all over the world for some boutique conference or camp to enjoy some in-person time and global learning. While I wasn’t about to run away, clock up activity on my GitHub account and learn a cucumber isn’t just a vegetable – I was wondering how I could hack my life to make something similar work for me.
Working in a progressive area and on the web, I was fortunate to mash up a situation that’s allowed me to increase my awareness of the globe by seeing more of it. Working with companies that get it (especially travel-related) and creating something yourself has helped me to sustain my activities. Through these endeavours, I’ve journeyed through North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia in the past 12 months. I’m writing this post from a peaceful and tropical Port Douglas in Far North Queensland, before heading back to Melbourne via a Brisbane Fetch-launching stopover. I doubt I’d have seen as much as I have without having to quit everything to take time out for purely travelling.
One of the things I love about transience is it allows me to change and be agile in my existence. I feel like I’ve been growing so much as an individual in recent times, that having the freedom to take opportunities as they come or just be has allowed me to live more authentically in time and space. One of the things I don’t love so much is the impact of transience on relationships. I’m a fierce loyalist to my friends and circle, and it saddens me when I have to let go of a relationship. In my ideal world, we could all nurture each other and give attention to every connection. However when you’re on the go, the cherished face-to-face interaction dwindles and people soon forget about those not close by. In our often status-update-focused worlds, it’s now easy to have ambient awareness without ever having to ask a “How are you?”.
Above all, transience is about having no fear about what the future may hold. I understand what I am subject to now can change and change quickly, and what I thought were anchors and stability, gone. We’re all a target of this and even a 15-year commitment to one company doesn’t offer much security in the current economy. It seems I’m able to still arrive at the place I wanted to be though – with thanks to a vision and a rough plan. My energy and motivation levels flourish without having to fight an alternate path too.
The next steps for me involve embodying inner impermanence as a lifelong concept while returning to longer stints with my outer location. Thank you for listening and here’s to upcoming adventures and explorative living!
Kate
Filed under Comment, Journal Tagged with change, digital nomad, impermanence, life, location independence, play, transience, travel, work