My business was all I knew. It was an integral part of who I was in my life and how people portrayed me. After a few months of insomnia, tears shared in sadness and pain it was finally over and I packed my car with what little trinkets I wanted to take with as a reminder of what was, and drove off.

I was petrified of unemployment and finding a “Job” and starting again. I had lost millions of Rands, a large part of my ego and friends. For the first few weeks I could not sleep through the night and even though my 5:30am alarm had been turned off, the seventeen-year cycle, of waking up in the dark, could not be broken. I would wake up and look for something to do; anything would do, as long as it took my mind off what was. I avoided all phone calls as the liquidated company owed money’s and old customers demanded services that were no longer deliverable.

I found myself pulling out weeds in my driveway, drinking coffee alone at the local roaster or sitting in friends’ offices using their free Wi-Fi just so I could get out the house. I dabbled in a few small businesses and helped out people who needed help – no matter what it was they needed. I was fighting depression, guilt and loneliness. All my friends were trying to cheer me up with the fact I was free to do what I wanted – something I wanted for many years, but freedom is not what you think it is. Freedom for me is being able to make a difference in my life at my own pace and having an impact on people around me that I cared about. I was not any freer than I was in the business I hated being in.

I committed to holidays I could not afford and bought clothing I did not need in order to fill the gaping void in my empty existence outside my business. My true friends and family in their wisdom kept reminding me that all would work out, that I was a bright young man that could start again and would find my feet and hit the ground running. In hindsight they were right. It just took me a few months to realize this for myself.

I am now working for someone in his business. I picked a new career that makes sense to me, that fits in with my life requirements of time, flexibility, answerability and creativity. You may think I am lucky now, but it’s a decision I made. I took the time to find what gave me pleasure and allowed me to wake up in the morning with a sense of purpose. I never understood how people could love their job or how they could work for other people and not be the owner or leader, until now.

I am not a religious man but I believe I have been re-born, re-incarnated, rejuvenated and re-invented in the past twelve months and I love the new me. I am not a motivational speaker or preacher but I have seen that at any stage of your life you can step away from whatever you feel is shackling you and start again. It’s nerve-racking and breathtaking but wholly worth the risk.

Risk everything for your happiness, I did, and now for the first time in years I’m a toddler looking into my future with new eyes, scared of nothing, ecstatic with all the newness and change in the world.

Thanks to Mom, Kim, Hammies, Jo, Mark P, Don & Rich, Spratty, Rodders, Shpronkles and the Bermans. You saw me through the worst and I love you all in my own way.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Filling out your Twitter bio (graphy) isn’t as easy as it sounds. For some people the idea is scarier than public speaking. In my (humble) opinion here are a few phrases to avoid in your bio:

I LOVE CATS, ICE CREAM AND COFFEE

Your bio should accurately describe who you are. You may think its cute that your bio says you love cats, but if its not what you are regularly talking about then it probably shouldn’t be in your bio. I often see bio’s that say one thing about the user, but when I read their last 20 or 30 tweets its not a true reflection of what they are talking about in their bio. Adding a few fun facts is alright, but just make sure that the bulk of your 160 characters is what value you offer your followers

I FOLLOW BACK

#TeamFollowBack is another one. People have their own thoughts on what etiquette dictates about following back anyone that follows them. Some believe its the right thing to do while others, like myself, believe you should only follow people that interest you and add value to your timeline, regardless of who is following who. Having “I follow back” may send some potential followers running for the proverbial hills, and that your main concern is the your number of followers. Even if its your policy to always follow back, perhaps leave it off your bio and use the space more constructively.

SOCIAL MEDIA GURU / EXPERT / NINJA

You may in fact be a Twitter genius or a Facebook update-thought-leader, but WTF! is a Twitter Ninja? If you really are or claim to be an expert then rather tell me about your awards and accolades. Tell your followers something factual and accurate about yourself and leave the questionable “fuzzy” stuff alone.

[            ]

Leaving your bio blank is a no-no. New potential followers will either think you are a bot and cant quickly access whether its worth following you. A blank space leads me to believe that you may lack any creativity and perhaps are that boring, that I wont follow you.

I LUV GaGa COZ SHE IS 2 CUTE 4 LYF

If you using your twitter account professionally, then I would fire you. Using correct spelling & pronunciation in your bio is essential. Nothing grinds me more than a 14 year old’s text speak in any format especially your bio. If thats the way you describe yourself, there is no ways I would be bothered to follow your account. Be intelligent. Be interesting.

Your Twitter bio is an important part of identifying yourself to your followers and potential followers. 160 characters will allow you to attract the right quality followers and give you access to connect with the right people’s accounts. Be creative, keep it short, spell correctly and you will leave a good first impression.

Spillly

Passion.

I recently re-watched this video of Larry Smith explaining why he thinks the bulk of us will fail to have great, or even good, careers. The bulk of his argument is based on “us” making excuses for not finding our “passion” or even worse, finding our passions and being afraid to action them out.

For 17 years I ran a business I was not even remotely passionate about. I spend countless hours looking for hobbies & travels to keep me entertained and enthused. I was young when I started working in the business and over the years I made every excuse in the book as to why I couldn’t leave the business, why it was so good to me and what it gave me and my lifestyle. It was mostly the money and “free time” that I clung to, but by the time it was too late and I hated what I was doing, the business was in trouble.

In the past year I have dabbled in several business’ looking for a “good stable” business to get involved in. Don’t get me wrong, I love business and “doing” business, but I have yet to find the business that I am passionate about. My vision in my 20′s is vastly different from what it is today and the age of 38.  In my twenties, I was ticking boxes of what I though I was meant to achieve & I failed to recognise opportunities that were not money making but soul enriching. I don’t want to make that mistake again.

We all have heard the story of the Lawyer who decided to study medicine at the age of 40 or the Doctor who became an artist late in life. Its not a mid-life crisis, its a clarity of vision. I have been suppressing the urge to look outside the social norms of what a good job is and what job satisfaction is. I want to love what I do. I want to make a difference, a difference to MY life. Maybe I may not know what happiness looks like in a work environment, but I know what happiness feels like and I want more of that, more of the time. Its not about the money, Its not about the money, BUT If I won the lottery, what would I do with my time?  That answer, is what I should be looking to do now as a career.

Passion is knowing what you want and never stopping to succeed at it, which I believe will lead to happiness. I need to stop thinking with my mind and start using my heart for some direction.

@Spillly

Thanks for the recognition, I’ll take it and lap it up like the social media whores we all are!

Here is the Full Article

Do it.

and here is the list:

[1] @helenzille: https://twitter.com/helenzille
[2] @michaeljordaan: https://twitter.com/MichaelJordaan
[3] @lifeissavage: https://twitter.com/LifeisSavage
[4] @spillly: https://twitter.com/spillly
[5] @eusebius: https://twitter.com/Eusebius
[6] @khayadlanga: https://twitter.com/khayadlanga
[7] @caspar_lee: https://twitter.com/Caspar_Lee
[8] @concierge_ryan: https://twitter.com/Concierge_Ryan
[9] @ivovegter: https://twitter.com/ivovegter
[10] @NonhleThema: https://twitter.com/NonhleThema

Thanks to Memeburn for this!

Spillly!

Another Epic week in a year of ups & downs indeed.

Love you kids

Spillly

Thanks to Ford SA for hooking us up with the Cab!

I travel for one purpose and one purpose only: The hope of having a “Moment.”

A moment when life slows down, you are clear and living in the moment. A few seconds in time when life has meaning, the daily stress is vacant and a serene bliss settles in my soul. I’m not a religious man at all, but every once in while, a feeling will come over me, giving me clarity of thought, and for me – this is my discovery of God. My Moment.

A few weeks ago, a group of mates and strangers (who have since become mates) embarked on a week long surf trip from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town arranged and co-ordinated by Stoked Surf school . In this week I was fortunate to experience several moments as described above. It wasn’t that I discovered the Zen of surfing and my inner hippy. It was the relaxation of a sporting holiday followed by more childish giggles that I care to remember. It was as some may say an EPIC week that I will with out doubt try replicate in the months of 2013.

Here is the Video that Craig put together. Its not a surfing video. Its a video about friends enjoying the most beautiful country in the world. Its a video about life and our need for escapism. Its a video that will allow me to re-live some of those “Moments” that give me cold shivers.

Hope you enjoy.

Spillly.

Thanks to the team at Jozi Instagramers for highlighting this image on their website this month.

iPhoneography & Instagram is a real thing and becoming more important to me as social media tool than ever before.

Spillly. 

Craig Rodney pulls it off in J-Bay

Thanks to the team & a special Shout-out to Ramiza who set up the Talk, it was fun and informative!

Not Spillling the beer @ NATIVE

Teach & be taught. Listen & learn. Less is more. Leverage. Thats more than 3 L’s .

Love you long time,

@Spillly

Shot on iPhones around the Joburg inner city and Braamfontein, its yet another reminder of our love of Jozi.

Follow my lovely Bitches, Nechama Brodie & Nadine Hutton on Twitter and the interwebs now.

Listen to the track on soundcloud here

I love you ladies long time. Thanks for opportunity.

Spillly

Yesterday I managed to complete my dream and pull off a pretty basic trick (with not much style) that had eluded me my entire life.

I just want to reiterate the fact that at no point in your life should you give up your dreams and ambitions. There are few feelings as pleasurable as completing a goal that is only for yourself and not being done to prove anything to another person.

This is a backside 5-O grind on the quarter pipe at Stoneridge. Again I want to thank Tim Moolman for the encouragement & patience of God.

My knee is blue but it was totally worth it!

@Spillly

> image taken by Phil. follow him on twitter.<