What am I doing with my life and my blog?

I’ve recently come to a cross roads of sorts in my life and have been thinking long and hard about how I should proceed and where I should go. As you know, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, I am a freelance social media and marketing consultant for companies that are looking to stretch their advertising dollars by combining social media with traditional advertising models. I’ve enjoyed a great deal of success, as have my clients and in January I was offered an opportunity to take my small, but ever-expanding company to the next level and partner with some bigger players. I was excited at first, then conflicted, then disappointed, then just confused. Do I really want to sign a contract that guarantees I’ll be working 40+ hour weeks. Do I care about money so much that I’m willing to throw away my time freedom for financial freedom? How do you balance the two? So, I’ve taken the past two weeks off from blogging and most of my consulting work just to think about what my goals in life really are for the future?

So, what are my goals?
In a recent late night Twitter-thon, I stated twenty things that I wished to accomplish or acquire in 2008. That list is as follows and is in no particular order:

1. I want a new car. A brand new car. I don’t even care that buying a new car is a poor investment because all my life I’ve bought year old (or older) cars and now I want a brand new one. That’s just an experience that I’ve decided I deserve…new car smell.
2. A better sense of where my true passion really is and what I should do with it.
3. More income, much more; with less work, much less.
4. To take a trip to Europe, have a blast and stay as long as I want.
5. Then, after Europe, hit South America.
6. The financial means to share all my dreams with friends and loved ones.
7. I want to be in the best shape of my life without having to work very hard at it, I expect it to just happen somehow and know that it will.
8. Write a book, a screenplay and a TV show; sell them all with great ease.
9. To learn more about art, wine, foreign culture and pop culture simultaneously.
10. To learn how the intellectual property business works and milk the crap out of every good idea I have.
11. To feel a constant connection will my inner being and grow spiritually and emotionally with everything I do. (Maybe this should be Number 1)
12. Find the love of my life. (This doesn’t have to happen in 2008, but some fun play dates will be appreciated.)
13. Be completely happy in everything I do and every decision I make.
14. Get an Apple endorsement to pay for my iPhone bill. :)
15. Publish memoirs that I’ve yet to write about all the fun things I’ve done and adventures I’ve been on in the past and future.
16. Get to the point where someone is managing my affairs, campaigns and finances for a change.
17. Have the option to be lazy and do nothing, but the passion and desire to do great things.
18. Live a carefree life, full of wellness.
19. Be publicly recognized for something spectacular.
20. Feel more and more energized with less and less sleep.

My Goal Assessment
After taking a look at my goals, (which were spit out as quickly as I could think of them via Twitter, so that I would not talk myself out of what I really wanted) I realized that while being financially free to the point of being wealthy is important to me, the majority of my goals require more time than they do money. I’ve never been good at being locked inside an office and when I reminded myself of that, it was clear that I needed to take a different approach to what I was doing with my life. I love consulting work, I really do. But, I like doing a little bit of consulting, adding a ton of value for my clients and then taking a reasonable pay check for services rendered. I honestly think, that getting into a situation where I am servicing 25+ clients a week (which was proposed to me) would hinder my performance, as I would not be able to give the personal touch that this type of consulting so desperately needs. Thus, I’m still consulting, but I’m not joining any larger organization. I’m still adding value for my clients, but I’m not going to be taking on 100 more any time soon.

I need to be young again!
What I’ve realized is that, for me, finding a form of residual income is the most practical approach to getting what I really want in the least amount of time. So, as of now, I’m getting into the intellectual property business and taking it by storm. In theory, this will allow me the time and financial resources to do some of the things I’ve been missing out on. You know, like being a 23-year old kid! I love being a professional and I love all of the contacts and friends I’ve made through all of the businesses I’ve been involved with in the past. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I need a change of pace. I need to skin some knees and get into a little trouble. So, I’m testing the waters in some different swimming holes to see if I can find something more comfortable.

What does it all mean, Jon?
Well, I suppose, the main difference is that you’re going to find that this blog is not specifically marketing and social media-centric anymore. While I will still talk about those things, because they are such a huge part of my life, I’m also going to start talking about other projects that I’m testing and whether they’re working out or not. I might blog about my travels; where I am and where I’m going. Should I find myself in the throws of a love triangle that is sending me through an emotional roller coaster from hell, guess what, you might hear about it.

Should you Unsubscribe?
The other night I polled my Twitter community with this question, “Is it okay to have a blog that is scatterbrained, if it helps me work my thoughts out? Does that affect my readership?” The overall response was that if you blog with passion, people will come, which I know to be true. And yes, I might get a little scatterbrained. That being said, I fully understand if you need to unsubscribe to my blog. After all, the premise of this blog has been marketing and social media since its inception and it always pisses me off when people change their content from their original focus without warning (sorry, it just upsets me). But, if you’re one of those people that is interested in how a 23-year old kid is trying to find his way in the world and want to know if he’ll ever discover the path to true happiness, then you might want to stay subscribed. Either way, I’ve enjoyed having you all as readers and even more so, I have enjoyed writing this blog. Of course, I want to continue to enjoy writing this blog, which is why you’re going to start seeing some changes.

In closing
Now you’ve been warned, so there shouldn’t be too many complaints, I hope. Of course, constructive criticism is always encouraged in the comments section. It would be great to hear about how you found your way to whatever it is you’re doing now that you love. I’m a firm believer in never doing anything unless it feels right and makes you happy. I have left many well-paid positions at corporate engagements because of this philosophy and have always found that it was for the best. And that goes for more than just employment opportunities. I’ve found that philosophy to be true in all of my relationships, living arrangements, fashion style, etc.

What do you love? Are you happy? If not, why?
It amazes me how many people are unwilling or unable to bring themselves to deviate from the path they’ve already started on, no matter how miserable it makes them. Fear of the unknown is reason enough for many to just put blinders on and head in only one direction for the rest of their life. Are you happy? If so, I’m glad, but if you’re not happy, why is that? It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf and go after something that will bring joy into your life. No one should be afraid to fight for the enjoyment of their lives. So, cut out whatever is making you unhappy and go find something better. That’s what I’m doing and the thrill of the chase is invigorating!

Side Note:
I have imported all of the blogs from Follow the Velcro into this blog and they are now officially merged. My lifecasting experiment is, for the moment, on hiatus due to a faulty battery pack that had to be shipped into the manufacturer. Should I decide to continue lifecasting (which is doubtful, because other than a conversation piece, I found it to be useless in a 24/7 settting), then I will begin blogging about that here at Who Is Jon Ray? Hopefully the import didn’t screw up your feed readers at all. If so, my deepest apologies. It will not happen again, as that was a one time thing.

Thanks, everyone!

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