There is a time in life to do business. There is a time to make new connections. There is also time to travel and celebrate special moments (like a 25th birthday). There are people who separate those things, there are some who like combining them in one. I am one of those. And In my personal conviction, that’s the ultimate form of fulfillment and life.
Celebrating moments in life
I am more than sure that many of you would choose exactly the same destination I picked to be the setting for celebrating my 25th birthday. Dubai. The main purpose of my trip was to explore a completely different culture and to see what are differences and commonalities in approach to business and tech industry.
It also so happened that a great friend of mine with his wife came to Dubai to celebrate my birthday at a symbolic dinner together. Our paths crossed a few years ago, back in London.
I came back to London rested and in a state of expectation of other events to come. And those were fast approaching. Two weeks later I was sitting on the airplane’s seat on a flight to New York. I went there with two friends of mine. Software developers. We were all on a mission to attend the 10X Conference held in Las Vegas. 9000 entrepreneurs in one room and all of them had just one goal. To learn how to take their business and life to the completely new level. Besides, it was a perfect opportunity to practice networking. I was able to make plenty of new connections and it only reassured me how important it is to be “surrounded” by right people in life.
I always believed in a motto “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. Never make a mistake to be short-sighted in life. It’s like a card play. The more cards in the deck you have the more opportunities it creates. And the fun part is, you never know when will you need a given card. And so that you don’t think I am just a cold calculator, I am a huge advocate of creating friendship-based connections. It’s the strongest glue known to me on the face of this planet.
What happens in Las Vegas
After the conference, we had several days left to enjoy Las Vegas and then Los Angeles. Nightlife in the former made a huge impression on me. I did not expect that all the wanna-be miniatures of the famous buildings from all over the world can be so much fun. I totally enjoyed it. Being there I also realized how much the famous “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” goes hand in hand with the limits-free fun oriented mindset of the visitors. Everything in there seems to be enticing you to go all out and leave as much money in someone else’s pocket, as possible. It just shows, again and again, that promotion is a key to success. If you go to Vegas, you are likely to fall into Vegas mode too. As I only had one day in Los Angeles, I would not like to base my opinion on very superficial premises so I will leave my reflections for the next time – and there will surely be one in the City of Angels.
Extremely satisfied and inspired I came back to London. While I am currently developing new exciting projects, I feel that my batteries are completely recharged. It only reminds me that if you want to master your performance at anything, you also have to learn how to master the breaks and relaxation. Gaining observer’s perspective on where your life is going. And I definitely gained one.
Does work-life balance really exist?
To bring it home, the reason for me to write this post is to share my reflections on how truly amazing it is to combine developing different aspects of life in one. I am endlessly grateful for having such privilege in my life. I am a person obsessed with my vision and goals, trying to become better at my craft every single day. And I fully appreciate the fact that life is too complex to perceive all the aspects of it separately.
I cannot agree more with the quote by Jack Welch who said: “There’s no such thing as work-life balance, there are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.” The so-called “work-life” balance promoted in a modern corporate world is to me simply a myth. It’s a tool to keep the clogs of the machine going without burning them out.
But if you play the game only not to lose and get through the day, but not to win, what’s the reward at the end of it? I’ll let you answer that question yourself.