Eating my dinner - My departure from Triumphant Events

It didn’t hit me like a bolt from the blue. The decision to resign as CEO of Triumphant Events, re-let my flat and set off on an ‘round the world’ adventure was something that had been slowly creeping up on me for some time…

The End (is in the beginning)

This may come as a bombshell for some of you, though for those who know me well you will know that doing the unexpected is not unusual. For those who don’t know me at all, you will probably soon begin wondering how you ended up reading this in the first place!

So how did all this happen? Well, a few weeks ago, the little voice in my head pestered me for the 13,000th time and I finally said to myself…

‘…ok, shut up. I’ll do it.’

What do you do when your heart is calling you (incessantly) in another direction? Your lifestyle is wonderful, you have great friends, a successful and growing company, your business partners are your best mates, you get to travel the world and go on fun holidays… everything seems tip top.

Not long ago I received a bona-fide opportunity from the highest level to acquire and promote literally the biggest household name in my industry… I should have been proud. I should have been excited. I should have felt like I had arrived. But I felt none of those things.

What do you do when on paper, everything looks perfect? What do you do when the small and unremitting voice in the back of your (my!) head continues its whispering, giving you the distinct and unnerving impression that ‘perfect on paper’ is simply not good enough and that your true fate lies in an entirely different direction?

Well, the obvious answer to that is that you ignore that disruptive little bloody voice for as long as possible.

As for what to do when you finally listen… well, I guess I am about to find out.

Eating my own dinner
Every speaker I have promoted, in fact, every decent book on the topic that I have ever read shared with me that ignoring the voice on the inside is fraught with peril. To hear but not listen, to know but not do, to ignore life’s signposts and to rationalise them away as impractical or illogical is in my opinion to succumb to a long cold winter of discontent.

For me, fulfillment does not come from the pursuit of money or status. It comes from waking up every day loving what I do. After waking up one too many mornings surrounded by great opportunities that I was no longer inspired by, I decided it was time to ‘eat my own dinner’ and heed the wisdom of so many of the clever people whom I have had the privilege of meeting and promoting over the years.

Does this mean I have lost my passion? It does not feel that way at all. At 28 I have retired, left Triumphant in the capable hands of Dan, Marcus, Thao and the rest of our amazing team, and become a globally wandering opportunity hunter! It has a pretty cool ring to it I think.

Adventure, travel, lifestyle, freedom, progression, entrepreneurship… all the things I cherish most.

I am not looking for my passion. I am living it.

The Beginning
So, what next? Well, first I am going to spend some time with my family in Perth, Australia. I have not seen my Mum, Gloria, for over 2 years now so it will be nice to pop in and clear out her fridge for old times sake. Then, I plan to head to Auckland for the “What on EARTH are we doing?” event where I will catch up with old friends who are all flying in to be there.

Then, ill pop over to Sydney where my Dad, Ron, is the skipper on a 50 ft cat. He needs help sailing it up the coast to Mooloolaba, then across to Vanuatu. I think I just swapped my title from CEO to First Mate!

Sun. Salt Water. Yachts. White beaches. Girls in Bikinis. Sweet.

Some of you may know that I spent 7 years sailing around the world with my parents when I was young, so the ocean is in my blood. I had been to 46 countries before my 15th birthday and interestingly, the port where we officially completed our circumnavigation was Port Vila - Vanuatu. I have some friends there who run a dive school and I have always wanted to get my PADI Dive Masters Certification.

I have always loved diving and one of the worlds top 10 wrecks (the irony of having a top 10 list of great ‘wrecks’ makes me chuckle), the SS President Coolidge is laying on her side just around the corner in 85 feet of water at 15.30.00 S 169.30.00 E.

I plan to get to know her well.

My general intention is to spend the next 12 months ‘Opportunity Hunting’. Meeting new people, unearthing fun projects and discovering what the world has to offer a young retired entrepreneur with no ties, a unique set of skills, an unbounded love for life and a burning hunger to change the world!

Do keep in touch, and give 2009 your heart and soul. You deserve nothing less.

Rock on.

GC