Good morning! I hope your day is starting off right.
I’m getting a late start today. Well, later than normal. Twice last week my three-year-old grandson asked me to stay home and cook him some eggs. Today I decided to do just that. These years pass by way too quickly and the day comes when anything is more important than spending time with Grandpa. So, you enjoy these times while you can.
It’s nice having the option to work from home. Still, I’m one of the few who’s in the office every day. I just feel more productive when I’m at work. Besides, I like being around other people. I’ve been told I’m the official greeter of the fifth floor, because I make a point of saying good morning to everyone I see. It’s a responsibility I take seriously.
But, on the other hand, I’m trying to ease more into working from home for a couple of simple reasons. First, while we’re in the sweltering days of summer with heat indexes in the danger zone, I know it won’t be long and the pendulum will swing the other way. And there are few things I despise as much as getting into a frozen car and driving to work on snow and ice.
Also, as I’ve mentioned a few times before, my wife and I are buying a motorhome next year and we may decide to make that more of a permanent residence. Neither of us is certain where we want to retire, other than someplace warm and with an ocean. That narrows it down, but there are still hundreds of places that meet those requirements – we just need to find the right one for us.
So, the plan is to get out there and do some exploring. Find someplace interesting and go. When we get there we can decide how long we want to stay. If it’s someplace we really like, maybe we’ll come back in a few months and see how it is during the winter, or summer, or tourist season, or whatever. If we don’t like it, we can pull the plug, raise the jacks, and find someplace else to go.
When you can work from home, then home can be pretty much anyplace you want it to be. We have people on our team working in several different states, all across the country. Some like it hot, some like it cold, and some just like anyplace where the uniform of the day is pajamas.
To me, the best part is you don’t have to find a home based on the local economy. For most of us, where we live is largely determined by where we work. Some of the least expensive and quietest places to live don’t have much to offer in terms of employment. The more high-paying jobs a city has to offer, the higher the cost of living. Funny how that works.
Imagine if you could live anywhere you want without ever having to worry about where you’ll find work. What if you could build a business on the side without having to worry about location? You could live in a city, on a beach, in the boondocks, or on an island. Going to work could be as simple as crossing the hallway into another room or setting up a laptop by the pool. Okay, I’m sold!
Depending on your profession, that may or may not be an option. But our profession, like many other things, is a choice we make. We think we’re limited by things like skills, education, and experience. But those things we can acquire. That doesn’t mean you have to scrap it all and start over. It just means doing a little extra to put yourself in a better situation down the road.
And it may mean thinking completely outside the box. Employers love to use that phrase because it means using our creativity to improve our own job performance and come up with profitable ideas for the company. But it also means giving yourself options you didn’t have before. With options, you have choices. You get to make decisions based on your goals instead of basing your goals on someone else’s decisions.
When we expand our options outside “the box,” everything becomes possible. Things that didn’t make sense before make sense now. Things that wouldn’t have worked before become the best possible solution to the problem. And instead of limiting ourselves to the life we’ve known to this point, we enter the realm of unlimited possibilities. It’s a good habit to get into.
Whether you decide you’d like to work from home someday or not, never allow your life to be limited by your current circumstances. Opportunities are everywhere, just waiting to be discovered. When you find one that can lead you to your goals, grab hold and don’t ever let go. It may not be for everybody. It just has to be for you.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2019 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
Dave Glardon 