The Serve4Change Mission: To live the life you want and change what you don’t.
Quite simple, eh?
Unfortunately, so many of us forget that we have the ability to create a life that involves freedom, flexibility and optimizes our time on this planet. Most people could draw up a long list of things that want out of life and what they want to experience. However, few people actually take that list seriously. Our career is whatever our employer tells us it is. Our time off is limited by a number of days per year. And our expectations for a purposeful life dwindle.
To put it bluntly, this blog is an ongoing conversation about ways that we can make our lives more useful and enjoyable by changing the way we live.
I chose the name “Serve4Change” for a number of reasons. To define the term, there are distinct definitions of “serve” and “change” that I want to convey.
Serve – to be of use.
Change – to undergo transformation, transition, or substitution.
These definitions really define the purpose of this blog. There are many useless things that we do on a daily basis. There are also a lot of things in our lives that need some transformation or substitution. Overall, we all possess the ability to significantly improve our daily lives. Feeling useless can be a direct response to things in our lives that need to be changed.
Serve4Change really means evaluating your life, making goals that improve your lifestyle and achieving them. Goals shouldn’t be simple and easily attainable. Dream big. Not only will you improve your life, but you will serve as an example to others and encourage change. Serve (be of use) and Change (transform, substitute, transition). Figure out parts of your life that don’t cut it for you and try things new things. Find that career, activity or hobby that makes you feel useful and change your life accordingly. Simply dreaming about it won’t get you anywhere.
About Me
I reached a point where daily life became so routine that I forgot I had the power to change it. My life consisted of a long commute, work, dinner and then plop in front of the couch with my wife for the rest of the night. While there’s nothing wrong with work, food and television, I really became a slave to the idea that this was all that my life had to offer. That I simply needed to survive the week and then take a vacation from my life each weekend.
I took a big step at the end of September to change this rut by leaving my job. It was my first real job out of college and I quickly realized that the corporate world was not for me. In many ways, I’m an entrepreneur at heart. I like working for myself and, most importantly, I like seeing the direct results from my hard work. In a tight economy, it wasn’t an easy decision but it was one that I had to make.
I’ve spent the last three months clearing my brain and determining the best next steps for my career. This is when I ran into the idea of Lifestyle Design and realized that I wasn’t alone in my journey. I also realized that there were a lot of areas of my life that needed changing, especially how I viewed work and it’s place in my life. Mainly, I needed to quit talking about the life I wanted and begin experiencing it.
Writing is a big passion of mine and I’m currently doing some freelance work, which I hope can become a full-time endeavor. Along with writing, I hope to get further into photography, music and travel, and most of all, become more active and experience a flexible schedule and the freedom it brings.
What’s the Point
Change is important. Change requires goals and positive thinking. Change doesn’t have to just be drastic and life-changing. It can come in small doses or in large doses. For me, I needed some drastic changes.
I’ve realized that there are two types of change: Change that we like and Change that we don’t like. I’ve also come to the conclusion that both types of change can be good. We all have areas of our lives that we want to change, but many of us continue to stick to the same old routine. This blog is an opportunity to encourage you to step out and change, to grab new opportunities and mend old habits.
Really, it’s a journey to create a life worth living. It’s a chance to grab the reins and take charge.
I hope you’ll join me.
