I started a business. It made me want to drink copious quantities, smoke myself into oblivion and hit my head against a brick wall. Instead I wrote a blog.
Site Launch Day: 11
User Count: 16
Going right: Active Users on the up.
Going wrong: Total Users down.
Comment: Decided that I could only legitimately tell whether someone was a spambot or not by detecting whether they logged in a second time. Spambots, you suck. The end.
Dreaming is an essential part of running a start-up. This doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the present. How could I not, when only yesterday my little girl learned how to count to three in Swedish. But dreaming - especially WITH someone - is very pleasurable. Dreams turn into ideas and goals. Ideas and goals are an inspiration for your reality.
"So if Hollywood pick up your blog, who would play me?" asked my boyfriend. "Matt Damon?"
Matt Damon had the permanent number one spot on my top five list. And for three years, had been the only person on my list...until I had watched True Blood several months before.
"Alexander Skarsgård would be more suitable since he's Swedish." I said lightheartedly, not betraying that - still in the new celebrity crush stage - just the thought of him made me breathe a little faster.
"Now, we would need a suitable English girl to play you. Cheryl Cole. Done."
I visualized them in the Scarlett-Rhett pose.
"Rhett, Rhett - wherever shall us go, whatever shall us do."
"Yah, yah. Frankly my dear I don't give a hwit."
So Alexander and Cheryl are now destined to get it on on the big screen. You read it here first.
But seriously, dreaming is what made it possible for us to spend three months this summer on this remote island. Perhaps I mentioned once before - we divide our time between Richmond and Sweden. Most of my friends are astounded that we are able to do so (and as Marty McFly said "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.")
Achieving geographical freedom is one of the greatest pleasures one can know. We have worked damn hard to be able to get here. It has been 12 months in the making - and it has been a common dream. My boyfriend is an employee for a great firm who have given him the leeway to be able to work remotely for three months, so that his personal ambition of allowing his daughter to get to know her Swedish family and roots can be fulfilled. A carefully planned strategy of proving his dedication to the company, ability to work from home and perhaps above all, gall to actually ask them, means that we are here. Living our dream.
It's useless to rehash the wheel, so if you want tips about how to achieve geographical freedom you should go read The 4 hour work week. Ironically, by tapping into what everyone wanted, this guy achieved it very successfully. I don't work 4 hours a week - because work is also my hobby - but many of the principles he writes about, are what we have applied. Lesson for today. Dream your direction and then do it.