Happy with my decision!

When was the last time you made a decision that made you happy? Was it what you chose to eat for dinner? Or, the vacation spot you selected? Maybe it's the person you've chosen as your significant other?

My recent life choice has resulted in such positive returns. Stepping away from a high profile leadership role that I enjoyed very much was a bold decision that defied the typical career ladder path. In return for the unconventional career choice, I have enjoyed priceless time with my family. Now with two less hours of daily commuting time, I've enjoyed accompanying my young kids to their swim lessons, t ball games and gymnastics. Eating dinner with my family is now the norm and not the occasional exception like it was for the past two years. Without the long commutes and regional travel, I've redirected the energy to improve my health. With such immeasurable benefits, I am thrilled with my life changing decision. I feel like my life is balanced the way I want it to be.

I hope my actions can inspire others. Think about what's really important to you and make choices that get you there. Don't feel tied down by convention - like a career ladder or others' expectations or desires for where you should be. You have more control over your choices than you give yourself credit for.

Pursue your passions

Live life for your passions. What does this mean to you? To me, it’s a simple and powerful phrase that anyone can use to live their lives in the most fulfilling way. It means discovering what makes you most happy and finding a way to accomplish that. That does takes some thought, commitment and maybe even some compromise. But, it also means that you’re living life to enjoy what you love.

Pursuing passions certainly can take time, energy and money and it seems we never have enough of any of those. Where does it all go anyway? Sure, much of those go toward the bare necessities of life. But are some also being spent or saved towards attaining your passions?

One of my passions is being an active father of my young children. Being an active father requires time and energy. And, doing so while my children are young means the time to do it is now. After considering the time and energy I’ve expended in the last 19 months to enjoy my current leadership role, I’ve realized that doing so is preventing me from fulfilling this passion. So, I proactively made a life choice and am glad to have landed a new role which will save two hours on my daily commute and practically eliminate overnight business trips. While I enjoy what I do now, I have no desire to continue doing so at the cost of missing out on being an active father while my children are young.

What are your passions and what are you doing to fulfill them?

"We want Mr. Chiu to stay!"

Have you ever accomplished something and left you wanting more? I think we've all had some experience like that. Today, I finished teaching a second Junior Achievement program to my daughter's 3rd grade class. It was the 11th session with these 21 students since I started several months ago and we have grown fond of each other. The experience of teaching a bunch of bright and chatty 8 and 9 year old kids was so amazing. I've learned a lot and it validated my desire to be an elementary school teacher one day.

It's particularly rewarding when each student shared what he/she learned in the sessions I taught. Now that the last session with this class is over, I wish I could continue. Especially, when several students shared the same sentiment with their teacher when I left the classroom today. Aww....

Got Stuff?

Stuff. We all have stuff. And we all know someone who likes to keep things like empty boxes of small appliances, clothes that are out of style and/or don't fit anymore, VHS tapes when they don't even have VCRs, or items that don't even work. Why are some so resistant to letting stuff go? Sure, everything has a potential future use or represent some memories from the past. But, is it really worth the precious space in our living space, closets, garages, and basements to keep stuff until that potential is realized?

After spending a tidy sum to add space to our house, it was clear to me that making room for stuff has an actual cost. We certainly didn't spend all that money to add space for stuff that we don't need or use. Instead of storing things for possible future use, let the retailers do that and buy what we need when we need them.

Today, my siblings and I spent hours clearing the condo where my mom lived for 25 years. She was not a hoarder but there was still quite a bit we tossed, kept or will donate.

Stuff. Do you have more than you need or will ever use? I think we all can honestly answer "yes".

Besides posting statuses on facebook and writing the occasional email to friends and family, there just aren't enough ways for someone like me to share random thoughts. So, here I am writing my first ever blog post.

I got the inspiration to do this while driving home from a business trip. See how spending four hours in a car can give you crazy thoughts like this? While driving "safely fast" to get home to my family and listening to a random mix of my favorite artists like Journey, Asia, Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, Poison , Joan Jett, Peter Cetera, Bon Jovi and KISS, I was thinking how cool it would be to share some random thoughts to those who are willing to read them - like you.

Lately, I've been away for business several nights a month. Add my roundtrip commutes to/from work of almost 3 hours a day several times a week to that. Not only are the tires on my zippy '99 Prizm wearing thin, so's my desire to continue spending so much time away from my loving family. I'm well aware that many people face the same exact dilemma. But, I wonder how many actually do something about it. How many actually pursue their passions or make choices to achieve their life goals? Do you?

I'm discussing this topic at an upcoming networking event and will attempt to inspire attendees to think about what they're doing to pursue the important things in their lives. Wish me luck on that discussion and my own efforts to change up things so that I can enjoy my kids while they are still young.