Dear Mike, what’s up dude? Think of this as a public service announcement to yourself.
You just had to paraphrase Ice Cube to catch your own attention didn’t you. I’m writing this a short time after you turned 28. At this point in time you’ve been through a lot. Life is great right now, just a little tiring at times. Like burning a candle at both ends and then putting the candle in an oven. You need to sort out a couple of things this coming year because you and I both know it needs to be done. There is always room for improvement dude. So here goes. Don’t get offended too much.
Get in control of your health.
Did you like that little health-related ‘episode’ you had last week? No? Damn right you hated it. So you know what to do right? Let’s see. Learn to cook more healthy stuff, because your body will thank you for it. It’ll be good for the fam too. Your brother in law set out an exercise regime to get you started on your road to better health. Do it you lazy jerk! You’re complaining about lacking energy at times, especially when you’re in for the long haul with all your extra design, blogging, video, music, whatever extra stuff you need to do on top of work and spending time with your family. Your tita (auntie) Pet reminds you that ‘health is wealth, Michael’. Slow motion is better than no motion. Progression is key. Remember that quote you saw on one of those poorly photoshopped motivational internet images: “exercise is cheaper than medical bills”. I want to see some results by this time next year, hopefully tangible. You’re not setting out to be the hulk, at the minimum just be able to keep up with the kids as they grow. And you know how fast they grow up. Dude, if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be there for your kids. Harsh but true, man.
Spend more quality time with your family.
By eating healthier and exercising you’ll have the energy to do this. Go out to the park or beach or zoo more, and take photos and video. When you get time with the kids and your wife, turn off Facebook and Twitter and leave it for later. How many times have I told you this dude, seriously?!?! Fool, the internet can wait, your children’s myriad of constant changes and experiences cannot. Replying to bad coffee, bad traffic, or bad day statuses will guarantee you’ll miss something. If you really have to take a photo or record a video or sound, do it quickly and post it up if you have to. But check all your replies later when you’re on a break or when everyone is asleep. See, that’s the problem with this social media stuff, it can invade your life man. It’s a double-edged lightsaber and that other bright thing you’re holding is not the handle. Try and take a step back and free your mind from it every now and then.
Remember to take photos with your wife, not just of your kids. You haven’t been doing this enough, and this is important. Your wife is your best friend, and you’ve promised to grow old together. Why not capture that when you can? Just because you’ve got gorgeous kids to take photos of doesn’t mean you can’t take photos with each other. You used to do it as teenagers, so don’t make excuses. Hold hands. Love is for every day, not just the important days.
Try and catch up with your family and friends more. You know you’ll regret it if you don’t. Just do it. Make time for it, the kids are not an excuse. And when you fix your tiredness issue, this will become easier.
Dude, when it’s family time, it’s family time. By next year I want to look back at photos and videos of cool things you’ve done and places you’ve been with your family, and more importantly, their smiles. Stop worrying about all that other adult stuff when you don’t have to and live in the moment with your family. Make that distinction and stick to it. Don’t make regrets, make memories, make more smiles.
Get organised.
In order to stop worrying about all that “stuff” that’s constantly clouding your mind, organise your time better. Invest and commit to a proper productivity system. Take GTD, take a spice weasel and knock it up a notch to GTFSD (get that f-ing shit done)! And dude, your study/studio hasn’t been cleaned up or sorted. You told yourself you’d do it last Father’s day. It’s still a huge f-ing mess! Get to it! Also remember to organise your bills and finances, streamline and automate if you have to. Learn to budget better. Read up on how to better your finances. It’s do-able man, just make time for it, and do it.
Keep learning for you.
Now here’s the nicer part. By staying on top of everything, you can make time and energy to give back to yourself. Make time to be creative and learn new things. This will keep your mind sharp… An unhappy you is not good for your family. You want to be able to give them the best of you, so spend some time doing things for the sake of your mental health. You need those damn turntables back out. It’s what has kept you sane all these years. Don’t punish yourself for thinking or feeling that you’re not doing enough at home. Keep doing more than enough, then reward yourself.
Hustle.
Now when you’ve got a sound body and mind, you can hustle harder. Work harder, always. Go now and look at your family. They are your motivation. Hustle.
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Hopefully when you read this again in a year’s time you’ve made a few changes to help make your life and the lives of your beautiful family a lot better. They say goal setting is good, and writing shit down is good for that, because you’re committing. So I’m doing this for you now. No excuses, now it’s up live for people to see, and now you’re accountable. You can do it man. Go.
Now here’s your motivation song.
Get amped. This your life man, so live it now.
Sincerest kindest awesomest regards dude,
– Mike