The Introducton

I am now writing a blog, can you cope! If anyone is going to read this I must advise you that I am a talker not a writer, so sometimes the way I try explain things is not always how I meant them to be explained. Does that make any sense? Well, I think that is a perfect example of what I am trying to say…
We are three friends, who have been together for years. By being together I mean that we were in our 20’s when we met and over the years stayed in touch, no matter where we found ourselves in the world. I’m not going to mention any names as this is my blog and hey, some privacy should be held in life. Let me just explain that we have been there for each other now for over 25 years and now we all find ourselves in a drift less current and we are in out mid 40’s.
We are all well travelled.
We are all from different backgrounds.
We are all different personalities.
We are a mixture of gay and straight.
We are men and woman.
We are all in the same drift less boat, looking for our direction as to “WHAT NOW?”
It’s from one of these talks that we have had that I decided to first, find out how to get a blog, and then secondly, put it out there and see who else is faced with the same situation. I say situation because I think it’s part of a growing process in our lives and is most definitely not a negative situation, even though we all feel like it is a negative time! Maybe this can be a sounding board for all of us to help each other through this period and be a guide to our next phase. Let’s make it an exciting phase!

I have had a damn interesting life. I come from a basic lower-class background but had a drive to get me to where I wanted to go. And I succeeded in almost all the things I have put my mind to. I have travelled the world working as an entertainer, and I got where I wanted to because I wanted to succeed. I had no official studies in the entertainment field and just worked really hard at getting things done to help me in the next segment of motivating myself forward.
Gosh, I feel exhausted just thinking about all the things, but that is all in the past and I will probably refer to it occasionally, the entertainment and travel experiences, and that’s why I am putting it down here as a source of general information. I then reached an age that I started feeling like I did not want to be on stage with younger talent. I looked like I could be their father and that’s when things had to change.
I became a Cruise Director and absolutely LOVED the job. Dealing with people on a day to day basis and finding ways to get them entertained on a cruise ship. Not an easy job, but by god, what satisfaction I got out of that. Then the company went bust during the Iraqi war and the SARS breakout. I was then about to turn 40 and had no idea what next in my life’s journey. I then came to South Africa and went into my brothers business and became a financial advisor.
Talk about a change in direction!
But that is to show that one of my firmly held beliefs is that you can do ANYTHING you want to as you are the controller of your life.
I threw myself into the work, built up my client base and received financial rewards as well as awards from my peers. But I woke up one morning to find that I was actually bored shitless with the work.
I give my heart and soul to everything I do and yet the clients had the opportunity to control what outcome I would have. This is where my insecurities started as to what I am doing with my life.
I’m now 45, and still working as a financial advisor, as we all have bills to pay, but I am no longer happy.

I have spoken to my friends and as we are the same age and I find that we are all feeling the same way about what’s happening in our lives. I speak to other acquaintances and started realizing that we are not so unique in feeling like we are.
A doctor who became a salesman
A lawyer who became a florist
An architect who is looking to open a travel agency
An estate agent who wants to go in to marketing
And countless others who are looking to change their life
We are all in our 40s and we are all looking for a little excitement in our lives, be it professionally or personally, because one thing we all seem to have in common is the realization of how quickly time has passed since we were 20!

I am a motivator of people and I am an excellent public speaker; that much I have come to realize about myself. My self esteem is at 0 at the moment because I am not happy, satisfied or enjoying what I am doing, but because of a financial strain feeling forced to do it. I am looking for someone to help me get into these fields yet I find it so easy to help others get to where they want to be.

I have become the sounding-board for friends and strangers alike, and would love to go into that line of work, if that line of work exists.

So, in summing up the start of this blog, last night chatting with one of my old friends we came up with the idea of me starting a blog and this is the start! I aim to tell you not only about what I feel and think and what challenges I am being faced with in the various things I am interested in, but want to invite whoever reads this to write me and tell me their thoughts, their feelings and their experiences of having changed, or going through this change which seems to be happening to so many of us. And I do believe it mostly people in their 40’s but have come across others who are in their mid to late 30’s, so it’s not specific to the age group but is specific to life having been lived and now the challenge is being faced!