I was thinking that if I post a blog like -
- then the reader would expect the author to be
a successful person, for the post to carry any weight. Since the meat of that
post is from other sources, I don’t think it matters. Still, it made me think a
mini autobiography might be in order.
Firstly,
I stand by “There is no such thing as failure - only learning” so I’m not
a failure.
Q: What is the definition of success?
Again, I
stand by “Define what success means to you - because it’s different for
everybody”. Here’s an idea though:
Success is achieving your goals!
Everyone
has different goals. And - to be honest - when I look back on my life, I
realize that I don’t think I ever had any goals, at least no clear goals. Perhaps
subconsciously I had goals.
This fits perfectly with Damon Fryer’s “You
need to get really clear about all the things that you want to have in your
life. That’s called goals. And they’re very real, and a lot of people just
don’t have them.”
It’s
quite a sobering realization that I never had clear goals, it’s like I’ve just
gone along with the flow.
Already
you must be thinking (I would be thinking this) “this guy is not the person to
listen to regards being successful.” I don’t think my ‘Mini Autobiography’ will
change that view either!
Mini Autobiography
Note: Not sure if I remember things 100%, it’s
close though.
1976: Born
1987: Went to secondary school. Everything up to
this point has been fairly unnoteworthy. I was a very quiet, shy, unsociable
kid. Think of the quietest person you knew in your school, I was probably quieter.
I spent far too much time on computer games (as this
2013 post attests.)
1992: Did well at GCSEs - AAAAABBBC
1994: Did well at GCE Advanced Level (A Level) - AAA
1994: Went to Cambridge University to study
Engineering. Changed to Mathematics after a couple of months
1994: Dropped out of
Cambridge University.
1995: Went to Nottingham University to study
Mathematical Physics. Changed to Mathematics and Computer Science after a
couple of months.
1996: Dropped out of Nottingham University.
1996: Did an IT training course.
1996: Was offered an IT Field Engineer role on the back of doing
the IT course, but very stupidly turned down the opportunity.
1997: Wrote off my Peugeot 205 GTI Gentry Edition on ice (totally
my fault.)
1998: Went to Exeter University to study Computer
Science.
1999: Dropped out of Exeter University (yes, that’s 3 University
drop outs!) I remember being hooked
on Baldurs Gate at
the time!
2000: Went to Southampton University to study
Mathematics with Computer Science. Changed to Mathematics after the first
semester.
2001: Inherited (at age 25) £100’000 from my late (1998) grandmother’s
will trust.
2002: Suffered depression and had to drop out of University for 1
year.
2003: Went back to Southampton University.
2004: Met Thai lady number 1 in London - she became
my girlfriend.
2004: Graduated from Southampton University with a 2:1 BSC in
Mathematics.
2004: Went to Thailand.
2004: Trekked Mount Toubkal.
2004: Ended up working in a Call Centre (like so
many people do who go to University not having a goal.)
2005: Did a second IT training course. This course
cost £5000 and promised a job in IT on a minimum salary of £16’000 per year
(this was big money to someone used to £9000 at Call Centre rates.)
2005: Got an IT job placement with a Government Authority.
2005: Got a job with IT company number 1 - I was 29 years old
and only just getting my first permanent employment contract!
2005: Living in a £70 per week bedsit some 40 minutes’
walk from work.
2008: My weakness for Thai lady number 1 (puppy love!?) meant I’d
lost all £100’000 inheritance and was now £15’000 in debt.
2008: Thai lady number
1 went to prison on a drugs related offense.
2009: Visited Thai lady number 1 in a Thai prison.
2009: Met Thai lady number 2.
2010: Moved into my first property (at the age of 34). This was
a 1 bed flat which cost £155’000 (£140’000 mortgage).
2010: Thai lady number 1 was released from prison.
2010: Thai lady number 2 became my girlfriend (which she is to
this day) and I dumped Thai lady number 1.
2012: Moved to IT company number 2 (after having had 4
promotions in 6.5 years at IT company number 1.)
2013: Moved to IT company number 3 - this is a super great
company and I’m here to this day!
2015: Moved to a lovely £340’000, 3-bed, end-of-terrace house,
in a super nice town (£285’000 mortgage.)
2016: Travelled in Cambodia (between trekking Mount Toubkal,
and Cambodia, all my holidays - roughly 2 a year - were in Thailand.)
2017: My primary
blog passed 2.5 Million page-views!
2017: Bought a 227
bhp Audi for £25’000. I have no loans, just a big mortgage (currently £255’000.)
That’s
the story so far. A few ups-and-downs on the way “a smooth sea never made a
skilled sailor!”
I reckon
I’ve been successful thus far in life, this is based on a very rudimentary definition
of success:
Own your own a home (even with a big mortgage, it
is success in my book, as-long-as the repayments are manageable)
Whether
I will be successful in achieving my current and future goals, that future
history is yet to be written.
Image: I have this poster on my living room wall
- “A
Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor”
