The road not taken

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,. And sorry I could not travel both.”

For many of us, life has not been very kind when we finally reach adulthood. Gone are the days where we thought that wearing shirts with ties are the epitome of a successful person – at least for me.

See, I have always been “brainwashed” to think that the corporate will be the ultimate conclusion for a university graduate like me. Pretty much like everyone else, I have been clouded by the social stigma that by holding a job which requires you to wear formally would render you well respected and successful. Climbing the corporate ladder, outdoing your friends and colleagues in position and in pay seems to be the game that we play.

I used to be that person, but not so much anymore, now, and I have to thank love for that.

Life is but a journey of hardship and discovery. It just seems that only a fraction of us that are able to utilize what we are good at and earning a good money out of it. Most of us struggle to find that – maybe will not even be able to.

But it is a funny thing, we don’t realize that passions are also discovered halfway through life (serendipity, if I may), or even as a result of the compounding of two hearts.

I have been working 7 years in this corporate prison, many of you call the american dream. And while I enjoy doing some part of the job and learning new skills, a part of my heart just refuses to fully embrace this. There’s a part of me that tells me that this is not what I was meant for.

There were days that I dread going to work and there are nights I wish I didn’t have to wake up to. And to make matters worse, it has been 7 years and counting!

But about a year ago, both my wife and I started our own venture, we shared the same misery and we built together a same passion – food. Somehow god had created a special moment (as Matt Damon would say it only takes 5 seconds, to change your life) for us and we created a something perfect for the both of us, and some other people too!

It was a tough journey of research and development, good and bad feedback and of course lots of argument. But it is this that brought us closer together and we realize that not only it helps us to get closer, it helped us to unleash the potential we never could do before this. As an example, I always held back from making decisions in my previous jobs as I fear that it would be wrong,  but in actual fact I have had so much ideas to work with. Here in my own venture, I never feared.

Life, is but a funny and interesting journey of hardship and discovery.

While much happier trying to make things work for us, and like a child, our venture has required us to spend more time with it as it grows, and so we have to make more time for it. I, however, being the safer person in the relationship, will continue to hold two jobs – much like securing an insurance for the business.

I could say, while we are not making millions or billions (yet) – having two jobs ain’t that bad if you are doing what you are passionate about. It will not always be to utilize what you are really good at. It could be something that you can be good at collectively as a group.

My first job is definitely paying me well, and while it may not be the right career choice – it does pay the bills, and as my goals change, so does my career choice. I’m climbing a ladder, but I’m building my own ladder now – and that has made all the difference in my life.