I read a quote on a friends myspace page the other day that has really put things into perspective for me. We all have a tendency to get in a rut in our lives and stay where things are comfortable and not very challenging. It is so easy to become complacent and comfortable that we miss out on the great things that we could be doing with our lives. We all have a tendency to let our lives just slip by without really living them to the potential that we could. The quote that inspired me was this.
I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of securirty, conformity, and conservationism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a (wo)man than a secure future. The very basic core of a (wo)man's living spirit is his/her passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more of out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.
(yes, I am aware of the misspelled words, but this is a quote)
This is attributed to the guy that the movie Into the wild was about. I have to say that Toby lives this philosophy better than anyone that I know. She is always trying something new, or learning something new. We travel when we can, but I have never seen anyone with a passion for living life like Toby has. She simply refuses to waste time. If she is not doing something productive, then she is not happy. Now I’m not saying that her life is all work, but she is always working on something, even if that is just having fun.
I am not recommending that you don’t plan for the future, but don’t forget to live your life today. I read this a few weeks ago and have really tried to make sure that I am living an adventure in all aspects of my life. Professionally I am taking more chances and trying new things and directions. I don’t mean to imply that we are abandoning all of the things that we have worked to build over the last decade or so, but we are trying some new adventures. We are starting to work on purchasing the building for the restaurant, and are planning our new menus and such. I guess that the quote made me realize that if you aren’t doing new things all the time, all you are really doing is waiting around for life to be over.
We have revamped the way that we are doing a lot of things at our current locations by making the products even better, fresher, and in a more old fashioned way. Convenience make thing easy, but not always better. We are walking away from the convenience and are heading toward the better. It has been a very liberating change in that I feel that the things that we produce now are not a compromise between what is easy and what is right. I have always been proud of the food that we put out, but now I have the satisfaction of knowing that it is prepared in the absolute most authentic way possible. It is a good feeling to make the change.
I guess that what it all boils down to is that we shouldn’t be afraid to change things in our lives. Change brings a lot of scary things into our lives, but it brings an even bigger opportunity for great things to happen. Make the most of your time, spend it doing the things that you have always wanted to do, and not the things that you feel safe doing. Living a great and adventurous life is not always easy, but neither is living a boring and safe life. What you do with yours is up to you, I have made my decision.