Hi. Howzit!

Been thinking really hard lately on the whole issue of time, not only spending it in as valuable a way as possible, or finding that balance, but how to get more of it!

I have this thing, where I monitor myself, my life from an external perspective, I talk a lot about perspective, I think cause as someone who has strong beliefs or views on things, it’s fascinating to me that there is more than a single truth to a simple fact. The reason I keep looking at my life from alternate perspective is probably Jess. I always want to make sure my decisions would be in-line with how she wanted our kids to be raised. So that’s how I keep myself in check. And I know when I can do a better job, I feel it, I see it through her eyes. Then I make an effort to correct myself and do a better job.

Last year was a lot of me, figuring out who I was and what I wanted life to be, this year has been much more about the others in my life. I find the thing that makes me feel the best is a weekend well spent with the kids and Kimmy. Needless to say all my projects and selfish goals have taken a bit of a back seat!  Combine that with the worst winter of surf in KZN history, surfing has all but gone out the window! Lately I’ve resorted to forcing myself to surf when I get a chance regardless of the conditions, hell even a swim in the sea has done the trick, it still amazes me what a big part the ocean plays in keeping me on an even keel. It’s some kind of magic.

But that whole time thing, the value of it, it’s a big deal for me, and I have been looking at the ways I can really make it mine. I’m not a very structured person, I’m not sure a daily planner with all my desires scheduled in to an allocated time slot would work, I need to feel like the time is right and then get stuck in (partly why writing has been hard lately). But it my realization is this: It comes down to money. They say money can’t buy happiness, in many cases I believe that, but money can buy you time, and with freedom of time, it’s far easier to find happiness. Time is our most valuable commodity, you can never get back that minute that just passed, nor can you put a price on an open calendar, with the money to do what you want.

Surplus cash and an empty calendar. Now that’s a very far-fetched dream for most people in their 30’s , 40’s or even 50’s. But that’s something I’m trying to hack into, I’m studying the best ways to build a passive income, whether its building a business to make millions and retire, or re-evaluate your needs to suit a more modest living, supported with some form of passive income.

There is no doubt some of the luxuries of the modern world make life easier and more enjoyable to live, but at the cost of what? Whats your balance, what are you prepared to sacrifice to reclaim time?  What if you don’t have to sacrifice? That’s what I’m interested in, I want both, I want the cash freedom combined with time freedom. I’m not talking extreme stuff like living in a hut on a deserted island (that would be great for the first week) I’m talking about ways of building an income to compliment my salary, take the pressure off, give myself a little independence to know everything I do is a choice, not for pure survival. There is a big difference in morale across those two mindsets, even if the job is the same.

So over the next few months I’m going to post some stuff about this whole journey, some of the clever little life hacks there are to get control of your ship, without radically sacrificing anything. I’m going to stick to the stuff I have actually tried and tested. Maybe I find something that actually works. I’ll be the guinea pig. Feel free to share anything you are interested in or anything that’s worked for you.

  
I think humans got it wrong somewhere along the line, when profit became more important than life, individual success put ahead of collaboration and the betterment of life for everyone, the world we live in now is broken on so many levels but I think there is a growing consciousness of this. I’ve always been an optimist, and in honour of that I have revived an old favorite of mine, basically a curated selection of the coolest stuff happening around the world, stuff that gives me hope in the future. It’s better than watching Carte Blanche, or reading the newspaper, I promise. You can check it out here.

Speaking of hope, Jess’s mom Debbie has been busy over the last year helping a local charity in Shakas Rock (Ballito)

Jess was very passionate about serving the under privileged and in that honour, Debbie is doing some great stuff with Ithemba Labasha Community Centre. The English translation of Ithemba Labasha is “Hope For Our Children”

They get very little support from the community and no government funding at all, that’s part of the reason Debbie decided to get involved.

The community Centre runs a full day care for 45 toddlers who get fed breakfast and lunch daily. In the afternoons after school, a further 100 children come to the Centre for a hot cooked meal daily, Monday to Friday. In total 145 children are fed daily!

They need funding. Supplying good nutritious food is high on the priority list! There are also basic costs to be covered like electricity, water, gas, security, maintenance etc. With an monthly donation target of R20,000.00 they will be able to massively improve the quality of these kids lives. Funds are strictly controlled.

They have developed a supporting committee to the existing NPO committee, consisting of an auditor, some business people and people just passionate about making a difference. There are some great plans in the works to create and sustain some real change in these kids lives, all the way through to being released into the adult life.

Ithemba Labasha has an NPO number and they are in the process of applying for Section 18A status (Section 18A status, donors can get Tax relief for their donations).

Besides cash, all other donations such as old clothing (children and adults) shoes, blankets, curtains, household goods, kitchenware, toys etc are all very welcome. You can contact Debbie at debbiej2@telkomsa.net

If you are feeling the love, Ithemba Labasha’s bank details are…

Ithemba Labasha Centre.

Ned Bank Acc No: 1098605667

Code No:131026

So that’s all I got for this peaceful Saturday morning. My kids are behaving like little adult humans today which is so cool. They’re sitting here around me playing with puzzles and Spiderman, we’re clicking today. Whilst setting myself up to write this morning I discovered an old album on iTunes this morning, Live: Throwing Copper. Think its been 14 or 15 years since I saw them play in Durban. That was a fat jol. Time flies.

I’ll leave you with a quote I saw on instagram last night that I thought was pretty cool:

“Your future self is watching you right now through memories…”

What do you want those memories to? Better get to it…