Are You Living a Perfect Life?

February 18, 2008 by Nez
Filed under: Philosophy 

I’m not talking about hitting the lottery, or cashing out on stock options, I’m talking about being an average Joe or Joy, one who either works for someone, or who runs a small business.

My Idea of a Perfect Life

It is one where I:

  1. Have a profession that I truly enjoy - a job that is stimulating, creative, and pays a little bit more than enough. I do not require vast wealth, just enough to live on, and to save for retirement.
  2. Spend plenty of time with my kids - to show them the simple pleasures in life, the wonder of our world, the diversity of our culture, and that there’s more to life than TV and video games.
  3. Periodically travel - to enrich my own experience of the world and its peoples.
  4. Leave a positive stamp behind - what’s my legacy, will I leave this world a better place than when I entered it, how will people remember me? I hope that this blog will become something worth reading down the line.
  5. Am fit in body and in mind - a healthy mind and body go hand in hand. Coupled with a good personal and professional accomplishments, I’d say that makes a perfect life.

Where I am

For me, I’ve only (partially) accomplished number 1.

I happen to be self-employed, and enjoy my chosen profession very, very much. It’s my fourth year in business, and I am not yet at the level I want (or need) to be, but certainly a lot farther along than what I originally conceived because I gained a business partner in second year.

I am working towards that first plateau almost every day of the week.

Which, of course, puts the rest of the list on the back burner. It’s not that I don’t do any of 2-5, but rather not I don’t do them in the amount I want — something about not enough time in the day…excuses, I know.

What about you? Do you think my basic criteria is too simple? What are your ideas of a perfect life? Are you living it?

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Other posts you may enjoy:

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  3. A Simple Truth about Wealth
  4. Dungeons and Dragons in Real Life
  5. Dealing with Pressure Situations

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Comments

7 Comments on Are You Living a Perfect Life?

  1. James Chartrand on Mon, 18th Feb 2008 7:00 am

    2. I’ve always said that as long as I’m happy, I could live in a cardboard box. Quality of life matters far more to me than quantity.

    Though I’ll admit… I’d rather have my box set on a street down in Florida. The snow in Canada doesn’t really make boxes that much fun to live in…

  2. Hunter Nuttall on Mon, 18th Feb 2008 8:19 am

    3. Nez, this may be a simple list, but you’ve got just about everything covered. Someone who achieves these five things can certainly consider their life to be as close to perfect as it’s going to get.

    Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Treading Water Only Delays Drowning

  3. Nez on Mon, 18th Feb 2008 10:26 pm

    4. @James: I agree. “Quality”, though, is really quite subjective. For some, quality means having a mansion and luxury cars. For most, I’d say it’s somewhere between a mansion and a cardboard box.

    @Hunter: That’s my plan right now, subject to change, of course. I hope to revisit this topic periodically to assess my progress.

  4. Barbara on Mon, 18th Feb 2008 11:16 pm

    5. Nez,

    I would say you are on the right track. Being self employed is a tricky one, as you never really leave work behind.

    Spending quality time with children is very important. When they get older, they will remember the time you spent with them, not the money you spent on them.

    Personally, I am very content with my life. Having that peace within, gives me the motivation to face the every day pressures of business. Plus, when time permits, I get to blog…doesn’t get much better than that.

    Barbara’s last blog post..New Commenter Becomes NBOTW

  5. CatherineL on Tue, 19th Feb 2008 2:24 pm

    6. Hi Nez - I’m not where I want to be yet - but I probably never will be, as there will always be more goals to conquor.

    Right now, I’m trying to get more of a balance in my life.

    It’s really worthwhile trying to do that now rather than later.

    I used to focus totally on my business, and one day, I asked myself if I would be happy with the way I’d lived the past month if I were to die tomoorow and the answer was no.

    It wasn’t that I didn’t love my business - it’s just that having a successful business alone didn’t make me happy.

    CatherineL’s last blog post..Write The Grafitti On The Wall

  6. Nez on Tue, 19th Feb 2008 9:45 pm

    7. Excellent points, Barbara and Catherine.

    Thanks for sharing.

  7. Terry Finley on Thu, 21st Feb 2008 5:39 pm

    8. Great statement.
    It is personal.
    Perfect is defined personally.
    I agree with you, but I know
    many who do not have the same
    standards as you do.

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