Two years ago, I lost my beautiful brother-in-law Benoit. A year ago, my wife TK got diagnosed with Leukemia. The good news is that she is currently in remission. These events however have made us evaluate what is really important in life. The fact that TK is in remission makes us feel we have been given a second chance. We both want to live life to its absolute fullest, considering every day as a bonus.
What does this mean for TK and I? There is an expression we both really love: Carpe Diem, which translates into ‘seize the moment.’
Carpe Diem goes hand in hand with ‘Dream, Plan and Do.’
In this video I want to share our approach to ‘Carpe Diem’ and how we focus on our personal big rocks.
TK and I are at the moment in Uzbekistan. Why Uzbekistan? Cameron, our son, made it to the Under-23 Asian Football Cup representing Australia, so TK and I decided to fly around the world and support him (it’s about a 24-hour flight to get here.)
Supporting Cameron is definitely a big rock for TK and I even more so since TK’s diagnosis. When faced with mortality last year, TK was adamant that she never wanted to miss an opportunity to see Cameron wearing the green and gold and representing Australia.
For both TK and I, quality time with our loved ones and discovering new countries are both on top of our priority list. At the start of this year, when we did our 2022 planning session, we knew Cameron had a chance to make this U23 team. So, we dreamt it. We imagined flying to Uzbekistan to support him and discovering this fascinating country.
Then we had to plan how it could be possible if he were to be selected? Who would look after Mirabelle, our youngest daughter, while we were away? Who would manage my training while I was away? Where would we stay? What would we do when we were there?
We only found out a couple of weeks before the start of the tournament that Cameron had been selected. It was all hands-on deck to seize the moment and get everything organized.
We are now at the stadium in Qarshi, which is about 6 hours south of the capital Tashkent. The Aussie team are about to play their second game. We are so excited to be here to support Cameron and his team as well as visiting this beautiful country in between matches. Contrary to what many people think, Uzbekistan it is a very safe country to travel around, and the Uzbeks are incredibly welcoming and friendly.
We are having the most incredible time enjoying every precious moment together discovering this wonderful country. We are also loving turning up in our Aussie yellow shirts to the matches, waving our flags and feeling extremely proud parents as Cameron walks on to the pitch.
This is what TK and I mean by Carpe Diem and putting our big rocks first. This whole process involved dreaming, planning and doing.
My question to you today is this: what is the one Big Rock this year that you need to put first?
It’s a very simple but in my view powerful question. What is the one Big Rock this year that you need to put first?
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip. We’re about to go and support the U23 Australian football team, the Olyroos. Have a great day.
A bientôt,
Cyril
