Brendon Komene

Posted on May 26, 2016May 26, 2016 by Brendon Komene

Only 4 weeks in.

(here’s a random picture just because)

It’s hard to believe I just started back on this journey less than 4 weeks ago. I remember going to bed Sunday night (01/05) telling Bex I’d finally figured it out!! She was like ‘what?’ … I replied ‘What I’m suppose to do … with my life!!’

I’ve always had this feeling that I just wanted to be good at being myself. Sounds weird I know but it’s the truth. From my early teens (actually a lot earlier than that) I felt like I wanted to do something great and something different so when people asked me what I wanted to be I really didn’t know. Because what I felt in my heart didn’t translate to a ‘job description’ or title, so I would just say ‘I don’t know’.

Over time I started noticing that people who told me what they wanted to do started changing careers. I didn’t pay too much attention to it but often wondered why they had spent so much time studying and training in a particular field only to move completely away from it. I know now that it was most likely because they realized it was not where their true passion was and I respect them for having the awareness and guts to pursue other things.

The thing for me is that in 2009 I started following my passion. I quit my job knowing that I wanted to do something creative and I’d just have a go. Long story short I was on the right path but I was too focused on trying to monetize any and everything I did that I lost focus of the passion and did things only for money which lead me to being unhappy.

I know now that in order to do something you love it has to be the thing you truly desire and would do every single day for free. Oh and that you should definitely keep your day job – at least for the meantime until you get to a stage where the content you are producing brings in a return. But don’t let the potential of making money be the focus. That’s why it’s important to make sure it’s a passion project first by understanding what it is that you truly LOVE doing.

That was difficult for me because honestly – I’m good at pretty much everything I do and have ever done. Just ask my mum – she’ll tell you the truth.

So when it came to finding something I was passionate about I would just choose something I was good at because I thought it was a passion. But just because you’re good at it doesn’t mean it’s a passion. I had a hard time distinguishing the difference.

I realized the thing I’m most passionate is that I love helping people. I’ve always thought that loving something meant you would happily do something with a smile on your face and a fulfilment in your heart each time. As it turns out, in my case anyway is that it’s not quite like that.

I love to help people – yes, but I’m not always thinking to myself ‘yes this makes me happy’. An example would be that I’ve opened up my home to a lot of people to give them a chance at doing something different. I’ve actually done it since I was 17yrs old and started flatting. I tried to get my sister to let my niece come and live with me because at the time her home environment wasn’t healthy and my niece was like a little sister to me and I felt obligated to try and give her a better living situation. At the time I was only 22, living on my own in Auckland in a really nice 2 bedroom apartment in Te Atatu Peninsula (yeah check that place on Google maps – it’s blown up and super expensive). I could barely afford to live there but I moved there because I wanted my niece to have a safe home and community to live in.

Was it the smartest move? Probably not. You see I was 22yrs old and about to hit my prime in pimpin’ at the clubs, partying and just being a typical guy. What business did I have trying to support a young girl, pay for her schooling and all the other things that go along with it? But was I willing to do it? Fuck yeah I was.

In the end my niece only stayed for a holiday and although I’m not sure why she didn’t end up living with me – my niece said she wanted to but my sister said that she didn’t want to hurt my feelings by saying she didn’t. Anyway, that was merely one of the many attempts I’ve offered to help people and have it blow up in my face. And yet …. I still continue to do it. Crazy huh? I think so.

But this is it. I’m compelled to do it, I’m compelled to help people even when I know it’s not going to benefit me as such and often come at a large financial expense. So as I told Bex ‘Why the fuck do I always do this shit? We got enough on our plate and then BJ goes and offers to help another person and another’ … Neat alright.

Inside it does make me feel good to at least offer and a lot of the time grateful if people turn me down

but that’s who I am. I’m obligated to help people if I think I can. But why? I always think it’s because if I were in that situation I’d like to know that someone would help me.

Because I was good at most things in my life I always found myself sharing my knowledge because it was a good feeling (not to brag) but a good feeling to know you could help someone up and then they may learn something to get them to the next level and help you up with them.

To be fair I can’t think of many times that I have received that feeling except when it comes to my boys which are a small group and also make up my entire grooms party come to think of it.

So … what’s my purpose and what do I want to do with my life?

I can whole heartedly say I JUST WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. And I’m going to do it in any form, on any platform, in any possible way I can – for the rest of my life. But is that a business? Is it something I can make money from? Fuck yeah I can! If you’re great at anything and I mean GREAT, you’re the person people associate with any given field as being the BEST – you can make money. But it’s important to know that you shouldn’t make it about money – ever.

So I’ll continue to do it either way and just focus on being a good cunt to people who need it and a straight up, right between the eyes, cold, hard truth cunt for people that need it too. (oh you thought it would be all smiles and laughter? Some people need help by being faced with the truth – but just remember it’s because I care

)

So what is it that you’re passionate about? What do you constantly think about or do or follow or ask about? If you are one of the fortunate ones to know what your passion is then go do it. Stop doing things you hate because you can lose just as much money being happy as hell!! (think about that)

Do something because you love it, not because it has a title and it’s easier for people to understand. Fuck what people understand or don’t (Fuck people? … coming from the guy that just wants to help people – but I told you it’s different with me)

Find your passion and DO THAT. Please it’s important to me as well.

Posted on May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Brendon Komene

Plan of Attack

I just completed mapping out my day in order of Important & Urgent things to do first.

Got Casey on the iPad supplying the soundtrack to my creative experience.

Posted on May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 by Brendon Komene

How to manage your time and tasks better

It’s nearly the end of week 4 and I’m on track to have all the associated platforms up and running.

Yesterday I learned the value of managing my time better which goes hand in hand with maintaining your focus. Here’s what I did:

Made a list of all of the things I want/need to get done with the date that they need to be completed by.
Put them into 1 of 4 groups determined by if they are: Important and Urgent, Important but NOT Urgent, Unimportant but Urgent, Unimportant and NOT Urgent.

So now you know what needs your attention today and what can wait.

Posted on May 24, 2016May 24, 2016 by Brendon Komene

Finally!

Ok … I’m blogging.

Started my day by dropping my son to day care,

went for a run and now I’m at the ‘help desk’ about to slay it!

Trying to set up my lighting kit annnd there’s no power leads. Awesome!!

Did a tonne of work updating my websites and now 3D printing a custom dual iPhone stand to use when I start vlogging:

Posted on May 16, 2016June 9, 2016 by Brendon Komene

Iris Apfel

Iris is one of my idols. She’s unapologetically unique, a style icon and still crushing the game at 94 yrs young.

What I admire most about her is that she has been able to remain true to herself by doing what she loves and make a career out of it.

How many times have you heard someone say ‘find what you love and do that?’. I know I’ve heard it a million times throughout my life but I never truly knew what that meant. I thought it meant you should find something that someone else has already done or is doing and do that. As it turns out that’s not what it means at all.

Simply put it means doing something, anything that you love doing and you can do that for a living. Anything? You may ask. Yep – ANYTHING.

Let me explain.

In today’s day and age there is no reason why you should be doing something that you don’t love. So if that’s you then please STOP. The problem could be that you know what your passion is but you have NEVER EVER seen anyone doing it as their business. So what? It doesn’t matter what someone else is or isn’t doing this is about you and what YOUR passion is.

Gary Vaynerchuk once said ” If you like ALF write an ALF Blog, if you like smurfs – smurf it UP! ” Anything you love doing can be made into a business but in my view it has to, I repeat HAS TO be an absolute passion of yours. That way you can and will do it every chance you get and it’s not motivated purely by the potential to make money.

Let’s touch on that for a moment and use Iris as an example. Iris loves fashion today as much as she did 50 yrs ago. She did it naturally because it’s who she is. She did it so much and so well that it drew attention to herself (keeping in mind that this was before the internet, before blogging and social media) she then learned to apply her skill/love/passion to interior design – a related field you could say. Everything about her represented her beliefs and she did it BEFORE it became her business and before it made her any money. That’s the key.

You should apply this method to your passion and start tomorrow. Seriously.

Taking action is the most important part. Don’t invest time into trying to map it all out right now just go and do it.

Simply start by sharing what it is that you love with people around you, create a conversation around it and go from there. Use the next week just to connect with people that share the same interest and see how much knowledge you can gain and add to these conversations and you’ll start to develop a plan of how you’re going to go about it and what sets you apart from everyone else.

You don’t need to rush it because it’s not fuelled by money and your next bill payment isn’t depending on it. But just make a start and feel good about it. Then flick me an email about what it is you’re doing.

[email protected]