How a 1 week holiday changed my life
and the lessons along the way
December 2018
The moment that changed my life forever.
I've been working for some time for Facebook in Dublin.
Amazing job, colleagues & compensation.
However, in Dublin, it would get dark at 3PM.
Rain, wind, cold and dark for months in a row.
So I took a 1 week vacation to Tenerife.
Never been there before.
At 3PM the sun was up in the sky.
At 3PM I was swimming in the ocean and the water was warm.
I spent so much time outdoor.
T-shirt and flip-flops.
In December.
All while Europe was cold, dark and depressing.
That moment changed my life.
It was like a breath of fresh air.
A preview into something so amazing, and yet seemingly impossible to have all year round.
Seemingly impossible because Facebook wouldn’t let me work remote.
Because “everyone needs to be in the office”.
Their needs versus mine.
It’s fine to compromise for the short term, but compromising long term always leads to unhappiness.
So I spent almost two years to plan how my life should look like.
I built my personal brand and became a contractor and worked remotely and travelled ever since.
Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus.
And everyone benefited from that.
I am more happy and energised.
I spend more time outdoors and exercised more.
And my clients get the best of me.
And that’s the work-life balance.
Not how many hours you spend at work, but also what you do after work that can energize you and make you fulfilled.
Or as I see it:
Live your best life so you can do your best work
So why am I telling this story?
Because just like with everything in life, if you have more options to choose from, you can pick the one that works best for you in a given context.
But most software engineers have no options.
Stuck into a job they hate, in a city they can barely afford to live.
Learning new languages and frameworks all the time in the hope of getting a similar job for 10% increase. (5% after tax)
With zero prospect of things improving.
But it doesn’t have to be like this.
When you're not in the right environment, it's hard to dream, and it's even harder to imagine you could be having the role you want and living the life you want.
Let alone to see a path towards that.
Besides health which is invaluable, information is probably the most valuable thing.
And in 99% of the cases, everyone who seems so far ahead of you just had the right context or information at the right time.
And I kept seeing this around me for many years.
That’s why I’m announcing the launch of my cohort based course & webinars that will help you understand what are your options for optimising compensation, quality of life, or both, by understanding what it takes to be perceived as an exceptional engineer and reap the rewards that come with it.
So, if you're an ambitious engineer, join the waitlist and keep an eye out for further updates here: https://best-life-work.mihaivalentin.com/
(Make sure you click the link in your email to confirm your subscription after registering)
And as always, if you have any questions or want to get in touch, DM me via LinkedIn. You can do so even if we’re not connected!