It has been 3 years, 2 months and 2 days since my last post.
In 2013, two months after my last post, I changed careers and started drifting from the usual routine I had built over the past 10 years, leaving my paid work in music, marketing and event planning behind. Technology had always been my go to, and now with a career in that industry my time had to become a lot more dedicated to it. It’s been tough to find balance ever since. When you get a role you enjoy that compensates you well for your time, how do you continue to follow your passion when monetarily it has never compensated you in the same way? The million dollar question…
Even when working for employers in the past, I’ve always worked for myself. In most cases I made my own hours, having project oriented deadlines as opposed to set 9-5 type days. It kept my work experience varied and helped me uncover the things that excited me on the job. Now switch that to getting up every day and going to the office for 8:30am. Focusing on key performance indicators instead of projects, on product demonstrations over events. The silver lining is that my new role still gives the flexibility to be constantly learning on the job and in formal training settings. Overall, the most telling thing of this whole experience is how much my priorities and outlook has changed.
Due to the nature of my previous work, when it rained it poured and when it was good, it was great! I made a lot of money in those days but there were also a lot of skinny months. Chasing clients to ensure timely payment of contracts, hoping that certain things would all fall into place or otherwise a massive deal would fall apart. No more do I need to worry or deal with the stress related to those types of compensation questions. Do I miss the variety sometimes? Yes. I miss the working from home, working from 6PM – 2AM if I felt so inclined to do so. Choosing to do different things. There is something to be said about being able to choose when and what you want to work on.
Although, this isn’t to say I haven’t still been doing other exciting things. From playing with Finger 11 to having my band Pistols at 20 Paces single Till We Meet Again on regular radio rotation at The Bear in Edmonton, the years have had their moments of awesomeness, I even released a new Living Illusion album. I’ve also traveled across Canada on multiple work related adventures, went to Shambhala, and visited Cuba for the first time where I got engaged to my amazing future wife. It’s been a busy 3 years.
And I suppose another big change is that I’m living in Vancouver now. I live 1 block from the beach in beautiful Kitsilano and work in an office tower at the downtown waterfront.
How did I get here?
Shane Lamotte 