Speedy Gonzales

My daughter Leilani stays calm in traffic by taking selfies!

Yet another day goes by,  and yet again I'm gesticulating in traffic, or swearing at the person who just cut me up/tail-gated me/ didn't indicate, you've been there, you know what I mean (my kids certainly do, they tell me I'm Jekyll and Hyde in the car!).  You get home or to your destination totally frazzled and either grumble about it for a bit or  have to take a few moments to calm down.   I usually wonder to myself "what's the rush?"  Will being two cars ahead get you to your destination faster?  Are you that late that you have to drive like a maniac?

Idiot driver on wrong side of the road trying to muscle in with school KIDS onboard!

There's traffic even in Marseille, but at least the view's great!

But then this attitude is not only  relegated to when ones drives, it's with everything you do in life. For example, when I started my first TV show, man I was pushing and pushing and knocking on the doors of everyone and everything.  I had to get the show out, it was do or die, now or never, what if TOMORROW never comes!!! I pushed so hard I got my sponsor on board within a month, and just like that, even after signing the contracts they pulled out!... just as we were going into pre production. Fast forward two years from that after a really bad bout of depression, a couple of very shitty jobs and 3 lawsuits, I thought well this is it isn't it, I can't go any further down.  I remember  venting to my close friends, they said "what's stopping you from doing your show now?" , "we'd love to help you".   It's incredible how faith, luck, timing and some incredible partners can change everything.  5 months to the day they said it, we had "the Art of living show" on Air.  It is all about timing, which brings me to my point.   I rushed around like a blue arsed fly and it all blew up in my face.  You can not see all the outside forces that are influencing those moments, and sometimes when you push too hard, it pushes back.  Plus my sponsors this time round were so supportive and just the best sort you could hope for.  (Yes mum, patience is a virtue )

I've got my second TV show ready, but this time I'm not rushing around, I'm being methodical, taking my time, allowing the natural order of timelines to flow so it can and will be taken up by the right people with the right attitude for the show.  I'm not saying sit back and let it all fall into your lap, ha ha ha , it that was true, I'm sure we'd all be sitting at home watching the idiot box and waiting for the phone to ring!  I'm saying it's just like fishing, you have to put all your lines in the water, be patient and when you get a bite, reel it in patiently or it will get away if you rush the process.  (Who would have thought I'd use a fishing metaphor, thank you to Xtreme Fishing!)

My wonderful friend Reza who let us use his Shop

Here's another example, (err not a fishing one ok)  I've known Lisa for years, we've met irregularly at best,  but last year everything clicked between us, friendship wise, work wise, creatively(the timing was right).   We've been slowly building towards working on several creative projects together, and individually.  One of them is for her exhibition of up cycled lamps.  I must admit I was pushing for her to have her exhibition sooner, I felt it would be beneficial to get it out faster, get the word out and push her a  little harder.  We worked out the timelines and got to looking for exhibition spaces.  But you see, yet again the timing wasn't right, pieces were delayed,  the space we agreed on wasn't what she really wanted in the end.  So leaving all that aside, I carried on with some of my other ventures and whilst having a couple of hours to kill I decided to visit an ol friend who owned a shop in one of the prime locations of the 'golden triangle' in Kuala lumpur.  As we chatted over lunch together I told him about what I was doing and how were were looking for space for the exhibition and needed sponsors as well, and just like that, he offered his place... timing yet again is everything.

She was taking pictures of the place but the cat insisted on posing!

My Celadon pot that will be used for Lisa's work!

I brought Lisa for a visit the following week and she absolutely loved it!  It was perfect for her.  This time we did delay the timing for the exhibition further into the next month where she felt most comfortable and what suited the owner of the shop as well.   Yet again here is an example of not rushing, of taking the time to plan and organise, of fate, of luck.   Now that we've got the dates locked down for Friday 13th of May! (great date)  we'll create a FB page to extend an invitation to you to come see these beautiful upcycled lamps that Lisa has called "Scandelabra" .  Stay tuned for more info on that

 I guess as we get older as well,  one begins to wonder why?  Why are we rushing around?  Is the world really going to come crashing down on our shoulders if we slowed down?  Why are you working at break neck speed setting aside what you really want to do, and sometimes all you want to do is earn a decent living doing what you enjoy and spending time with the ones you love.  We've lost the ability to "stop and smell the roses.   So what I say to you is this, take a deep breath, slow that pace down a tad and look up... what do you see?

I see you !