Milan/Newsletter May 2006
Dear Friend,
It is time to send out a brief email update, beginning with the present and going back from here to cover past milestones and learnings as I find time. The most important thing for now, however, is to share with you where I am at.
Currently I am settling in Whitianga, where I moved to on March 28. My friends Dot and Geordie have have been my kind hosts during April while I established myself here.
If you don't know where that is here's the view from space:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fr33m4n/113058085/
I have been working with Dana and Dan, who are currently writing a business plan for a new kind of alternative energy company -
Once the business plan is complete, which will be within the next few weeks, we will be looking for investors. As soon as the funding is secured for Energy Alternatives I will be working full-time, filling a management role and making sure the communications and IT systems requirements of this new company are met.
The working hours are pretty long and I will need to generate some part-time income until the funding kicks in, so it feels like a bit of a slog at times – a lot of work for a little pay. I also feel lonely at times, since I don't really know a lot of people here and I have lost contact with a lot of friends after moving away from Auckland and being so busy just staying alive.
Nevertheless, I am hopeful that things are going to change soon, since I have a good team to work with, and I have learned a lot through working with Dana, a 50-something Canadian ex-pat, about what leadership means and how to focus on what I am good at, not to get lost in details and to communicate what matters in a simple and effective way.
These new-
Another project I will be very focussed on during the next month is to clearly define and effectively communicate my goals and values, it means that I will break down my goals into roles and processes, which will form the core of my organisational system – that sounds easier than it is! I believe it is fundamentally important to do this, so that the way I use my time and resources can be streamlined toward the achievement of these goals. It also allows me to see how the small and sometimes mundane things I may be doing fit into my overall life goals.
While working on my own requirements I will also be creating self-improvement tools and organisational templates which will eventually form some of the content of the software tools Aran is developing. It is still hard for me to communicate these notions simply and concisely and I hope to do some further writing on these topics when I get a chance - but first things first!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fr33m4n/
https://www.openbc.com/hp/Milan_Holzapfel/
That's all for now, I will be in touch as things unfold and I look forward to hearing about your life, your thoughts, your successes and your adventures.
Milan
