2017 - The Year Of Change

Has there ever been a point in your life when you think "Yep! That's when it all changed for me"? Well for me 2017 is that year.

Scroll back to the beginning of the year, it seemed that we had everything that we wanted. We had a lovely house with a reducing mortgage & the trappings of hard work contained within, We both had lovely luxurious cars which were paid for, we could afford to have a holiday AND still save. The children growing up as responsible people, it was all there.

Personally I had achieved my dream of presenting on my local radio station in the very same studio that had ignited my passion for radio as a wide eyed 12 year old boy in 1981, I was working the best DJ gigs of my career & I had a secure job that I loved with Marley Eternit, a company that allowed me to grow with them, invested time & resource into supporting me, honestly the best company I have ever worked for, working for a great boss & with an amazing team.

So why change?

With my self-imposed busy lifestyle & my wife working a minimum of 8 hours overtime a week, we missed each other. We missed the things that matter, each other. More importantly, we were paying somebody else to effectively raise our children. That wasn't right. Never was, never will be. I am a great believer that effort equals reward, this is something that I was told as a child, it's something that I tell our children. It can't rule your life though. There has to be a balance that suits the children, not just your lifestyle.

So what did we do?

We made the decision to sell & up & emigrate to the Czech Republic where my wife is from. I wish we had been warned of the emotional trail that we walked in the following few months, telling family, telling friends, telling our work teams, then selling our life in England. Selling the house through amazing friends at QT Homes, then the cars & the furniture, that is easy enough, the emotional attachment to things like the house caught us totally unaware, that was hard. All of this against the backdrop of an uncertain Europe following the decision to leave the E.U.

So the day arrives, 31st July 2017, we lock the house up for the last time, load our cases into the hire car and head up to Edinburgh overnight for the flight the following morning, arriving in our new town on the hottest day of the year, we set upon our plan!

We did have a plan, we could not have just "jumped". My wife was one year away from finishing her accountancy qualification but work commitments meant that she didn't have time to complete this, the Czech Government sent her on a course to complete her qualification, she is now qualified, & ready to work in 2018, part-time of course!

I however had a longer path to tread, getting a birth number, residency, and then setting up a business which uses my skill set that I have gained over my working life. It's often said that "Choose a career that you love, you will never work a day in your life". That's what I am doing now. I have been lucky enough in the UK to have people that believed in me, their support was a massive part of my decision to make this move.

That business gained a name from a flippant comment "You're a DJ, you live in Czech, so call it Czech123, it's what every DJ says when they first get a microphone!" So guess what it's called? Exactly that! Czech123!

I now sub-contract my expertise in my chosen areas. The main part of this is wall & floor tile specification. I work part-time alongside Pete, the only person that I have met with at least as much passion as me for the business of ceramics and being back in the trade that gave me so much for 25 years of my life is amazing. I love being part of the team at Bedrock Tiles, the passion is on fire again & we can see the business growth already. Great things in store 2018 & beyond.

The other part of this business is all music related. I have always been a club DJ in my adult life, & three years ago I was lucky enough to start playing Live Music Weekends with Butlins & as a result gained an agent, Vision Talent. These guys have been incredibly supportive of my work and I now play these amazing events in the UK for Absolute Radio 80's & Vintage TV, I still can't believe that this is happening to me. I have more time on my hands, so the music has had more attention. Last week I was able to announce that I have had my first commercially available mix included on Issue 379 of Mastermix. There is definitely more to come on that front.

Reading all of that you would think that we absolutely made the right decision, you'd be right. In 2018 we will look to buy a house from our equity, and we still are able to have the lifestyle as before if things continue & we make the most of our opportunity.

Yet one moment more than all others highlighted why this was the right decision. Last week my wife said that she "felt like she has really got to know our children properly", I totally echo this sentiment. You cannot buy this time back, grab every second of it. THAT is what we have done. We have time with our children as a family. Priceless.

So yes, 2017 has been a year of change, a great change.

The supportive companies have all been highlighted with hyperlinks, please click them & support them as they have supported us in our year of change.

Merry Christmas.

Jules