I'm writing this post from my office. It's not just any office, it's the first official office I've had outside of my home. To date I've been here a little over two years. It's not incredibly fancy but I've loved every minute of working from this space. It's become my safe haven to get my head down and power through insane amounts of work. It's very quiet here and a sharp contrast to my previous home office, where my beautiful wife raises our three (soon to be 4) outrageously cute, wonderful and, let's face it, loud kids.
The bittersweetness I'm feeling is due to the fact that Cowork Athens, aka Quad Cowork (more on that later), has become a reality, but I'm also sad to leave my little office. I'm incredibly excited about the progress that has been made to make a proper coworking space come to fruition, but at the same time I already miss my office. I have half of my stuff moved to the coworking space and half still in my office. I'm sort of clinging to working from here in this quaint little work sanctuary. Take a look around the place.
While these doubts taint my mind with second thoughts, I think back to the reasons I wanted to be a part of a coworking space in the first place. A few years ago I first visited Cowork Greenville, a vibrant coworking space that gave off an incredible vibe. The community, the people, the passion, all the things that can not be achieved being in an office by yourself all day every day.
I realized very quickly that a solid work community was a significant chunk missing from my otherwise cozy and very blessed life.
When I project my future for the next few years, I want to be a part of a greater whole, not just in a box that I enjoy by myself. I want to see greater community, greater projects, people growing and being inspired. I want to look back and see that I helped influence a larger collective and made a positive impact on the people around me. This is simply not possible, or certainly not as easy when you're alone 8+ hours a day.
So as I deal with my personal doubts and perhaps selfish motivations of solitude, I will push forward with my heart's desire that has finally unfolded before me. I will help spearhead a new community, invest in others, and give it all I've got. The alternative is to do nothing, stagnate, and wonder what it could've been like. Screw that.
My slight proclivity towards extraversion is delighted that coworking in Athens is about to happen, while my introverted parts are freaking out a bit. That's just the nature of the beast when it comes to big changes I suppose.
But then I see a video like this and the motivation comes rushing right back.