Ask yourself a simple question, “Who are you?” It’s one of the most unnerving things you can ever do. It’s one of those questions that forces you to look in the mirror of your own life and face the reality of who you are.

The Star Wars movie trailer, “The Force Awakens”, had a voice over that asked the main character the question, "Who are you?" Not surprisingly, it was never answered but with any luck it will be in the next installment of the blockbuster franchise.

So many of us define ourselves through external factors such as our job. When asked “Who we are” we respond with, “I’m a lawyer or teacher or even a domain investor”. These may be what you do but they certainly do not define “who you are”.

I would like to start with saying a big apology. Yesterday I discovered that my consulting emails for those people asking me to provide them some assistance with their domain portfolio have been going to my SPAM folder.

I found this out when I logged into my clarity.fm account (great system for managing consulting btw) and found a whole host of people had requested some time with me…..whoops!

I strictly limit the amount of time I allow for consulting but not replying was plain rude. I’m very, very sorry that I didn’t respond back to you. If you are wanting some help with your domain portfolio then please feel free to click on this link and I’ll make sure I get back to you in a timely fashion.

This brings up an interesting point. I’ve found many people believe that saying sorry is a sign of weakness and it’s the last thing they’ll do. It’s almost like they’ve been scripted by their lawyer to never admit any sort of liability in any situation….including their relationships.

There is one thing that I’ve realised in my travels….there is opportunity everywhere you go. I find that too many people journey through life with their eyes closed rather than take in the wonder all around them.

I’ve found the secret to opening your eyes to the opportunities all around me is to be perpetually curious. Engage others by asking questions and then listen with both ears wide open…..remember you have one mouth and two ears….use them in those proportions.

For example, I’m writing this while staying on a farm right now (it’s a stunningly beautiful place) and after talking with the owner I’ve learned a LOT about cattle. More importantly, the importance of data, GPS and managing the land to get the highest yield. It was fascinating hearing him describe some of the advances in geo-fencing that would allow him to control where his cattle roamed.

When I first went on vacation I’d somehow convinced myself the world would end. How could it possibly continue without my considerable effort…..not surprisingly I eventually understood that everything worked fine without me. Have you ever had thoughts of grandeur where you wonder whether your enterprises will collapse without you?

During the first weeks of being away I would regularly check my email and I even replied to a number of them. This brought mild (and not so mild) rebukes from the team back home who politely (and not so politely) told me I was on vacation and to butt out.

It was about week four that I discovered depths of relaxation that I’d forgotten existed. This feeling of bliss was amply supported by being on a cruise ship where the biggest decision I had to make each day was what I would have for dinner. It was wonderful...!

Vacations aren’t real, they’re more of an aberration from our regular lives. When you think of it, vacations are like the carrot that for most of the year is just out of reach…..but I have to say, it’s nice to have a munch on the carrot every now and then.

After traveling around Europe and seeing some incredible sites a dose of reality occurred when I returned home and glanced at my PC sitting forlornly in my study. It hadn’t been turned on for 6 weeks and it beckoned like a puppy wanting a good scratch behind the ears.

Pushing the power button brought a cheerful chirp from my faithful friend and a joyous hum announced its awakening hard drives. The three screens in front of me sprung to life and it wasn’t long before I started wading my way through the quagmire of my online reality as I caught up with the latest pictures of cats (which is very important), what my friends were doing and what had happened in the last 6 weeks in the domain industry.

An hour later I pushed my chair back from the desk, closed my eyes and took a deep relaxing breath. I could almost picture the waiter bringing me another drink with an umbrella stuck in it….sigh…..like I said, bliss. That’s just when my wife let me know the trash had to be taken out….back to reality!

Have a great weekend.

I’m finally back after an extended five-week vacation and the recent ICANN meeting in Abu Dhabi. It’s amazing how much can transpire in such a relatively short time…..it’s clear the domain industry doesn’t rest for anyone.

From a personal perspective I would highly recommend to everyone that you take some time off from the hectic life we all lead. One or two weeks is great but there’s nothing quite like at least four weeks help you really think about your life.

During my time away, I had numerous epiphanies while I sipped on yet another drink with a little umbrella stuck in the top. By the way, when you’re on vacation you really need quite a number of the umbrella type drinks as they seem to assist the thinking process a lot. It was during these times that my mind began to really contemplate what the domain industry is all about.

For the first time in a while I began to really think about questions such as, “What really is domain traffic?”, “How to solve scaling development?”, “What other domain revenue streams are possible?”, “Is it possible to generate quality traffic for a domain?”. All good questions that continue to require more thought.

I also began to contemplate some “life” questions. For instance, I reconfirmed that I really enjoy what I do. I love building ParkLogic, working the team and David Gibbs, my business partner. As you may have guessed, writing articles for whizzbangsblog continues to be a passion and I consider it a privilege to have friends in the industry from all over the world.

While Roselyn and I strolled around Lake Garda in the Italian Alps chatting about what we planned to do over the next few years we received a phone call from our son, Timothy. Some of you may remember Tim as he helped man a ParkLogic booth at DomainFest a number of years back. A very short summary of the call was, “Dad, I’m thinking of asking my girlfriend to marry me. What do you think?”

We were both so excited and happy at the news! The very next day he asked Ruth if she would marry him and she said “yes!” How great is that!

It goes to show that when you think you have everything in place that something can completely blindside you (for better or worse). The next time you get away and start thinking about your life never forget there may be a little surprise along your journey! In the meantime, we need to plan a wedding ?

Have a great week!