Ngahi Bidois: Choose a job you will love

How has 2013 started for you?

The new year is off to a flying start for me. I am writing this article at 4.15am New Zealand time in an airline lounge in Hong Kong.

The date is January 3 and I am en route to the Netherlands where I will be promoting New Zealand at an international convention in Utrecht.

If I can make some flight changes, I will follow this up with leadership development mahi in England, consulting an education organisation.

It just seems like yesterday I was sitting around the Christmas table with whanau and 2013 was a long way away.

This rest of the year is also looking busy for me with trustee and director commitments with several trusts alongside the several businesses I run.

I already have speaking engagements booked for the length of the country and I have highly prioritised whanau engagements such as a couple of lunch engagements with my son during his first year at varsity in Auckland. In fact, I deliberately planned a couple of speaking engagements in Auckland for that purpose.

Later in the year, I have also planned some quality time with my wife on a cruise, after being invited to be a guest speaker on one with all expenses paid.

In May, I will also do something I have been trying to get to for the past three years. I will finally attend the one-week Directors Professional Development course run by the Institute of Directors.

I will be an attendee rather than a presenter in one of my favourite places on the planet - Queenstown.

People often ask me how I do so much and seem not to be overstressed by it all. My answer is simple really, I am doing the things I enjoy and count it a privilege and a pleasure to do so.

I think it was Confucius who advised us that if we choose jobs we love then we will never have to work a day in our lives. How is that working for you?

Ngahihi o te ra is from Te Arawa and is an international speaker, author and consultant. His book is available at Mcleods book store and the Lakeside café in Rotorua. His website can be viewed at www.ngahibidois.com