martin zeman's blog

Whenever I am landing at Prague airport I hear Czech national anthem in my head. It would be nice if they actually played it in the plane, wouldn’t it?

In a few days it will be three years since we set out with Iva from Czech Republic for our adventure abroad. According to our original plan we would have been packing and getting ready for our return home right now but the plan has changed and we are staying in London for the moment.

For a long time I did not feel in London at home – in the end I was going to be there only temporarily and so I felt that my home was still in Czech Republic. But after my return from New Zealand, I began to feel it differently. Before, I had thought that home can be just one place, one country, but now I feel at home everywhere – in the Czech Republic, in England, in New Zealand, Thailand, and even in places where I have never been to. The entire globe has become my home – there is no more abroad for me anymore. However, I will be forever proud that I am from the beautiful country in the heart of Europe and I will always be Czech.

Many Czechs are (or at least they claim they are) ashamed of Czech Republic – they see it as a country filled with corruption and full of neglectful, stupid and jealous people. They often say it’s bacause of our czech nature or because of the forty years of communism. But the question is not “Why?”, The question is “What to do about it?” We can change anything we want, we just need to realize that our country is not a gift for us but that it is our responsibility.

One of the benefits of living abroad is a realisation that people are the same everywhere and the feelings and problems are similar in all the countries. And it’s up to every one of us to shape our homes and our worlds.

Do you follow current events in North Africa and the Middle East? It struck me the other day that no one around me (including myself) really talks about it. We all seem to have our own problems to solve and then, why worry? Firstly there is not anything we can do about it (or is it? ) and secondly someone will surely sort it out. However if you like adventures, follow me into the world of Fantasy …

… How long has it been since you were here the last time? No worries, nothing has changed – here in Fantasy there is still anything possible – it’s just up to us, up to you.

Now, imagine that the revolutionary movements in Africa and the Middle East hit the countries so severely that oil production and oil exports collapsed completely. The world suddenly lost 40% of oil production.

Phew, it’s great that we make oil reserves then…

What? 65 percent of them are in Africa and the Middle East? Oops. This will make the price of petrol skyrocket again. If it’s more than £1.50 I am not buying it. What? 2 pounds? Holy *HIT.

Well let’s spend the weekend at home then. Let’s make at least a big shopping while we have the cheap petrol and then we will only make smaller shoppings walking to the shop.
Why is there such a big queue? And why does everyone have such a full shopping cart? And hey, why are the shelves empty? Excuse me, why don’t you refill the shelves? Sorry sir, the warehouse is empty, but don’t worry we will get supplies tomorrow morning as usual. We did not expect it to be so busy today, the marketing guys must have done something really awesome this time – there are surely massive bonuses waiting for them this year. Yeah, sure, can I talk to your manager, please? Surely, there she is with those two full shopping carts.

People, be human, we are hungry too, don’t be so greedy, share a bit. You can’t even eat so much food before it spoils anyway.That’s none of your business, sir, but if you want something I will sell it to you – what do you want – bread? Twenty pounds, please. What? Gimme, you profiteer, you vampire, you thief, you, you…

ATTENTION PLEASE!!! ATTENTION PLEASE!!! This is the British Army, please leave your carts and groceries where they are and make your way to the nearest exit immediately. An emergency state has been declared by the Queen an hour ago. Go home quietly and tune in to the television broadcast where you will be informed about food rations procedures and other necessary precautions. ATTENTION PLEASE!!! ATTENTION PLEASE!!! This is the…

Lucky we don’t live in the Fantasy, eh?

Warning: DO NOT PANIC! The article above is just a fiction (that means it’s just imaginary. Eh? It’s like Star Wars. Got it!) However, revolutions in Africa and the Middle East are 100% real and they affect us more than we realize.

PS: U.S. foreign policy makes much more sense from this point of view to me. I was wondering whether US government would get more supporters for a fight for maintaing the current standard of living than they do now for the fight for democracy and freedom somewhere in Africa or Asia. Anyway I wish all the best to the common people in Africa and the Middle East and hope they will be able to build strong and independent countries – even if (or maybe especially because) it means that we, in the West, will have to become less greedy and wasteful.

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. (M. Scott Pec)

Although I have read a lot of blog posts about time being the most precious resource all of us have I have never fully appreciated it. Not until now.

I have always had loads of things I would like to do and which I felt I should do but I had almost no things I felt I ‘must do’, things that would keep me awake during the nights and which would distract me during the days.

This has changed recently. A friend of mine, David, has asked me to assist him in launching his company – Elexu. I see it as my biggest opportunity to make the world a much better place as my destiny.

Elexu is bigger than anything I have ever dreamed of (and my imagination is very skilful). But I am not overwhelmed, I can clearly see how it will become a reality and how to get there.

I am extremely excited and I will surely write more about Elexu in upcoming weeks and months. In the meantime you can subscribe to our newsletter at www.elexu.com if you wish.

Since David told me I think about Elexu almost all the time. What really surprised me was the impact it had on my sleeping habits. I have always slept long hours I couldn’t force myself to get up in the morning and I always wanted to get few more minutes of sleep. Now? I go to bed after 11pm and I am awake at 6am – without an alarm – with my thoughts running speedily in my head. Surprisingly enough I don’t feel tired at all – actually I feel energized. What a paradox?

Probably for the first time in my life I can see time as the most important resource and I am utilizing it to the maximum. Recently I looked at my time allocation and I was shocked how much time I used to waste. Surfing net without a goal, checking facebook all the time, reading news, watching TV, going out to pubs, drinking a lot there and then sleeping long hours and feeling rough the following day.

I have tackled most of those things. We don’t have TV at home since we’ve moved to London and I am really grateful for that. I have stopped reading news – both in the tube and online. I go to facebook very rarely nowadays and no longer I use it just to keep myself busy. And what I am probably proud of the most – I have reduced time I spend at pubs and amounts of alcohol I drink. I set myself a target of a maximum of two alcoholic drinks a night and I am loving it.

Time scarcity also affected my approach towards sorting out emails – I used to spend a lot of time with every email I sent out – not any more – now I am rather brief and sometimes even austere. But I do it for a good reason and I hope that my family and friends will understand it. I just need the time elsewhere. Not only for Elexu but also for my other top priorities – spending quality time with Iva, meeting with friends, sport and read. Getting priorities right is just as important as saving the time.

Until next time – Have a lot of fun.