So what is the work hard play hard mentality? Is it the idea that we work so hard and complete our responsibilities so that we can then go play? I don’t think so! To me I don’t just work to play, I am fulfilled in my work and it encourages me to push my limits and find a creative outlet that allows my skills at work to grow.

 As a creative director I constantly want to push the envelope. My latest passions are infrared photography (I have a Canon 1Ds Mk II converted to capture infrared images), which involves a tremendous amount of post processing and pushes me to the limit of my creative ability. And more recently I purchased a DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ quadcopter or ‘drone’ (as they are so affectionately called) and am perfecting my flying skills with the help of an awesome teacher who also embraces the same work hard play hard mentality. 

I had heard of, and connected with, Romeo Durscher through social media channels, but had the absolute pleasure of meeting him at Photoshop World 2014 while attending the ‘Lights, Aerial Camera, Action!’ workshop. He is an inspirational teacher, who had the daunting task of showing a group of lucky ladies how to fly “cam-copters” in the Las Vegas desert. We must have loved it as we were absorbing information in 108-degree heat and none of us wanted to stop. Romeo flies with his great friend Mark Johnson, who is equally talented and hilarious to boot.  To quote Mark, they love to ‘slip the surly bonds of earth’ and do so with aplomb. This all happens in their ‘free’ time, as both have extremely demanding careers. I am incredibly proud to call them both friends. They embrace their passion, welcome everyone to join their endeavors; and the results speak for themselves. Romeo and Mark work to play and now they also play to work, and isn’t this what we are all striving for? 

So how can we put some of our play hard passion into our work environment?

• If social media is part of your work responsibility, it helps to practice tweeting and blogging about your passion. Watch the results, and see how the connections grow.
• Creating connections through passionate pastimes can often generate work opportunities.
• Learning a new fun skill from others increases you capacity to embrace more within your work environment.
• Taking the time to ensconce yourself in your chosen activity means no time to think about work – it helps calm the work mind.

At Catalyst we take this thought to a new level, we encourage our clients to follow the same path. Certainly we love to work with clients who embrace the same philosophy, and BigGreen IT is a perfect example of this. Knowing our clients understand our thought process means that we are able to work synergistically with each other. One last thought, making new friends and spending time learning from each other is priceless! 

The image for this blog was taken in Half Moon Bay. This is the first flight with my DJI Phantom2 Vision+, Amelia (named after a female pilot close to my heart, Amelia Reid). Romeo is guiding me, as I was a little nervous about crashing!