There are days in our lives we wish could be a model for every day our lives. Saturday, October 22nd was a model for how I want to live my life. It was the day after my 34th birthday.

On the 21st, I went to the game, had dinner with my family and my roommate Patrick, then went to bed. I woke up at 6:00, took a shower, ate breakfast, and met my manager Kristi to go to the TED event in Pasadena. We arrived around 8:30 at TEDx and met my speaking partner Rich and his girlfriend Anne.

Throughout the day we heard speakers, watched some videos, and because the elevator was broken, I could not get my electric chair onstage. The organizers wanted me to do my speech from the floor, but Rich and I would hear nothing of it. We explained that I could walk with help, so Rich got my other chair from the car and helped me onto the stage. We had been working on the speech on and off for about a month and we could not wait to give it. We were still tweaking the speech right up until we got on stage. We had the place filled with laughter and it was better than I had expected.

Meanwhile, my friends Patrick, Arash, and Brent were cooking up a feast because I had about twenty-five friends coming over that night to celebrate my birthday. As the night went on, I noticed that I had friends from every part of my life there. I had Patrick and Matt, who I met in elementary school; I had a couple of high school friends; a friend from junior college; many friends from USC; and friends that I work with. It was an eclectic group eating and drinking, and celebrating my birthday. Even better, not everyone showed up. I could have easily doubled that number, but it was on really short notice. I am fortunate to have a big, eclectic group of friends. I make it a point to connect with each one of them and find out how they’re doing.

It is important for me to have a good sense of balance in my life. I love days when I’m working hard and playing even harder. If I’m working too hard, I get burned out. If I’m playing too hard, I feel like a bum. My life is best when I do both.

Timelapse - Lighthouse (Oct 2012) from IMK Digital Multimedia on Vimeo.