Mark Landrum always wanted to live on the beach. In fact, his fantasy was to simply be a beach bum. Following high school graduation Mark went on to college, received his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and quickly went to work as an accountant. Mark had a natural gift with numbers and he progressed in his career steadily over the next 15 years. The only problem was that he was stuck in an office building in Houston, TX and suffered from a stifling lack of sand in his toes and salt in his hair.
Then one day Mark finally decided to build the life he really wanted. He moved to the Corpus Christi, TX area, found a home near the water and began to market his accounting services to the many family-owned shops and eateries along the coast. Mark was able to structure his business in such a way that he could work when he wanted to and leave key times open for building sand castles. Mark became an outstanding sand sculptor. In fact, he was so good that people offered to pay him to teach them how to build the intricate sand structures.
Today Mark still does some accounting work, but his passion is in the sand. He makes a good living teaching people from all walks of life how to build sand castles. Major companies have hired him to teach their employees to build the structures as part of their team-building activities. Mark is living the life he wants to live and doing it on his own terms. You can see his work by visiting his website at www.sandrum.com .
As I shared Mark’s story with these students yesterday, I saw a light or two come on in their eyes. You see we don’t have to live in an “either-or world”. We can live responsible, productive lives and chase our dreams as well. The joy of living comes from getting up every day and loving what you do. While every day will have its challenges, those challenges are merely potholes in the road for people who are traveling toward their chosen destiny. Mark Landrum is a great example that you can build the life you want and live on your own terms.
© Copyright Craig Kitch 2017
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