Repurpose Me: Your Path to a Contentment Mindset

By Rahul Rai

Do you take life too seriously even though you know it is so temporary…….? Have you found yourself postponing the things that you really want to do……….? Do you ever wish you could enjoy your work a little more or wonder where to find purpose, happiness, or just contentment?

After a near-death health experience and living through the horror of the Christchurch earthquakes, Rahul Rai started to look at the bigger purpose of all we do. How to help people live the lives that make them a little happier, more content and leave a legacy to the world. In this his third publication, he takes a deep dive into perspective in life and the joy of philantropy as he takes you on a journey to disrupt the norm and be part of something bigger than yourself.

Our younger citizens are searching for a balance and others have been contemplating life besides work for a long time. What about health and fitness and holistic living? There is now much more awareness of how we are damaging our planet. Ever pondered this quest for exponential growth in businesses.... instant gratification through technological advances……surely these must be coming at a cost…. a raft of consequences?

And, of course, our current traumatic global pandemic, which is causing so much turmoil everywhere, has encouraged us to take a breather and reflect.

We are all seeking alternatives to get more time for ourselves, knowing that this is the one resource that is constantly fading away, so we have to cherish it along with our health.

Is it wise to postpone so many of the things that make our heart sing to sometime later on when there is no guarantee that such a time will come for you and what state of mind or health you will be in? Repurpose, the realignment of life to create a purpose, may be the answer and that can be done at any time!

Signing off on an exhilarating 35-year-long career in managing hotels, Rahul drew a line in the sand and repurposed. This mindset to contentment is explored and challenged in this is a ‘why to’ rather than ‘how to’ book

Whether you’re 20 and just starting or in your 60’s and consolidating, if you are looking for purpose, work life balance and contentment, there’s something in here for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Nov 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781543496895

Book preview

Copyright © 2021, 2022 by Rahul Rai.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Image source is Auckland Business Chamber. Photo was taken by Belinda Bullock (www.belindabullockphotography.co.nz)

Rev. date: 06/01/2022

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Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of general comments only and neither purports nor intends to be advise. Readers should not act on the basis of any matter in this publication without taking professional advise with due regard to their own particular circumstances. The author and publisher expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a purchaser of this publication or not, in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether in whole or part, upon the whole or any part of the contents of publication.

All profits from the sales of the hard cover by this publisher of 'Repurpose me' Your path to a contentment mindset, will be donated by the author to Weaving Wellbeing, an initiative from St John, New Zealand helping school children develop resilience and mental strength.

My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.

— Michael J. Fox

CONTENTS

About the Author

Introduction

PERSPECTIVE

Chapter 1:     Uncertainty

Chapter 2:     This Is Not a Dress Rehearsal

Chapter 3:     Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chapter 4:     Passions, Dreams, and Purpose

Chapter 5:     Golden Career? TICK

Chapter 6:     What I Did Earlier and Later

Chapter 7:     Finding Time and Balance

Chapter 8:     Keeping Focus

Chapter 9:     Don’t Delay Anything Important to You

Chapter 10:   The Repurpose Joys and Options

Chapter 11:   Repurpose with Ethical Investing

Chapter 12:   The Fears and the Answers

Chapter 13:   Let’s Disrupt It

Chapter 14:   Buying Yourself a Job

Chapter 15:   Business or Not

Chapter 16:   Plans for Repurpose

Chapter 17:   Mindset Preparation

Chapter 18:   Leverage Day

Chapter 19:   Financial Preparation for a Property Plan

Chapter 20:   My Path to Repurpose

PHILANTHROPY

Chapter 21:   Empathy, Caring, and Philanthropy

Chapter 22:   Happiness and Pleasure

Chapter 23:   Avenues for Philanthropy

Chapter 24:   Sharing Knowledge

Chapter 25:   Teach to Fish

Chapter 26:   A Challenging Viewpoint

Chapter 27:   Difference Quotient

Chapter 28:   Sustainable Philanthropy

Chapter 29:   Cold-Hand and Warm-Hand Giving

Chapter 30:   How Would You Like Your Legacy to Look?

Chapter 31:   I Am Lucky to Be Alive!

Chapter 32:   The Meaning of Life: Perspectives from the World’s Great Intellectual Traditions

Bibliography

About the Author

Rahul%20Rai%203.jpg

A hotelier who spent 35 fascinating years leading international hotels to success with a particular focus on people. He was responsible for 8 hotels in Australia and New Zealand before he repurposed.

The creation of the not-for-profit platform www.thankyouhealthcare.co.nz has been the most fulfilling achievement in recent times as it continues to make a difference to the amazing healthcare and emergency services teams.

He has authored 3 books with his wife Alika Rai

The compilation best seller ‘Living an Abundant Life’

‘Buy and Hold for all that Gold’

‘Buy and Hold-Simple steps to real estate investment in New Zealand’

A Judge at the Westpac Auckland Business Awards, Rahul has been helping businesses and the people in them for decades with his voluntary mentoring. He is a graduate in Science from Delhi University, has a Post graduate Diploma in Hotel Management, and a Master in Business Studies degree from Massey University.

Born in Kuala Lumpur he went on to live in Berne, Dacca, Canberra, and Lusaka thanks to his parents’ career.

His heart sings while cycling, SUP boarding, kayaking, mountain biking and trekking. And it reaches a crescendo when this happens in the mountains with streams, lakes and wildflowers!

And he absolutely loves dogs.

www.rahulraibooks.com.

Introduction

Have you felt like life is just happening to you and you are not sure where you are headed? Do you think there must be more to life, and that you are missing out? Or how can you make a difference and lead a more meaningful life?

Speaking with friends, I have realised that these topics of purpose, meaning of life and contentment are so relevant in today’s world. It’s about putting life in perspective and doing what is really important to you.

This is not a dress rehearsal; our time is here and now. This is the real thing. We are all looking for other ways, to get more time for ourselves, realising that this is the one resource that is diminishing all the time and we will never get it back, so we have to honour and cherish time along with our health, more than anything else.

People often look forward to some time in their future to get on with the things that they enjoy. But is that wise to put off so much when there is no guarantee that such a time will come for you and what state of mind or health you will be in?

Repurpose may be the answer, and that can be done at any time. ‘Repurposing’ doesn’t necessarily mean getting into some new career or retraining in a new field. It means you had a choice, and you decided to be involved with more meaningful things. This could be volunteering as a paramedic or enjoying SUP boarding or building a nine-bedroom treehouse or taking off on extensive expedition travels. Or indeed a more fulfilling career or business opportunity or getting involved in a cause to help others. Whatever it is that brings delight to you and others, consistently.

If you are in a job or business that brings you contentment, and you believe you are serving a bigger purpose, then you are already there. You should consider yourself one of the lucky ones. For you there may be no need to make any change right now, but only you will know the answer to that. The important message is that it is vital to be actively involved in a fulfilling way until a very late stage in life. This is necessary for one’s sanity and good health and mind.

As I enter a new chapter in my life it has made me consider a number of things about living a purposeful life and how to make it one I truly enjoy on my terms. It is important for me to do the things that make me content rather than having life just happen to me. This does not mean everything will be perfect—far from it. However, hopefully, it will give me the flexibility to deal with life the best I can.

After a career spanning 35 years and living in many different countries from the time I was born, I’m really excited about my repurpose that I embarked on a few years ago. I have the chance to learn from everything I’ve done and take this renewed perspective to design a fulfilling life and one that makes a positive difference to other people.

I really hope my words will encourage you to ask yourself some challenging questions, whether you’re nearing the close of your career or a lot younger and looking at how to set yourself up for a life with purpose. I don’t claim to have all the answers, and I am sure there is no right and wrong way. All I wish to do is offer some of my learnings and thoughts over the years. And if something appeals to you and helps you live the life you want, that’s great. If not, please ignore the bits that don’t resonate and absorb what has meaning for your particular situation.

***

This book is in two parts: perspective and philanthropy. Perspective is first because I believe this is the bigger picture. Putting things in context. It covers all aspects of life and, of course, can make the biggest difference whether positive or negative. Perspective reminds us of the impermanence of life and focuses more heavily on the concept of repurpose. The journey to this starts a lot earlier than when you turn 65, 55, or 45 or whenever you have planned to review your regular income stream through a job or business. You need to think about how you want to live this phase of your life much earlier and not only plan for it but also practice it in advance. In this way you can start flourishing a long time before that stage arrives for you.

In the second part, philanthropy, we will look at various ways to give and share. This releases our inner joy, and the sooner we start the better, because we will have longer to feel good. We can start small and then grow our legacy over the years, remembering that this is not a function of our bank balance but of our mindset. As we unfold the layers of philantropy we consider happiness—which, while elusive, everybody eventually wants—and discuss how giving produces long-lasting happiness or perhaps, better still, contentment.

So, who is this book aimed at? Is it for people who are consolidating and are perhaps in their fifties or sixties, or is it for the younger folk? You see, a lot of planning needs to be done well in advance. In fact, it is ideal if you can have the exit plan even before you start a venture. And for a venture as important as life itself, the sooner you start thinking about these matters, the better. Therefore, this book is also very appropriate for people in their twenties and thirties so that you can consider your options of the career, businesses, and investment opportunities in front of you and see what suits you the best based on the choices you may want to make in the later years. Investments and businesses take a long time to produce sustainable results, so you have to start early and that is why this book is particularly relevant for the younger folk. In this way there are fewer regrets later about what one could have done or should have done earlier.

We have been aware of the fragility of our lives and the planet we live on, for so long. And we know that issues such as global warming and climate change are affecting us daily. However, I believe the desire to get more involved with this and to do something about it, is more now, than ever before.

We discuss growth of companies and countries and our role in it. Is it working for the people and the environment and our sanity? It is about ethics and how much you actually want and what you want it for. I have tried to present a balanced approach. Yes, it is useful to have growth and assets because you can do really exciting things with it, but you need to have a purpose. And this is the key, your purpose or repurpose! Otherwise, it will all be meaningless. And you need to know why you are doing it and when to stop. At the same time, I am not proposing sitting on a mountaintop and just meditating. You can do that while you go about your daily life as long as you make mindfulness and being present a key ingredient. Keep things in perspective—that’s the bottom line.

You will find a narrative about a mindset that puts life in perspective and addresses the finitude of our lives. A reminder that we have to make the best of the time we have on this planet. To live each day to its fullest and not postpone anything that we want to do, while we continue with our day job. I have shared a lot of personal stories instead of ‘Google research’, so I believe the book has vulnerability and soul. This is important to me. At times, you may think there is a little too much of me. I guess that is the risk that I take when sharing parts of my life that I felt have relevance here.

A word of warning regarding this book and what you will get out of it. You will not find information about a range of investment and business options that are out there, although there is some information on property. This is a ‘why to’ and not a ‘how to’ book. Once you know your ‘why’, then your ‘how’ will come to you. I just wanted to make this clear at the start.

This is also not a book about early retirement. It is instead about looking at the bigger picture of life and what you want to get out of it for yourself and others. It is about challenging your mindset to get on to the things that make your heart sing.

If you would like to come with me on this journey, hop along and let’s begin!

PERSPECTIVE

Chapter 1

Uncertainty

It was 4.35 a.m. on 4 September 2010. The bed rocked vertically, and the house shook horizontally at a ridiculous pace. I was thrown off the bed in our first-floor bedroom. Our adult daughter sleeping next door tried to walk and crawl down the short corridor towards our room. Our 15-year-old son, who was in the bedroom down the corridor, also tried to find his way across to us. The shaking was intense. The place was Christchurch; and a horrific earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale with an