Hey all, Mark from Lazarus legal.
So, I have decided to enter the world of blogging/vlogging and was contemplating how I could make you, the audience, a bit more interested in the law. It got me thinking, but I soon realised it ain’t going to be easy, cause let’s face it, the law is S#IT boring.
So, I’m not going to get on here and bore you with the intricacies of the law – the pros and cons of a shareholder’s agreement or what a trademark protects, BUT I am going to dig deep, get personal and share with you a bit about business, my journey, the struggles and the triumphs. In doing so, I hope you take away just one golden nugget that can help you on your journey in life, whatever that may be.
Hard decisions can unveil awesome opportunities.
I made the decision to uproot my family and return to Sydney in April last year after spending almost 5 years in the London working as the Legal Director for one of the coolest energy drink brands on the planet.
- Was it a hard decision to leave the UK? Hell yeah!
- Did it put a strain on my marriage? Hell yeah!
- Was it hard for my two young, boys? You bet!
Why I made the decision to return from the UK?
There are several reasons that I won’t go into in this article, but one of them was to take what I had learned over the past 5 years and to focus on building and growing something I could be proud of!
Now working primarily with start-up businesses, SMEs, FMCG brands and creatives I have realised something. Yes, we all know that most start-ups fail, and we’ve all heard that sometimes failure is the best lesson we can learn in life and that if we continue to fail forward we will eventually succeed. For some, this is a no-brainer, but for others, the fear of failure is just too daunting. But here is what I have learned:
Whether you realise it or not, each and every one of us is living the life of a start-up and we are all bound to fail at some point in our lives.
You see, it may not be the idea itself, but our journey in life, the constant hustle, the risk-taking, the pivots, the knockbacks, the sudden announcement or event that throws the whole trajectory off track. This could be a personal journey or business journey but just like that, life can change in the blink of an eye – this isn’t a start-up people, it’s just life!
We are all living our own crazy lives dealing with problems we think are huge to us, but at the same time thinking how amazing Joe Bloggs’ life is from what we see on social media – but let me tell you, our problems ain’t nothing compared to the next person you meet.
So, my advice is to stay in your lane. Keep pushing forward no matter what life throws at you. You are a start-up and it’s okay to change direction, it’s okay to feel anxious or happy or sad, and most importantly, it’s okay to fail as long as you just keep pushing ….. and if life throws you a curveball, are you gonna let it knock you down or are you gonna tackle it head-on and smash the s#!t out of it!
“If life throws you a curveball, are you gonna let it knock you down or are you gonna tackle it head-on and smash the s#!t out of it!”‘
When the unexpected happens, raise your expectations
So, before I finish, I wanted to share something deeply personal to me. Six months ago, I was diagnosed with an Acoustic Neuroma (AN) – a benign brain tumour that develops on the 8th cranial nerve (the main nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain) which affects balance and hearing and other vital nerves including the facial and trigeminal nerves. The good news is that the AN won’t kill me. The bad news is that if left untreated, and it gets bigger and continues to press against my brain stem, it just might!
There are 3 treatment options:
- Watch and wait and do nothing for 6 months and if it doesn’t grow thereafter, do absolutely nothing for another 6 months. I went with this approach initially and waited 4 months before arranging a follow-up MRI scan in February.
- Invasive brain surgery – this is an 8+ hour operation with significant life-changing consequences; or a
- Radiosurgery – targeted radiation to the tumour.
So now picture this. I arrived back in Sydney in April 2017 with my family. I began growing and rebranding the Lazarus Legal business, settling my kids into new schools, supporting my wife whose entire family are back in the UK and hustling every day – all was going well! Things were looking up… and then, BANG! 18 October 2017, I get the results of an MRI that changed my life forever.
After 5 months of agonising hell, trying to decide what route to take, knowing there was no crystal ball I could look into and no one who would make my decision for me, I had to go with my gut and hope for the best.
On 9 April, I had a form of radiosurgery called Gamma Knife.
- Will there be some side effects? Probably.
- Will I possibly lose further hearing in my right ear? Probably.
- Will I be able to get up on a slalom water ski as easy as I used to? Probably not!
- Am I going to let this tumour define me, hell no!
Less than a week later, I was back at work and once again smashing it, hustling every day and making the most of every damn opportunity.
So, key take away!
Life can change in an instant. Don’t wait for something to happen to make something happen! Get on with it! You’re already living a start-up, so move forward, embrace change, accept the failures and stay in your lane.
Thanks
Mark Lazarus
To end off, I have decided to name my Vlog, LAZARUS REAL, because this isn’t simply about promoting Lazarus Legal, it’s about connecting on a personal level and tackling real issues we all face – whether personal, professional, legal, you name it!
So, if you have any comments – legal, business, personal or AN related, share below and I look forward to chatting.
And remember to keep it “real” people, that’s what life is all about!
Got a legal question, business issue or startup idea or just want to talk AN’s – then let’s discuss.
I want to make this blog/vlog a detailed account of my personal journey, insights, and thoughts on life, business, and all things legal. However, I would love some feedback, ideas, and questions you may have regarding any of these issues to spark a conversation.
