Project Sunflower

I - Falling apart

2020 had a rough start. I was really unhappy, needed a change and therefore decided to leave my full-time Data Scientist job.

My job was pretty nice, but you’re never safe working as an employee. I think of it like weather: some days you’re walking into a day with bright sun, but on others you could very well be hit by a tornado.

But my job worsening was not the only cause of this tornado; it was rather the enabler. All of this revealed a bigger problem with me: I didn’t like my life. I moved to Paris for this job, like most university graduates, and I believed that I needed to find a job straight away after college. It felt like the thing to do, so I changed my whole life to fit around it.

Despite my eventual resentment of it, this job was actually an interesting opportunity. I was able to meet amazing people and have a lot of fun - all while making a real impact on the world. And since I was getting paid well for this, what more could I ask for?

But at one point, everything changed, and I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. The illusion was unveiled; my lifestyle was fucked up. I had a 2 hour commute everyday, never went out nor enjoyed my life, besides work, and was hanging around with my close university friends less and less.

At that point, I was really depressed and I felt that I really had to change something. So I left my job behind and I moved back to my parent’s house. I needed at least three months to reflect in my hammock, before planning what to do next.

By June, I was feeling alright, a bit lost in my life - but alright overall. I asked myself the essential question: what can I do? I decided to take six months off to find an answer to this question. I really had a lot of fun all this time! I met a lot of amazing people, which also opened my mind due to their different lifestyles. I really found myself with all the new experiences I made and with all the time I had to think about my life.

So here we are in January 2021 and I have yet to announce that I came up with a plan.

II - A new vision…

I’m going to start a new life as an Independant Maker. I’m going to build software projects that provide value to people and try to sustain my lifestyle from it. My lifestyle itself is also going to change a lot, I’m relocating right now to a place where I want to live and I will work remotely from that place. This is going to be a real game changer to me.

I’m in a sense going back to my old self. Four years ago, I was a Software Engineering student and I had everything in my hands in order to build my own company. I had the technical skills, I had the free time, I had the lifestyle, I had everything. Except that I didn’t know anything about that company stuff or money or whatever. I just thought that I just had to get good grades then get a job then everything is going to be fine.

I could not be more wrong. But I’m not blaming myself for this, no one I knew at that time thought about building and selling our own software. It was just something I didn’t think about. But the more I think about it the more it is the obvious thing to do.

All of this entrepreneurship project and lifestyle project has a name, I called it Project Sunflower.

Every project I’m going to build will be just planting a sunflower seed, some flowers will fade, some will manage to grow, some may get eaten by ravens but at the end each and everyone of them will be looking toward only one goal: reaching the sun and its light.

III - …for a new life

I’m not saying this project is going to be easy, the road is going to be hard, very hard. But at the same time I know that this experience is going to be amazing. I know that I’m going to meet new inspiring people, that I’m going to experience setbacks and failures and therefore learn new things and finally grow as a person.

I have some financial objectives about this project, but I’m not going to talk about this here. Instead, what I want to build is a sustainable lifestyle, leading to habits of personal growth and a life I’m passionate about. Not meeting my financial objectives won’t be a problem, because if things are moving forward the way I like, I’m just going to find a way to fund my project.

As I’m going to lower my expenses to student level, this is not going to be hard to fund.

I’m just starting out this new life, and I can already feel the changes. I can already feel these new vibes. I’m really looking forward to this year! This is the first time my life will be so unpredictable, because I’m taking a new and unknown road - and to be honest this is something I like.

I find it very funny that I’ve arrived at such a state of mind. I was nowhere near this six months ago. But at one point, you just realize that we live in an outstanding world and that it is your duty to make the most of it. You need to move forward accomplishing your dreams, because no one is going to accomplish them in your place. You are the only captain of your ship, and you need to choose where to sail. When you become conscious of all of this, everything becomes obvious. Truly wonderful.

Huge thanks to my amazing reviewers: Adrien Pavao, Éléonore Bartenlian, Nathan Hastie, Julien Bienvenu, Kevin Lösch, Malik Kazi Aoual and Leila Rougeot

PS: I’m attaching a song to this blog post,