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Why it's the end of the road for the old family life....

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein

The big worry for my family is about me working overseas.

But the real question they should be asking is, “what future does the family have if they don't go international”?

That's because my plans are going to send the old family life and habits into a death spiral {1} in the next year or two.

Why? Because the ever increasing, brutal living costs, lack of job security, the isolation of the UK in business circles, post Brexit (and vastly increased costs forthwith) and lack of genuinely affordable housing are going to make living, working -and in my case starting a business , overseas - an ever more attractive option.

While meanwhile, the souring living costs, lack of affordable places to live and job security back in the uk will make survival ever more difficult.

This is why I called it a death spiral. The only relatives I have close to me see this as madness - on the face of it. But in reality their view is more the result of a stick in the mud attitude ("this is how the family have always done it") and lack of understanding of the modern world.

My plan, if they don't mind (or even if they do!) is to embark on a ruthless program to modernise the family, as well as saving myself from a lonely, miserable, impoverished demise. (Having worked in hospitals I know only too well how many elderly people end their days, dying alone, with nobody even noticing for weeks - maybe to be found by the postman who suddenly notices that they have not collected their mail for some time...

And I also have plans to bring the family (and - it would seem others too) a future they would not otherwise have. I intend to leave a legacy of modernisation behind – and be remembered as the saviour of my own (and other) families.

I am now teaching online as an interim measure, so I can leave the UK with a source of income I can take anywhere. I am being asked if I can teach English to students in Iran and Electronic Engineering to students in China, among others.

But ultimately, my goal is to establish an electronics business in Western Africa, which will be mainly solar powered and based on the microcontroller. This will be a family based business to which I wish to invite my existing daughters – to begin a career that will be free of graduate debt totalling tens of thousands of pounds. (My policy is to treat them and further children equally, whoever their mother is). And it is a business with the potential to change the lives of others too.

I already have multi-currency accounts in which I can be paid in a number of currencies - and also a number of providers of teaching services – this is to provide backup and fault tolerance (there is safety in redundancy, as we computer science graduates will know – this is so that there is no single point of failure). And these are already in place for starting the business too! {2}

I have no siblings. And a few years time, I will have no close surviving relatives remaining at all.

I know now that I stand at a crossroads. Of needing to choose between two fates. One of which has a future, the other does not.

One sees me as head of a new, rejuvenated, and modern extended family, the other sees me dying cold and alone - to be honest it really is this simple and brutal a choice.

My family I have said that I am mad to go ahead with my plans!!! You see, the real difference stems from the fact that they meekly resign themselves to fate – in a way that I do not. And they also have no vision for the future if I am honest.

But seen in context, and against this backdrop, who has really lost their mind? I let you decide. Or put another way, I can choose two courses of action, one of two rolls... One sees my future as a 'mummy's boy', the other as a man. So - which choice would you prefer? I will be interested to hear your verdict.

Let us build a family, business and future in which we can all be proud!

David

• A death spiral is where an aircraft enters a spiraling nose dive from which recovery is almost impossible (bail out!).

• I currently have the facilities to accept payment in the following: UK Pound (GBP), United States Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Australian dollar (AUD) and Philippine Peso (PHP). And others will be needed later, such as the West African CFA Franc (XOF) and the Gambian Dalasi (GMD).