Who is daring Luke?

Hi there! I’m Luke, a 29 year old man with a passion for business and adventure. By profession, I am a mechanical engineer, and I also hold a Master of Science in Product development.

I believe that everyone should live their dream life, whatever that might be. I believe that everyone was sent on Earth with a purpose, and that everyone has natural talents, that when used would allow that person to follow their ‘calling’ which when answered would give deep sense of satisfaction. With that in mind, I personally refuse to have a job that I love doing.

I started my professional life as an R&D Engineer with a medical device company but after 1.5 years I realised that engineering wasn’t for me. So I decided to change and work in a business-related job. I moved to a working a construction company as a business development manager. After 1.5 years of doing this job, I realised that I really enjoying doing ‘business’ (whatever that means), but I do not enjoy having a boss. I need to be my own boss, and work on implementing my own ideas.

So for the 2nd time, I quit my job to start my own business. I did not have any grand idea in mind. Neither did I have someone to turn to for business advice. No one in my family, or any of my friends had a business. But that didn’t stop me from taking the first step. I spent 6 months experimenting with different things, trying to make some money, but nothing seen to make much sense. I still wasn’t seeing much fruit for my hard work. But my persistence was bigger than my ego, and I didn’t let temporary defeat stop me from keeping on working to achieve my goal – that of having my own business that would generate enough money to give me wage so I wouldn’t have to go back to having a boss. After those 6 months my first business was born, you can read more about it by reading our Inspire me Section. This business turned out to be very successful - we were doing ISO Certifications in Malta. We had managed to find a market to serve, and have set systems in place to acquire new clients and to do the work that we were paid for. It took us around 2 years to have such systems in place, but we managed. After that time, I was seeing a change in my approach to work. I didn’t feel like I was working on my passions anymore. It felt like I was just running a business, and that wasn’t exciting for me.

I think that if you dread going to work for 30 consecutive days then, it is not the right work for you. I spent much longer than that, because I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t enjoying my job. It was my own business, and I couldn’t make it fun for myself? It didn’t make sense, but that’s how it felt.

I didn’t feel that I was being useful. When we were just starting, I used to wake up full of determination to make it happen; to have my own business. But when the business was running smoothly, I didn’t worry of having to go back to having a boss, so I wasn’t as passionate. I tried to give myself fully to clients but they were too distracted by their day-to-day issues to focus on the improvements I wanted to implement.

2.5 years ago, when I started dating Romy my perspective of life was widened. She reminded about part of me that I had forgotten. The adventurous part of Luke. We went mountain-biking, trekking, sailing, you name it. We also travelled a lot together, which is Romy’s passion, but gives me a huge sense of adventure. So for the past couple of years I was running a business that didn’t give me much satisfaction, and that the same time I was re-kindling my passion for living a fun life (a life that doesn’t revolve around work).

6 months ago I proposed to Romy. And we are getting married next year. Just 1 day after my 30th birthday. So next year I’ll be a 30 year old, married man. This sounds scary when looking at other people within the same demographic. I see many people of that age who are repeating a routine that they despise. And I will not allow myself to fall in that trap.

Personal circumstances made it very easy for me to take the decision to sell my stake in the business, and walk away. I asked my adventurous fiancée, who too believes in making your dreams come true, to leave it all behind. I asked her to quit her job, so that we could spend as much time as possible travelling before we get married. I wanted to start a new life, not just as an individual, but also as a couple. Now, Romy and I have started our journey with a blank page. With many questions and no answers, but equipped with an undying belief that this will all make perfect sense in a couple of years.

I feel that the decision we took when we decided to leave is already giving its fruits. We are sharing loads of amazing experiences as can be evidently see from our travel blog, and we are learning lessons about each other and growing our relationship.

Luke Desira now offers ISO Certification Consultancy in Malta & beyond and is thrilled to be help organizations to streamline their business processes. This role allows him to combine his passion for structure with the intricacies of managing a business.