ABOUT ME
FEW WORDS ABOUT ME
“Someone once told me the definition of hell: the last day you have on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.”
We learned how to survive instead of how to live. From one day to another, in routine, comfort zone, unhappy, frustrated and without any passion. We don’t do what is fulfilling us but we fill our lives with what is destroying us. Consciously and advisedly. We run after property and wealth and we buy stuff we don’t need. Why? To impress people we often can’t stand. We forgot about the community, help and support to the weak ones. We stopped respecting the nature and mother Earth, instead of improving, we think only about ourselves, we destroy and devastate. We hate, instead of loving, we glower, instead of smiling, we complain, instead of being happy.
Runeller means a life credo. Runeller means a change. Runeller is me. Runeller is a word combining running with travelling (Run+Traveller=Runeller). Runeller combines my passions with helping the society and this planet. I travel, I run, I help. I try to change the world. It did not happen from one day to another, the decision was growing. Pushed by the idea, that at the last day of my life I don’t want to meet the person I could have become. It will be too late. Project 12 months is about leaving the corporate comfort zone, about searching for the path, about living full speed, with the joy in heart.
Journey is the destination. Change is the goal. This web is about everything what has happened since the moment of the awakening, as well as about what has happened long time before that. This web is my story…
My name is Matej Šemšej. I was born and raised in Bratislava when we used to call it Czechoslovakia. It was at the time when people had to stand in long queues for bananas and when they couldn’t speak out their own opinions without the risk of being arrested… a time when a neighbor would betray a neighbor out of fear, for career or just for pleasure. Many years later, at the time there was no Czechoslovakia anymore, one master degree and two doctor degrees later, I moved to Prague, the capitol city of Czech Republic and perhaps the most beautiful city in the world. Here I have spent the last ten years, moving up in the career ladder in the Human Resources area, reaching the level of a Country HR Director of a multi-national US IT corporation. I would never achieve what I have achieved without the passion, engagement, curiosity, will for change (and will for changing the world around), and without my strong belief that doing things the best we can is the best we can do in our life. And without sport. After starting with football at the age of nine, I switched to fitness at the age of eighteen. Finally, I ended up with running and triathlon, which gave my life a different perspective and perception. I realized even more how important it is to keep doing and following my goals and dreams.
Who am I? I am the architect of my own life. Everything is possible, if you believe in it. I love travelling and discovering the new. I am the change agent. The person who is excited about meeting new people, cultures and places which one saves in his heart and soul for the rest of his life. My StrengthsFinder talent scale would tell you that I am strong in following talents: Achiever, Learner, Communication, Futuristic, Competition and Empathy.
This is me. This story is not about travelling or running the world only. This story is about life. About breaching the limits, which do exist only in our heads. About leaving the comfort zone. About taking the small steps towards the big change, that moves us forward. This story is about helping and supporting others too. This story is about me. And I would love you to be part of it. Welcome.
MY LIFE VALUES
Love
Happiness
Hope
Adventure & Exploration
Purpose & Sense
Karma
MY BUCKET LIST
Hitchhiking from Prague to Amsterdam (or at least to Germany)
With running contribute to saving the world
Start learning piano
Bungee jumping from a real high
Trying the Amsterdam “brownie”
Renting a place at the beach with a stunning view
Writing book on that beach
Running in every country a half-marathon distance
Running between the temples of Bagan (Myanmar)
Visiting Oregon and its Crater Lake
Having the best selfie at The Bridge of Gods in Oregon
Working as a bartender for at least one night
Participating in Challenge Wanaka, the most scenic triathlon in the world (New Zealand)
New Year’s Eve and Fireworks in Sydney
Running the Highlands of Scotland
Waking up in the US and randomly picking up a city to travel to the same day, with the movie-bus
Standing on the surf at least once and catching the wave
If going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in the hair
Have a ride with the famous San Francisco tram
Say goodbye to Singapore
Creating and maintaining my own web
Creating a running community
Sitting on the Forrest Gump bench (city Savannah)
Visiting waterfalls in Arizona Havasu Falls
Visiting the hobbit city Hobbiton in New Zealand
Getting wet in the Milford Sound fjord in New Zealand
Visiting Halong Bay (Vietnam)
Start learning Spanish
Spending the night in Mariposa and having a nice morning run in the Yosemites (US)
Taking a viewpoint picture during the night in Hong Kong, Shanghai or any other large city with lots of lights
Visiting the city Sedona (Arizona), where Twin Peaks was made
Seeing the night lights of Las Vegas
Losing or wining few dollars in one of the famous casinos in Vegas
Hugging the giant trees in Sequoia national park
Taking an iconic running picture in Death Valley
Learning some sexy dance (any idea?:)
Running on the Great Wall of China
Running (walking) on the trails of Hong Kong
Holding a very big snake around the neck
Participate in the Tokyo Marathon
A whole day in the hammock
Walking the PCT for at least few days or hours (US)
Badwater in Death Valley – run at least 2 kilometers at this one of the hottest places on Earth
Running between the temples of ancient Bagan (Myanmar)
Helping those, who really need it
With my story to motivate and inspire others