The house we built in 2004 is no longer ours. At least, as far as I know. The buyers were supposed to close yesterday at 10:30, and I think we would have heard if there was a problem. Regardless of what happened on their end, we locked all our keys inside Sunday and noon and drove away. No tears. No regrets. Only a vague sense of bittersweet that was swept aside by lunch with the kids and replaced with relief. It's been a long road and it hasn't quite sunk in that the worst is over. We still have storage to deal with down there, but we're hiring that out, and not before late March.
I also feel like it's time to start thinking about leaving the day job. I'm not going to just put in notice. I told one of the owners I wasn't going anywhere until they could manage without me, and they can't. But it's time to whip things into shape. I need to hire some new staff, so I'll be on the look out for my replacement. Of course I'm not saying anything at work or to the general public about that.
In tandem with that, I'm going to look more actively for places that pay for submissions and start the Kindle/indie pubbing learning curve. I want that well under way before my last day at the fro yo shop.
If nothing else, the last couple of years have challenged my ideas of what success is. The world measures it with net worth. On paper, I'm a loser. I left the full-time work force in 1998 and haven't broken 20k since. Most years I don't break 10k. I move from one entry-level job to the next. Of course, that doesn't take into account the years I spent homeschooling and managing my household. I guess I'm a vestige of a past era--the housewife who only works when times get hard. I'm still not entirely sure what success means for me. I count my kids as my greatest success, of course. We couldn't have gotten the house together so quickly without them. Surely that's not all I have to offer, though.
Maybe today, when I'm bored at work, I'll flesh out my game plan. Or a short story. Maybe it will be slow enough for both.
4 comments:
Defining success is always a problem. It's easy to figure what the world defines as such: money, big house, fast car, party hardy, and so on. And I think, for some people, that is success for them.
It's harder when that isn't success to you. Of course, there is the non-material success where accomplishments are measured by how many yoga stances you can master and your hours of meditation and whether or not you've given everything to the poor and marched for every right that you can march for.
Between those lies a more fulfilling road. That of moderation suggested by Apostle Paul. Of having enough financial success to pay your bills and allow for an occasional luxury and having sufficient peace of mind and compassion to help those you can help and pray for the others. That middle road is, for me, the hardest, because it requires control. It requires thought. You have to behave as an adult even when you're being childish, if that makes sense.
It's a journey that I'm still just starting, looking to the horizon, and putting one foot in front of another.
Wendy, one thing I'm sure about is that you're talented and hard-working enough to be a success in whatever you choose, even if that choice to not be a success in anyone's eyes except yourself.
It's important to define what success is for you. I'm not sure either of you want to hear this, but what I'm learning in the Master Keys course has been instrumental in helping me pull all the pieces and parts I've learned throughout my life to determine that and forge ahead. It's a simple process, but perfecting it is a lifelong journey (isn't everything?).
You're seeking now, and the next course doesn't open until September, but I believe it's worth it if you're ready to learn and apply. My early notification list has an autoresponder series that may or may not be of interest.
I see you're both getting Michael Hyatt's new book. You may or may not find it helpful. I don't believe it will hurt. But I believe you'd get better long-term value from the MasterKey MasterMind Alliance program. It's all about what you've both described you're looking for.
You should never think we--and I think I can speak for Wendy in this, and she can correct me if needed--don't want to hear your suggestions, Jean. I'm glad Master Keys course is helping you. I've done some research on it, and I am unconvinced that it is right for me. However, I'm also very interested in what it results for you. Right now, it seems it is making internal changes for you. We are unable to see those changes. I'm looking forward to when it becomes more external for you...if what it teaches results in such action.
Very tactfully said, Stephen. :)
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