Keep the Blazes at it!

It’s January 20, 2024. In my 71st year, my life is good. I look back on things that have happened with a different perspective, and I find that there are opportunities not taken that might have changed the course. I have met with the communications departments of large national companies and went ill-prepared for the meeting, not interested in the gig. I have joined golf clubs and country clubs and have not taken full advantage of the schmoozing opportunities to find interesting and lucrative work. I have followed my instincts and I have ended up in a great place with no regrets. Introspection is good but when you are out of the industry and enjoying retirement, it can be humbling. My accomplishments are modest. I hope that I have made a difference in some people’s lives and that I can continue to do that in this next phase through writing and blogging and creating online learning experiences, and videos that will last forever. This week I sent the final content pages on Relational Intelligence, Skills, and Knowledge to Andrew, at At the HELM. Now I wait. I remind myself that it’s a draft. That is written on my whiteboard. “It’s just a draft.” It took six weeks to go through the library of my life’s work, to sort out the pieces that would fit, to write the pieces that were more suited to a nautical theme and to let go of the draft. Intellectually and emotionally the experience could have been draining and at times I think it was. Mostly it was humbling. To review ALL the I have written in that way lets you see your contribution. I am not finished. I am excited for RISK to find a following. I believe there is a book there and I know that I am in a place where I can review Mapping the Space Between Us and prepare to publish it. That was another missed opportunity. It needs finishing. With a little help, I can meet my new self-imposed deadline … June 2024. Wish me luck and poke me once in a while with a gentle reminder to keep the blazes at it.