“Happy Monday” Is Not An Oxymoron

All these years, I thought the words “Happy” and “Monday” could not possibly coexist.  After all, who in their right mind could love a Monday???  Well, I must be out of my mind because I’m loving this one.

Yes, I’m missing a few things – like the groggy Monday morning commute followed by the immediate stress of fluorescent lights and the fast-paced demands of today’s office environment.  And I do miss the knot-in-the stomach feeling that starts every Sunday afternoon, knowing that your precious weekend is just about to end.

Yes, I’ll miss those.  But something tells me…I’ll get over it.

No More Mondays
Dan Miller’s recipe for Happy Mondays!

Waking Up Free!

Today, I woke up as a free agent.

It seems surreal, this strange new feeling of anticipation, excitement, and peace.  It feels like Christmas morning, only there’s this calm realization that it’s not just for one day a year – I can do this for the rest of my life.

Never again will I have to drive to work in the ice and snow to sit in a cubicle for eight hours or more – or be inside on one of those perfect spring days when I’d rather be outside planting flowers.  Now, going forward, I get to choose where I work on any given day.

And I get to choose when.  If I know I do my best work at 5:00 a.m., then I will work then.  If I need to take a nap in the middle of the day, I will take one.  If I want to take a day off to go to the lake, I will do that.  And I will not fill out a time-off request form – because I don’t have to anymore.

I will work hard, probably harder than I have in my life.  But it will be because I want to, because I know that what I’m doing is my passion and my purpose in life.  It is work that gives me energy rather than drains my spirit.  It is meaningful, purposeful work that helps others follow their passions and find peace.

I did not get up at 1:30 a.m. or 4:30 a.m. this morning (the usual times).  My husband is off today, and I will spend the day with him because I can.  For eight years, we have worked at opposite ends of the day.  Most of that time, we had no days off in common. So, basically, two weeks a year off together.  No weekends.  That’s existing…but that’s certainly not living.  TODAY, we begin to live again, to build a life controlled by values and our priorities – not by the dictates of the corporate world.  We work because we can and should, but that is not the focal point…not anymore.

Today’s a brand new day and a start to a brand new life.

Today, I Jumped!

In February of this year, we celebrated my husband’s fiftieth birthday by jumping out of an airplane.  I still can’t believe we did that, but what an amazing experience it was.

There was raw fear - watching as he jumped out the door into nothingness and then stepping to the threshold to do the same.  But there was exhiliaration and excitement that surpassed the level of fear.  There is just no way to describe it adequately, but what an experience!

Well, today, I felt that fear manifold.  I jumped again – only this time, I jumped from the secure confines of the corporate world into the open air of free agency.  It was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but necessary.

You see, I have come to realize over the past couple of years just how much of life we were sacrificing on the altar of work.  Don’t get me wrong, I work hard and I love it.  But I came to a point where I realized that the method and the means of work were just “not working” for us.  The schedule, the environment, and the things we were doing were killing us.

So I’ve spent the past year packing the chute, checking the harnesses, and training for the day that I would finally make the jump.

AND TODAY, I JUMPED!

It was hard – really, really hard – but once done, there was peace that I had not felt in a very long time.  It’s the peace that comes from knowing you just did something that you desperately needed to do.

Life Changers-Part 1

 

Copy (2) of IMG_2586  

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

 

–Charles “Tremendous” Jones

 

Admittedly, it sounds a bit like a circus act.  You go to a camp in the mountains of Colorado, and you spend your weekend with a bunch of people you met on the internet:  a magician, an inventor, an artist, a sculptor, sales people, a bike racer, a guy who does bike tricks, a former truck driver, a former commercial pilot, a computer geek, business and career coaches, financial coaches, a mother of twelve with a catering business, owner of a barbecue restaurant, a building contractor, an ADD coach, a Fibromyalgia coach, and a college professor. 

What are you, nuts?

No, just a Free Agent Academy member.  Free Agents are a group of real people in pursuit of meaningful work.  These are amazingly creative and successful people with the common desire to use their God-given talents and skills to help others.  Real people…real success…real passion.

The “Pied Piper” of this group is Kevin Miller, son of author and career coach, Dan Miller.  Kevin has a passion for helping people achieve business success and has built a community just for them.  This was not your typical business conference.  The speakers (Free Agent Academy professors) are experts in their respective fields, and their presentations were very interesting and jam packed with helpful information.  The breakout sessions were insightful and helped each of us walk away with a three step action plan for our various businesses.  The professors were there for the small group sessions, for meals, for all of it – and available to answer our questions.  It was a great opportunity to get to know them and to see their genuine passion for the work that they do.

Each morning began with a walk to a nearby lake with a view of Pikes Peak.  What a way to start the day!  The view and the camaraderie of walking with fellow Free Agents were priceless.

If you asked these people what brought about the changes in their lives from where they were to the business owners they are today, they would undoubtedly trace it back to two people:  Dan Miller and Kevin Miller. 

A year ago, I was miserable.  I was exhausted and had lost my passion for work and life in general.  One day, I decided to do something I normally did not do – go to lunch.  I tuned in to the Dave Ramsey show on my car radio, and he was interviewing his good friend, Dan Miller.  Dan is author of the books 48 Days to the Work you Love and No More Mondays.  The titles intrigued me, so I read the books.  In fact, I read them twice.

Fast forward to today.  I am once again passionate about my work, have started my own business, lost twenty-five pounds, traveled to places I’ve never been before, met some amazing people, and even jumped out of an airplane.  Looking back, I am amazed at the changes in my life in just one year…and it all started with one person and his books.  That one person, Dan Miller, led me to another, Kevin Miller.  These two are “life changers”.

God has a way of placing in our paths the people and
the books we need at the time we need them. 
Whether or not we choose to meet those people
and read those books is up to us,
but amazing things happen when we do.

 

Have you read any interesting books recently or met any new people?  Is there some part of your life that needs changing for the better?  If the answer is yes, then prayerfully seek the resources you need to make that change.  Chances are it will be a person…or a book.  If that change involves work, check out 48 Days to the Work you Love, No More Mondays, and Free Agent Academy.

 

A year from now, where will YOU be?

IMG_0207
Photo by Tim Dunagan