I'm now fully invested in my new career, having gone through the first six weeks with fair success and a bit of a promotion/vote of confidence from my employer.
What has gone by the wayside in this time, despite my intentions, has been this blog, Speak & Deliver, my wife's book, my diet, my involvement in Toastmasters, my participation with my mastermind group, and my connection with my friends via blog, Facebook, & Twitter.
That's a major change, and not one I like. While I was busy trekking around the Midwest, I found myself exhausted when I wasn't in the moments of adrenaline, setting up, speaking, tearing down and doing it all over again the next day. From Jan 29 to Feb 17 I gave 18 presentations in 7 states, stayed in 8 hotels, drove 4 rental cars and took 7 planes on four itineraries.
Not Guinness Book material, perhaps, but certainly a shock to my system. In addition to all of that, I was dealing with adjusting to a new job, new procedures, new bosses, all while trying to be a long-distance husband and father.
Whew - I get tired just writing about it.
So now I'm home - working from home, still adjusting to the new job, planning travels for March and April, figuring out how I'm going to plan my Fall speaking schedule (around 75 presentations in 20 cities over a three and a half month period), and still wanting the be the blogger, writer, speaking coach that defines who I really am.
While this job is great, and is definitely going to help my bigger dreams in the long run, I don't want it to ever define who I am, beyond someone who puts forth full effort into everything he does.
Which begs the question - can I put full effort into all facets of my life with the addition of this job, or do I need to let some things go? Do I lessen my involvement in my blogs? I already have, I guess - but really I've just been gone.
Decisions need to be made - how much time do I have to devote to being who I really am?
