My Reason, My Way, My Happiness

Here I am, age 47, single, overweight, and at a cross roads in life. I grew up in Southern California, Huntington Beach. I took this very fact for granted, until I moved away. You don’t know what you have until you literally move away from it. My family moved to the Inland Empire, Corona, I was 14, which was only 35 miles from that same beach, but might as well be another country if you don’t have a car. The ocean was my first real experience of how a place, scenery, moment could impact your life in such a positive way. My family never traveled, but then why would you when you live in a paradise of it’s own. It wasn’t until I was 18, when I joined the military that I can honestly say I began to see the world. I experienced Europe, parts of Asia, Africa, Alaska, Hawaii, and other parts of the United States. I remember sitting in Iraq during the first gulf war and watching 3 kids kicking a can like a soccer ball with no shoes in 110 degree heat and laughing, enjoying the moment without worrying about the war all around them. This was one of those defining moments in my life that allowed me to appreciate a world outside of the United States. This moment on, I made it my life goal to see as much of this beautiful, GOD given planet as possible. I knew that if 3 kids in a war time scenario could make me happy, only imagine what it would be like outside of war, in all different cultures around the world, experiencing life in a way that was foreign, yet exciting. Like anyone else in the world, life happens and what you say your life is going to be like in 10 years seems to morph into something different when you get to that point.

Financially, I didn’t prioritize quality of life and made excuses as to why I couldn’t do things. This frame of mind lead to me making the same excuses in all aspects of my life, which eventually allowed me to justify not physically or mentally putting my well being first. Face it, most people tend to call you selfish if you prioritize yourself anymore. Spent many years taking care of others and using that as an excuse to ignore my own needs. I own this, I made that choice. What I realized during this time of my life is that the happiest moments were when I started taking road trips all over the United States. I was completely mesmorized by the beauty of our country. Again, growing up in California most people have never driven the coast of California, been to Yosemite, Sequoia National Park, Kings Valley, the great Red Woods, Tahoe, Joshua Tree, and Big Bear. Most people only think of Hollywood, Venice Beach (Muscle Beach), San Francisco or San Diego when going to California. I remember when I was very young trying to learn how to surf. It was literally 5:30 am and we would paddle out and sit on our surf boards. The sun not out quite yet, but watching it as it made it’s way over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east, which was visible from the ocean. Most surfers will tell you, sometimes it is not about the wave, it is simply having that moment to reflect on life and live in a moment aways from life and it’s stresses. This is why most beach communities have that easy going personality, simply because they understand quality of life and life balance. You could literally get in your car from most of Southern California beach communities and in 2-3 hours be in Big Bear snow skiing. You go another 2 hours and be in the desert camping under the milky way and millions of stars. It is true, you get away from the city lights, especially in the state of Nevada, I promise you will be in for a shock when you look up at night and literally see the “White” milky arm of our galaxy that gave us the name “Milky Way Galaxy” along with millions of stars. What I took away from this time of my life is that even though I couldn’t financially afford to see the world, I was able to explore our nation with just a little bit of planning and prioritizing quality of life. It is a choice we all make, “work to live” or “live to work”.

On average, we have 80+ (hopefully more) years to live on this planet. Our government has already made it to where a minimum of 65 of those years will be spent working on average. As Americans we also get far fewer holidays (actual days off) than most of the world. We work really hard as a nation and we deserve to take time to create life changing memories that will follow us such as the one’s I have describes in the previous paragraphs. This is how sad it has gotten in our country, we have even coined the term “stay-cation”, where you stay home and supposedly relax. Usually you end up playing catch up on all the little chores and to-do’s that have been piling up throughout the year and worrying about the work load that is piling up on your desk at work while you are gone. Don’t put it in the same category as a vacation, call it what it is, your second, sometimes third job. I currently live in the Midwest, Arkansas, in the Ozarks, another part of the country that has some of the most beautiful scenery that rivals anywhere in the world. This country has a tendency to stereo type and label, which is something I don’t typically subscribe too, but I will say this for one of the stereo types, it is true, I have met so many people that have not even travelled outside of their state and in some cases their actual county. Not wanting to become political and create that kind of vibe, there is something to be said for taking time and spending it outside of the bubble we call home. We are so divided politically and part of this is due to people simply not experiencing life outside of where they live and understanding why people feel what they do. If we as a nation get to vote on things that impact everyone in this nation, then we owe it to ourselves to experience life in a way that is respectful to each other. We all truly want the same basic things, we just need to agree on how we get there. For me, traveling the world and the United States has enlightened me to a world that is so much bigger than where I was born or the country I was born in. We need to make this a priority in our life and become a responsible citizen within a world that is diverse, yet in need of more understanding. As great as our country is, and we are the greatest nation in the history of the world, we cannot survive without the rest of the world and would not exist without the heritage of other nations coming to our country, making us greater in each generation; that is a FACT. This world has so much to offer on so many levels that will personally change you for the better and will give you a gift that will stick with you for the rest of your life. Ask anyone that has been fortunate to see a different part of the world and I promise they are forever changed by that experience and have a new respect for that culture along with a desire to see, learn, and experience more.

This brings me to today, a moment in time when I have to make a choice at the cross roads we started at. What do I want for myself, what do I want my legacy to be, and how do I want to live my life now that it is half over (mid-life crisis). Choice “A” is to continue doing what I am doing, which is managing a Veterinary Hospital that gives me a since of accomplishment after each day knowing we literally save lives. Mentoring the next generation of leaders that brings a since of pride and being apart of something that is nothing short of amazing. Nothing like having a loving pet to make your day better. I am fortunate to have a hospital full of amazing, lovable, life giving pets along with a truly caring staff. As a manager you always have 1 or 2 superstars that encourage you to be better as a manager because you want to influence their future in a positive and hopefully fulfilling way. Choice “B”, start a franchise, Cruise Planners, and share this amazing world as I have been fortunate to see it with the rest of the world. Become an advocate for quality of life and giving you the ability to create a memory by simply giving me a call. Giving people options on how they can spend more time seeing this world and literally changing their lives in a way that will only improve the precious time we have here on Earth. Everyone has a bucket list of things they want to accomplish. Experience and plan now, “work to live”. Choice B also gives me the time to work on myself and become the best possible version of myself, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It would allow me to work from home at first, which allows me to prioritize my health in a way I cannot working at a hospital.

There is something to be said about being your own boss and finally proving that your style of managment would work if given the opportunity. Even if it doesn’t work, I can atleast state I had the guts to try and live this life on my terms, creating my happiness, doing it my way. Life is truly about the choices we make and holding ourselve accountable. It is my hope as I choose “CHOICE B” that the people who read this give me a chance to be a part of their life in the form of “Quality of Life”. I will give you all that I am to simply share my passion with you in the hopes that my legacy will become a wonderful memory for you.