Sacrificial Wayne?

With new responsibilities comes new sacrifices.  This is true in so many areas of our lives.  I remember back to a time when Debbie and I were living in an apartment in Montclair.  We were a young couple starting a life together, still learning the ways of the world.  We had recently talked about how nice it would be to stay home, sleep late, lounge around and just watch TV / movies with no responsibilities and not a care in the world.  26+ years later, owning a house, having two daughters (and two dogs), raising a family, being involved in our community, having hobbies / interested, etc., we have accumulated a life filled with activities.  Do not get me wrong, these are good things, but interesting that we “romanticize” a simpler time in our lives.

Life is always about the choices we make.  With each choice comes the responsibility of following through (taking action) and striving to do or be the best at the choices we make.  To achieve that objective, one is either all in or not.  Being all in means doing whatever it takes to reach our goal(s), including prioritizing activities and making some personal short term sacrifices.  These are thoughts that should go into the thought process prior to making a choice.  I had one opportunity where I never went all in.  I did it for years, hoping that things would click and I would obtain the successes I was looking for.  Truth is that I just dabbled – I treated the opportunity as a hobby, sacrificed the wrong things and had little to show for the effort.  I was clearly not all in.

As I take on the new role of President of an organization, the amount of time required is not trivial.  There will be times where I will have to make sacrifices to achieve successes.  However, balance is important – Family still comes first, though the timing of things will be different.  For me, it is important to remind my family of the changes (setting expectations).  Based on past experiences, anything worth doing should be done the right way.  Knowing way in advance what the sacrifices and time commitments will be, can help, even if it is a jolt when it actually occurs.  As with all things we are involved in, there will be an adjustment period until this becomes part of the fabric of life…then the term will be over!  Here’s to change, sacrifice and the successes ahead.