Focus

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: first, hardwork; second, stick-to-it-iveness and third, common sense. --Thomas Edison

2012 has thrust me in to the "I gotta focus" arena. Common sense told me that I could only focus on a few things at a time, and other areas in my life may move to the back burner. This blog was part of the pots that had to be moved to the back burner so I could devote energy to the things that really mattered. Making a living suddenly became of those things that really mattered. The company I worked for was sold. As an member of the finance team, that meant a whole lot of hard work, stick-to-it-iveness and common sense for me. We worked very hard through the due diligence process and when the deal finally closed in February, I had made the decision to leave iContact. As with most things in my life, something great came my way just when it was supposed to, and I switched careers. Seriously, changed course entirely. I am no longer an accountant, and have found a job where I can apply all my skills and passions to focus on something entirely new to me, and I love it. I joined CareAnyware in May as a Billing Implementation and Training Specialist. CareAnyware has highly specialized software for the Home Health and Hospice industries that allows them to focus on what they do best, deliver care. Hospice is near and dear to my heart, and I have always desired a job working in health care. My job is to set up client's sites, and then train them on how to use the software. I get to travel and do on-site trainings too, and have already made three trips. This job is my new focus, and my new passion, and so far, I am finding it incredibly rewarding. I still continue to blow on the embers called "fifty at sixty". I focused on, trained for, and completed the Warrior Dash in May. It was the craziest challenge, and the most fun I have had on a Saturday since I was a little kid climbing trees. Nuts I tell you! I proved to myself that I am mentally tough, as there was more than one obstacle that I was intimidated by, and overcame (albeit with a lot of help from my son-in-law Ramesh). Things like two (two!) 14 foot walls to scale, rope bridges to navigate, mud pits to crawl through, fire pits to jump, water obstacles to swim, junk cars to crawl over, balance beams to run across. Through it all, my fake arm never failed me. I was amazed and empowered by the end of the run. Now that I have been working at my new position for a few months now, it is time to bring the focus back to the running. A funny thing happened the other day. I learned that Ironman was bringing a 70.3 race to Raleigh. Of course, my immediate reaction was "sign me up!". Then, after much cuss and discuss with myself, and my family, I decided to pass on it. I've done 3 half Ironman distance races in this lifetime. I think that is enough. Rather, I was reminded I am on the Fifty at Sixty path right now, and want to continue to pursue that dream. (I plan on volunteering though...so I can get close to the action without being in the action) Happy to report the wheels are still on the cart, and I'm still running 20 miles a week, give or take. The foot is hanging in there, although there are no runs that are pain free anymore. Sigh. There's a half marathon on Thanksgiving I'm signing up for. Thinking about a marathon in early 2013. Not sure what serious mileage will do, but willing to work hard, stick to it, and bring a whole lot of common sense to my training.