I was a married man once, though it didn't last long at all, 6 months or so, too short to remember. It's been about 3 years since then and a whole lot has changed. For one, I have a child, I went from living in Chicago and having a house to living in Florida and living in a high rise. Sometimes, life can change and take you in a direction you can't even imagine. Here is a short story about how my life made a drastic change...
Chicago
Coming to Florida wasn't the first time my life took a turn, because what led me to Chicago in the first place was pretty crazy itself. About 10 years ago, I was dating a girl and she was going to go to school in Chicago. Since I didn't want a long distance relationship, I looked for jobs and found what I thought then was an amazing opportunity. The job brought me to Chicago, and paid for most of the costs to get me there. I ended up ditching my car, well, it got stolen (that's a whole different story), and for most of my time there I went without an automobile.
In Chicago, I worked for the company mentioned and this was also where I met my soon to be ex-wife. Apart from this company, I worked for two other companies as well. I've always been a really hard worker and have performed well in all my roles in the corporate world, because of this I was lucky to gain huge responsibility for the company I currently work for. The company I'm with now has treated me extremely well, and I'm fortunate to be employed by them. Because of this company I was able to navigate the most difficult life circumstances I would ever encounter, since I could have never predicted what would come next...
Instant Decision
In my life I have rarely taken extreme chances that I felt would jeopardize myself in a material way. Don't get me wrong, I've made plenty of dumb mistakes, but rarely did I put myself in a position to risk almost everything. Life has most certainly tested me though, and all those encounters prepared me for the biggest change my life was yet to encounter up until I had to.
During the pregnancy of my son Owen my ex-wife moved from Chicago to Florida. I didn't know she was going to do that, we had never planned for it but I was not going to accept not being in my child's life. The problem was that because I had no say in the matter, I found out at the last minute, and was then left holding a lot of bags, including a house. I won't, nor can't, get into the details, but that was a reality I faced. The other issue was the concern I had for finding employment in Florida. Since I wasn't sure if my company would let me work remotely, I had to think practically in order to sustain a stable income and environment for my child. The point was, I had to move, and move quicker than I had ever dreamed.
When I first found out about my child being born in Florida, I actually didn't know what to do for almost 6 months! So I figured the only thing I could do was work harder for my job than ever before. So that's what I did; I stayed late, I networked hard, and gained some huge wins. I also received a ton of support from my company, they helped with the baby shower and were very flexible with my schedule. But then one day I realized it's now or never, or else I was going to be stuck in Chicago for a long time if I didn't do something. It's complicated and I cannot get into details because of the law, but it was the law that I feared would keep me stuck in a place I didn't want to be.
I can literally remember the moment my entire perspective changed, and sometimes I guess it takes a knock on the door. That's exactly what it was too, it was a knock from a stranger informing me that a case in IL started. That's when I realized what was happening. That's when everything that I had feared came true. By fear, I mean I had predicted that scenario and in that scenario I knew what was next, and I knew if I didn't leave Chicago, then I was going to be stuck there. Because I knew if I thought it was going to be hard to get out then, it would have been hundreds of times harder later.
That night, I stayed up all night writing notes and preparing a speech to tell my boss. I knew the conversation would go one of two ways, they would agree with me or they wouldn't. The whole night I was sweating because I knew that if they didn't agree, I was going to quit and I did not have a plan then. The only thing I had guiding me was my belief in the fact what I was doing was the only choice that felt right.
I didn't sleep at all that night, I had pages and pages of notes. I had note cards and all sorts of other types of materials to make sure my presentation was perfect. Just think how you feel on a job interview and multiply that by a billion, that's about how I felt all the way up until I said exactly what I had planned.
The conversation with my boss was surreal. I was dumbfounded to find that he almost immediately sided with me and even helped put together a plan. I had no idea the conversation would go so well. It was the closest thing to a miracle I had ever experienced, almost as if the world was showing me a sign. I bought a plane ticket and left for Florida the next day, it might have been 2 days or so, I was too excited to remember that part.
The Start of a New Beginning
So, here we are living in Florida. If you asked me where I would be living in 3 years 3 years ago, I would have probably said Chicago but not somewhere cool! Well, I guess Chicago is cool, but it's way too cold for me! What's more incredible is that I see exactly why my destiny is here in Florida, because there have been so many new opportunities that have opened up since I've lived here. I have even been able to make more friends in Florida than I ever did during the 6 years I lived in Chicago!
Right now, I feel so blessed but I didn't feel lucky at all throughout the the three years it took to get where I am. In fact, I felt betrayed and I was very angry. I let nothing stand in my way and in the end I pursued what I believed was right. I don't know what you want to call that, I call it God's will, but that's for you to decide!
So just in case you're wondering why I'm obsessed with my son Owen, one reason is because he is a reward I chased for 3 years!