My speaking allows me to have a flexible but confusing schedule that can be difficult to manage and enjoyable at the same time. Recently I got to experience the positives and negatives that come with my unique career.
In August, I travelled to Cleveland, Ohio for several speaking jobs. I was going to speak eight days in the area I spent the most time living. My best friends live there and a lot of friends who I consider family. The difficult part of the trip was it was a business trip and I was going to be away from my son and pregnant wife for eight days. I've been spoiled over the last 2 years because they've been able to travel with me a lot. The other difficult part of my trip was I wanted to see my friends, but I couldn't because I needed to focus on my work. I had eight days to focus on my business with out having the distractions of day-to-day life back at home.
I also worried about my wife going into labor while I was out of town. The trip went great and my wife didn't go into labor. When I got home, I could definitely tell my son missed me. This was the longest I had been away from home since he was born. He's also at an age where he recognizes when I'm leaving the house.
Once I got home it was baby prep time. I get to manage my schedule, so I only booked work that would be close to home in late August and September. I wanted to be home to see my daughter born. I also wanted to be around as much as possible to help my wife.
A week before my wife was due I was scheduled to five straight days of speaking around Arizona. I jinxed myself by telling people we were expecting and things were going well. After my second presentation, things changed. Our little lady decided to join the world the week early. My wife went info labor a few hours after I told people we were waiting patiently and I hope our little lady doesn't come early. The amazing part my wife going into labor during a busy speaking week... I was home to drive my wife to the hospital. I experienced the birth of my daughter. I even made it to two my last 3 speaking events. You're probably asking what my wife thought about this. She encouraged me to sneak out of the hospital for a few hours. She wanted me to keep my commitments. I was back to the hospital n time to take everyone home and take lots of pictures.
I'm more motivated than ever to keep doing what I do, because I get to take care of my family while doing some I love...helping people. My wife, son and daughter let me know that living my dream may require a lot of crazy work with weird hours, but the experience is worth it.
Click the link below to meet our newest addition and see the behind the scenes of my life.
