It’s a time of deep transformation. And it’s an interesting place to be. For my whole life, each time I made a career change I knew exactly what I wanted to do next. Not this time. Today I along with the coaches and staff at TeamWILD Athletics have decided to officially close TeamWILD. I will no longer be the Director.
Which means I get to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, starting now!! It’s both exciting and terrifying! I’ve had a few nights of not sleeping very well. And I’m considering a conversation with a career coach and maybe a psychic! But I’m excited too. I have loved running TeamWILD. It was a dear and deep dream of mine to first learn as much as I did about endurance athletics and how to manage diabetes and nutrition to be a successful athlete, and then to bring this information to the general diabetes community. We did this for five years. And it was a beautiful journey. And now it’s time to move on. I really don’t like running the day to day operations of a business. And it turns out I’m not very good at. Funny how just because one has leadership skills, it doesn’t mean you SHOULD lead a small company!
What I know about my future is that I have one. I have a lot of skills. I was an executive coach for more than 15 years, I can do more of that. I was in education for more than 20 years, I can explore that too. I also have discovered I love speaking and inspiring, and once I get this book published (the one I’ve already started writing) I will have something to launch a speaking career from! So, there’s things I will be able to do. That’s a given. Funny how that works.
Thank you everyone for your love and your support. It means the world to me!
And if you have ideas for my new career, please do let me know! I’d love to hear from you.
Mari, glad to see you looking at the road ahead. Whenever you are in Dallas again, I hope you will consider stopping by to share your wisdom. I’ve been struggling to get folks signed up for the Step Out 5K, and it’s my dream to get a “Tri de Cure” program going here that will cross-pollinate cyclists, runners, and swimmers to raise funds and create excitement about what we can all do as multisport PWDs.
Hi Don!
Thanks for your kind words. And you better believe it, if I’m ever near Dallas, I will come by and talk to you and your awesome group of athletes!!Getting folks to do the Step Out is harder than the bike rides. Not really sure why that is.
Keep swimming and being amazing!
Mari
Wonderful summing up moment, Mari. You have always coached me and my kids to be courageous, not fearless, and to create a future from your past experiences, good and bad. Thanks to you (and others, of course) some of them are phlebotomists, med students, Lincoln Center ballet dancers, published writers, recording engineers, Marines, and field geologists, Several faced down severe depression before creating those suddenly possible futures.
I have complete faith in you. You will continue to be one of my heroes.
Tom,
I loved working with you and your students all those years back. It’s so great to hear how well they are doing these day. I really appreciate your kind words and your vote of confidence.
Much thanks!
Mari
In my experience, the plans I would never considered making for myself have always turned out to be far better than what I was planning. You will find something amazing in time, Mari! Enjoy the search, when i found peace with the unknown future i found true happiness and sense of self .
Janeece,
Thanks for your wisdom! It is funny how life unfolds. It’s an amazing gift. I vow to enjoy the search. It’s interesting to let go of the need to massively contribute to making the world a better place. This next round is going to be much smaller and much simpler.
And we’ll see where it all goes!
Mari
I’m 53 and I still don’t know what I want to do. I wish I could stay home and concentrate on me and my life. Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
Thanks Marianne!