My husband is my inspiration!
It seems that for years my husband has been struggling in his career. I mean, he's been doing well, moving upward, so in many respects succeeding, but he hasn't been happy. He would work long hours and stress and struggle and it was hard on his health and hard on our family. My husband has been in the electronic games industry for at least two decades, riding the waves of changes in gaming. He loves games and is passionate about them, so why was his job such a constant struggle?
Then one day my husband had a realization. He was sacrificing so much for his job, too much. He wanted more time with the family, and more time enjoying activities out side of work that he was passionate about. He has always been a gamer, been a Dungeon Master and player. He enjoys all kinds of games from board games to card games to role playing games, but ultimately, what he really was, was a story teller. What he loved to do most was to create believable characters in rich environments and then share those stories with friends in interactive ways. He could provide the world and the obstacles and a variety of choices and then let his players run amok in his kingdom, bringing the world alive to discover whole new depths of mysteries and magic.
It was the day that my husband said, "I'm a DM. I want to tell stories and pursue crafts, like miniature painting, that supports what I love today, instead of spending all my time doing other things with my time and never getting around to it." He decided to refocus his life to make room for gaming, instead of constantly sacrificing what he loved for what he felt he "should" be doing.
And that was the key because what he thought he should be doing, and what the Universe had waiting for him were two entirely different things. Once he made this choice, the world opened to him and his life became wonderful.
He added more gaming into his life, DMing for his local game store, for co-workers and friends, devising new ways to deliver his stories. He joined games that others were running that he just didn't think he had time for before, but now he knew he really didn't want to do without. Thus came opportunity. He made some very good friends and found opportunities in line with his passion knocking on his door.
Now don't get me wrong here, it wasn't easy. There was a lot of hard work to be done because he did this in addition to a very demanding job and without neglecting his commitments to family. He did it all, but he did it with a new found joy and purpose that has led to many great improvements in his career and in the happiness of our time together as a family.
He is now an Imagineer for Disney and I can't think of a job that could possibly be more fun and family friendly than that! He generally works reasonable hours. No more of the 80- to 100-hour work weeks that the games industry all too often demands. He does excellent work and is appreciated for his efforts. He gets to work with a really spectacular bunch of incredibly intelligent and gifted people who are also passionate about what they do. He has time for family and time to game and pursue those related hobbies with the family. He's learning every day, both on the job and off, and from where I stand it looks like he's enjoying just about every minute of it.
We look back together at the choices he has made in his life, and we can pinpoint the moment that everything changed for him. The one decision. To follow his passion. That decision, and taking action on that decision, led him down a path that opened up a world of possibilities for him, and for us as a family.
I look at my life now and I know that I need to make some changes. My husband is my inspiration, and I realize I am in the cycle he was in before he made this life change. All too often I put aside my passion to focus on what I think I "should" be doing with my time, instead of pursuing my mission on Earth.
What is my passion? What is my mission? For me, my passion is my children. For me, my mission is to educate children as thinkers and doers. To help raise the next generation of children in my life with a quality Leadership Education, and to help pass on the word to as many adults as possible that they too can pursue a Leadership Education if they so choose. That we are all thinkers and doers capable of greatness. That the path to a strong country full of liberty and freedom is to have a nation of citizens who are truly educated and inspired by the great thinkers of the past and of the present. To understand our founding fathers and mothers and know what they have sacrificed for us, and why it is important to remain free. To join the Great Conversation and keep going this amazing experiment in freedom and liberty because all humans are capable of understanding and genius.
To this end, I've opened a private school in Southern California, The Whole Brain Academy of Arts and Science. I'm selling books because that is in line with both my passion and my mission. I believe that I am finally on the right path, and the Universe will let me know if this is true.
I hope you'll check out our new website and my blog there too, and maybe buy a book or two for yourself, or your children, or your school or community. It's time to take back our voices and join the Conversation, and insure that our children are ready to rise to the challenges ahead of them.
www.wholebrainacademy.webs.com
