I took a gap year when I went through my divorce.  I didn’t cruise around the country. Instead, I sat with my life to date and really looked at it.  I searched for wisdom to help me really know me.  I came across many helpful things, but one of the most impactful was this segment from Joseph Campbell, where he talks about following your bliss.

I quickly realized that the way I had been approaching my work aligned directly to the way others told me how it should be done.  I knew a change was necessary, but I was still confused.  What was my bliss? I came across someone who said that the way you find your bliss is to look at your childhood and remember how you played. 

I remembered building huge army fortresses and matchbox tracks in my backyard.  I would spend hours on end designing really cool stuff.  It was peaceful being in this creativity.  Then the light bulb went off.

I like financial planning because I get to work on the big picture design.  The planning allows me to create really cool stuff.  However, what I didn’t like about my role as a financial planner was others telling me I had to do it a certain way. So, I set out to change the way I work.

I also realized, during this year, that my parents’ divorce had many impacts on me.  It shaped both my strengths and weaknesses.  I looked at the many years it took for me to realize my own self-imposed limitations.  Then, I began studying divorce. A fire inside made me run towards it.  “Dismantle and redesign this monster.” Now I get to create really cool stuff that helps to prevent others from getting trapped in the pitfalls of divorce and other life events that can cause one to get paralyzed.   

Today, I am remarried to Samantha.  We love to be in the mountains hiking.  We spend most of our free time with our Border Collies, Oscar and Rye, now that our kids (5 between us) are mostly grown.