Today marks a day of change!

A few years ago I began reading Success magazine and the writings of Jim Rohn, DenisWaitley, Brendon Burchard and others.

When I read their thoughts, it became clearer to me that I was just floating through life.  I decided that I needed to change some things in my personal life and I lost some weight and started exercising each day.  I started my 50 state, 50 half marathon by age 50 walking challenge and made small changes that have made differences over time. After about two years, I felt back in control of my personal life and felt good about the goals I was working on.  These continue to be things I work on today.

Once I got my personal goals established, I realized I was floating through my work life.  The passion I once had for my job just wasn’t there anymore and I realized that I just wasn’t being my best self. The motivated, happy person I had been when I accepted my position at the Foundation had disappeared and I no longer felt like I was doing my job the way I once had.  So, I decided it was time to work on my work life. After all, I spend more time at work than almost anywhere else. The only thing that beats the amount of hours spent at work is time spent sleeping!

I sat down and really thought about what type of job I wanted to get.  What could I be passionate about?  There were several questions I asked myself and I came up with the following list of things that I’d like in my next job:

1) It has to have something to do with building relationships or partnerships

2) I’d like to work with kids if possible  (For the last four years, I have been volunteering at Wilson Primary Center in South Bend for Boys & Girls Club.  I work with students from K-4 every Tuesday and it’s been a blast.  They are quite often the highlight of my week.)

3) It has to have some fun

4) It has to make a difference in the lives of others

So I started looking for jobs that I believed were a good fit for me and I’m happy to say that Junior Achievement is just that.  I will be working primarily in St. Joseph and Marshall Counties recruiting volunteers to work with students and teach them about entrepreneurship and economics. I’ll be doing some training and some actual classroom work and I am really psyched about this new challenge.

Today marks my last day of employment at The Medical Foundation. I’m thankful for the last seven years there and all the things that I have learned. Most importantly, I’m thankful for all my co-workers (yes, all!) because I have learned something from all of them during my seven year journey there.

So as I begin another chapter in my life, I am looking forward to the changes that are about to happen, but I won’t forget the people and experiences that have brought me to this point. Thanks ya’ll, it’s been an awesome ride J and I’m sure many of us will keep in touch!