We all have goals we want to accomplish – a good job, steady income, travel, maybe a family, eat a whole 72oz steak dinner and get it for free…. Likewise, you know about seven of my big goals. However, most people don’t talk about the other ideas that go fluttering through their brain from time to time. Some can be accomplished in a short order, without much effort – a good bike ride, running a certain distance, listening to the new album by so-and-so, reading a book they put off etc.. Others are colossal and require time, concentration, and herculean effort. Those are the ones that, if thought of them long ago, would be on the SevenXSeven instead. So what do you do when one of these goals pops into your head, roots itself in your grey matter, and won’t let go?
First, you stop updating your blog. Second, you count the cost: Will pursuing this goal be beneficial spiritually and educationally? Will it put me in a place where I can serve and accomplish? Will it lend itself to helping me complete the Seven, rather than stifle it? Third, you make a decision to uproot your life from everything and everyone familiar and relocate it 1,380 miles northeast, in the heart of the busiest city in the world.
As of mid-August this will be my new base of operations. Ecstatic? My, yes. Fervent? Word. Terrified? Absolutely.
My career (jeez its so weird to use “career” word after “my”) has begun taking shape. Its been a wild ride through many highs and a few lows, but I only recently came to a brilliant realization: I love what I do. That is, I love public and working with people to combat their problems and accomplish their goals. I feel lucky that it only took me til age 27 to realize that. But my work experiences and challenges have brought me to the realization of just how complex the world of public service can be. If I am to confront the bigger problems I must learn more about all aspects of public service. Soon I’ll be a student again, though this time on the graduate level, working to get a Masters Degree in Public Affairs from The Baruch School of Public Service.
Throwing down a 3-4 month exit strategy means a lot of stuff will be competing for my time. But it also means that the big things have to be prioritized: time with family & friends, the Parent Project, staying (relatively) healthy, making amends, taking advantage of opportunities to live fully; and minimizing the weighty crap that doesn’t really matter: ego, arguments, divisions, drama.
As summer nears so does a world of endless possibility. I want to make the most of it. I hope you will too. See you soon.
