I thought I was going to be more reluctant about leaving Georgia and I'm not. Part of me is sad and part of me is really glad to be on the way back to California
The part that is sad is going to miss the team and the relationships I built there. It was the one positive of the year in exile: Now I know I can do it and where I need to push harder to get my Ironman goal. It will not be the only Ironman by any stretch of the imagination. I want to do more than one but I have to learn whether I can do it or not, whether the Ironman is the limit I've been searching for.
The part that doesn't regret leaving is tired of educational politics. It is sick of how people use employees to the last and then discard them like dirty paper towels.
I offered both communication and trust and got slapped hard for it. Would I do it differently... I would have said no more often; I would have observed more and done less (as sucky as that idea is) and would have definitely not said as much as I did to the people I said it to.
What I've learned
I've learned, again, that it's the long-term goal what really matters. The short term is nice when/if it happens but it's not the ultimate goal. It doesn't matter if you get your 30 day goal if that means you'll loose the goal for the year. Yes, you work with the information you have available at the time but there is a large degree of trust and faith involved on it.
Unless it's to go back to school I'm not moving out of California.
Never, ever again work for a friend or someone who calls him/herself my friend.
I continue to learn what I don't want to be as a team leader or manager. I still believe in communication and trust. I believe in standing by the people who work for/with you
Moving forward (again)
I applied for a job just because it seemed interesting and because I wanted to try and bounce as quickly as possible.
With my foot injury I realize that I shouldn't try and rush things. If I get the job that's great but it's not and end on itself. I'm working on a website or two and also a couple of ebooks to show I can do it. We'll see where it goes from there...
Train's save me San Francisco resonates a lot right now because it tells my story. I let myself loose sight of the long term goal for the short term gain. And it's also cautionary tale as to how far and hard you should push in order to achieve your goals.
Work hard at generating income. The biggest problem with freelancing and location independent work is to get the first few leads/jobs that will allow me to establish my credentials. Let's see how they work 🙂