“Are we there yet?”
When you’re on a long road trip, that is the question that is circling through everyone’s mind.
- 1,100 miles from Dallas to Disney World
- 750 miles from Dallas to family in Illinois
- 950 miles from Lincoln, IL to Ontario to go fishing
- 8,200 miles to fly from Chicago to Nairobi
These are all trips I have been on multiple times. When does this journey end? Where is the end of the road? I want to get there because my vacation is waiting, my family is there, the fish are waiting for me.
Or the return trip – I’m so tired of sitting. My butt hurts. My head hurts. I’m tired of being cramped. The road or sitting in coach class is just about to wear you out. Where is the end of the road?
So, are we there yet? Yes. I have reached the end of the road.
10 Months Ago
10 months ago I wrote a blog post, The End of the Road… for me. When I wrote that, I could see the end of the road. It just took longer than I thought to get to the very end. Sometimes those last few steps are the hardest to make.
I’ve owned my own online business for 11 years, 5 months. For the most part, it was very rewarding and fulfilling. I have been blessed to have had the flexible schedule and working remotely from my home. For many, that is a dream come true.
But, I think I stuck around about 2-3 years too long. I think I hit the end of the road about 2-3 years ago, but, sometimes it is hard to quit and walk away. Some people have said this business was my baby, and I held on longer because it was my own.
There is some truth in that, but I personally think it is because I had become the person that I used to be critical of. I was afraid of change, afraid how I would make it without my business income, and afraid that I didn’t fit in anywhere else.
Whatever the reason, I should have let this thing go back in 2012-2013. Pride to save a sinking ship only weakened me and made the fears worse. Although, I think I was more of the sinking ship than my actual business. My business was probably waiting to thrive if it has been in better hands.
March 11, 2015
This is the date. I have officially gotten off the road I was on. No more working in the leads business. No more working and dealing in the world of network marketing or multilevel marketing. No more National Leads, SnL Leads, or anything. While I was never truly a part of any MLM company, my business operated within that industry.
Are we there yet? Yes. You can disembark. It’s time to get off.
Off. For. Good.
So, What’s Next?
I don’t know the answer to that completely, yet. That may disturb many people, but I am finding that it is awakening a giant within that has been asleep for many years.
One thing I have discovered is that I don’t fit in real well when trying to put together a resume, fill out a job application, and read through the want ads. You see, I believe there isn’t anything I can’t do. Nothing. I can train and prepare, and learn and master it. By the time I reach master stage, I will be better than 90% of those doing that work already.
It may sound arrogant, and it is. But, I believe I have proven it. I really don’t think there isn’t anything I cannot do. It mostly boils down to a matter of will and desire. Do I really want to do ________ (fill in the blank).
Now, is there something I am leaning toward? Yes. I am leaning toward local SEO work. It satisfies the introvert, nerdy, service oriented, techie, remote/mobile, unlimited ceiling, taking to the next level what I already know, and ultimately bring honor back to the One who has brought me here.
Before I get to that next step, I am taking 2 days, 48 hours, and doing nothing. I am turning off this computer. I am turning off my phone. I am turning off Clash of Clans, and I am going to take 2 well earned days and do whatever comes my way. That is one day for every 68.5 months I ran my business. No agenda, except to be with my family and friends.
Here’s the Promise
Back in about 2012 I felt the Lord telling me it was time to quit. It wasn’t that the business was dead, but I believed God was leading me onward. I drug my feet, rationalized, reasoned, and brought my family on the brink of financial ruin (at least it felt that way).
Delayed obedience is still disobedience.
I just finished reading Genesis through Deuteronomy. It is the story of “stiff-necked” people who are stubborn, slow to learn, slow to obey, and often rebellious (sounds familiar). But, the very next book in the Old Testament is Joshua. The promise of the children of Israel reaching. fighting for, and inheriting the Promised Land, had been fulfilled.
Then, there is this great summary verse in Joshua 21:44-45, “The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
Isn’t that fantastic!
I know what God has promised me, and although I cannot see too far down the road right now, I know that not one of God’s promises will fail, and everyone of them will be fulfilled. My enemies will be subdued and I will have rest.
I’ve reached the end of the road.
Elvis has left the building.
