The View from 9,000 Feet
Literally and figuratively, I have an expansive view of this journey to-date from my perch at the Mueller State Park campground.
First a note on the altitude. For anyone who has spent any time in this thin air, you may recognize it does a number on you. We’re all beat by about 9pm. Attempting to go on a “fun hike” yesterday, I took the kids out into the forest while Johannes went to town to bang out some work. Around mile one, Josi was on my shoulders. By mile two, Julius was taking breaks every 10 minutes, lying on the ground, and trying to convince me I could carry them both.
I can’t.
We of course made it back, only to discover that the altitude seems to have messed with Johannes’ laptop as well. And the Jeep. Neither of which are functioning at full-capacity.
While I find myself still able to work, I’m doing so in an other-worldly state of mind. Somehow from up here everything changes. I’m light-years from our starting point. Even detached from the past 50-some-odd days we’ve been on this adventure.
Ironically, it was today that the Op-Ed I wrote for PR Week went live. It’s a bit of an overview of our trip and it sums up our state of mind rather well, even now two weeks after I wrote it.
And while we are much closer to making a decision…to restart the business, to land a traditional J-O-B, or to partner with another agency….we’re still living one day at a time. Doing good work for our current clients and looking for ways to grow new opportunities.
From up here, I gaze out across the mountaintops and simply marvel at all we’ve seen and everywhere we’ve been. But more than that, I am keenly aware of the fact that we’ve only scratched the surface. There’s something to this adventure that I know will change everything about how I approach business, life and family from here on out. And Pink Plus Or Minus has lived up to its intended purpose as a blog to explore the underbelly of fundamental change. Both in terms of our personal life on this trip, and in terms of our industry as we’ve seen countless times with numerous PR pros along the way.
I wax a tad philosophical from up here simply because I can’t help it. Surrounded by this beauty, reflecting upon the past summer and pressing toward a decision.
Regardless of what we choose, we’ll likely continue this adventure in some form or fashion. It’s a lifestyle now more than anything else. Of course, from 9,000 feet…I’m open to suggestions.
