Get The Sickness!

Reflections on Work and Life and Girls Soccer

I read recently a list of the 10 Best New Year's resolutions you can make. One of them resonated with me pretty well. "Resolve to take control of your destiny. Don't be so busy trying to make a living that you forget to make a life." This has been an ongoing effort as work and career can be very consuming. Being the father of four children also provides another perspective.

My last year in the corporate world had me away from home about 100 days per year. Since I have been consulting and now that I mostly work remotely, I have a certain amount of flexibility. My 21 year old daughter Deanna called yesterday to tell me that she was playing an "Alumni Game" with her High school Soccer Team. I had about two hours notice and was able to drop things and go (it did mean spending Saturday morning working on the Friday afternoon to do list).

It was great seeing her play soccer again. I have been to about 1000 soccer games in my life although it has been almost four years since she graduated high school where she last played soccer. Many of her high school team mates also came back for the Alumni game. One of her friends has played soccer at Yale the last four years. The Alumni, many who were not able to run as fast as they used to, actually won over the varsity girls who practiced daily as a team showing that age and experience sometimes provide that critical competitive advantage.

The images of Deanna on the soccer field will last much longer than the report that got done on a Saturday instead of a Friday as originally planned. I can't say that I totally control my destiny, but I am working at it.

posted by Michael Sick @ 11:09 AM