What's next? - Probably the most common question.

What's next Frank? What is next in your training? What is next in your life?

To answer that question I will use a quote from Albert Einstein,

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

The point is that right now I am training, I have my goal set which is to raise money for Team Hole in the Wall, and run my first marathon. Although I have a personal goal for running, that is not the only goal I have set for myself. I also have a goal to obtain a new career since I was unemployed in July of 2008. 

Working p/t has allowed me to spend extra time with my family, focus on my running, clear my mind, and determine what path I want to take with my life. Saving my work/life balance for a separate blog, I won't go into this much, but say that I remain optimistic in my job hunting and feel that I am getting closer and closer to realizing what I should be doing. That, is not necessarily what I have been doing for most of my career since I have been in retail management and worked for a large corporation as a Director of Purchasing for awhile. 

Anyway, here is how I would answer that question if I were asked "What is next?" right at this moment. 

I would start by saying that I am very grateful and thankful for my family. I am excited that my wife is off tomorrow for Veterans Day and we will be going to breakfast. I am thankful for my children and that they are all now healthy (one as of this afternoon) and will be all in school tomorrow. I would say I am working daily on my job search and networking, meeting new people with the same interests, meeting professionals, meeting corporate CEO's and decision makers, and all the people that are stressed at their jobs. I would tell them that I am meeting others like myself who are unemployed and discussing the what has worked and not worked for them to get an interview.  I would share with them that these people are the most motivated and supportive people that I have ever met and I would definitely tell them that this particular group of people are goal driven, have an amazing sense of urgency, love to set and reach goals, are very proactive, have amazing endurance through stressful situations, come from all over the country, from ivy league schools, fortune 500 companies and local businesses, and are extremely determined to reach whatever goal they have set for themselves. I would tell them that my networking with these people has kept me focused and determined in my search.  

When they ask me how I possibly met all these high caliber people, I would tell them that they are: RUNNERS. 

 Then I suppose I would tell them that I am running another 10K on Saturday called the Gobbler Hobbler and that I hope to set a new PR (personal record) for the 10K distance as part of my training. Finishing I think I would probably state that I am running three times a week, have just completed my longest training run of 18.6 miles and working toward running one of the most challenging distances ever run by less than 1% of the population and hoping to network with others who have also completed this 26.2 mile test of the human spirit. 

Yes, I am going to run a marathon. Yes, I am going to start a new career. And, Yes! It will be something I love to do and I will be VERY successful at it. 

 I sure can't wait for breakfast with my wife tomorrow. Hmmm, maybe Panera bread for coffee and a nice whole grain bagel. 

Tread lightly,


Mouserunner
www.teamholeinthewall.org/frankzwart