David's Journal

In 1992 I left a wonderful job making great money to start my own company. There were more unknowns in starting up a new company than I could count, but I decided it was worth taking the chance. My parents almost crumbled when they found out I left my job because they thought that I had the perfect job. And in a way it was. But I was learning to embrace change and adapt.

I am one of those people that get bored with the status quo. My first job out of college was at a flavor company where I was trained to identify different chemicals in food and beverages. I was a quick learner and very good at my job. So good that I became bored after only three years. I moved on to a better job at a beverage company where I was even better. Guess what? That was the job I left to start my own company. I used to think it was a flaw that I got bored so quick. But I learned that if I was going to be happy I needed to keep learning and keep being challenged. That’s why I started my own company, and ever since my goal has been to create change and learn to adapt. This philosophy served me well when I was diagnosed with relapsing MS in 2005.

At the time, I was a happy, successful business owner with 20 employees. I also got to travel around the world, and it was during a safari in Africa that my MS symptoms appeared. I was rushed home to the hospital. I couldn’t walk, I lost my vision. Work was out of the question. This was a change that I was not prepared to manage…or was I?

In the hospital, I called in two of my managers and basically asked them to run the company for me. I always hire smart and capable people and I had faith in them. They adapted because they had the tools, experience, and willingness to run the company. And I adapted by accepting my decision to hand over the reins.

When leaving the hospital I was faced with a lot of change. In fact, it seemed nothing was the same. I had someone with me twenty four hours a day to help me dress, eat, shower, and walk. They talked to me, read to me, and watched me sleep. I grew to enjoy the company, and as my health improved and their presence diminished, I found ways to adapt to my “new” daily routine. I created a social circle by inviting friends and relatives to dinner or a movie so I could spend time with them. When I started back to work I had to find drivers, and I adapted this into another social circle by finding ways to extend the ride by shopping or eating dinner on the way home.

In returning to work, I found an organization that was used to running without me at the helm. I loved it. For the first time in thirteen years I had time to do the parts of my job I liked. This gave me the confidence to travel and be away from the office more. I always “thought” my employees could handle any situation, now I “knew” they could. In fact, the company was thriving. This was a welcomed adaptation.

Each time I adapt to new change it gives me the confidence to change again. I look at it this way – when I do the same thing I generally get the same outcome, but when I change what I do, I generally get a different outcome. I like to take the chance that the new outcome is better; and if it isn’t, I can always change back.

Check back on February 9th for David’s next journal entry.