Back in the US
It’s now been 3 days since we returned to the US and starting to get acclimated to life back at home, well, almost home. We are still in NY and I will be back in San Diego on Monday evening. We arrived on Father’s Day, which was a 30 hour day for us. We left Paris, gained 6 hours in time changes, and stayed up as late as possible on Sunday night. I believe I made it to around 10 pm, which would be 4 am in Paris after getting a few hours sleep on the flight. I was able to sleep very well, as was everyone else except for Ilise. I believe she was up a few times but did get some sleep. I believe the kids will adjust fine, especially as they get ready for summer camp on Sunday. Ilise and the kids are currently up at the Swan Lake house in the Catskills as I’m spending two days with my last IT reseller peer group on Long Island.
Everyone keeps asking me really interesting questions about the trip, and at this point I’m enjoying the dialog that comes from these questions. One of my clients asked if I’m happy to be back in the US, and after a moment to think about it, there is no place else on earth that I would rather live than where we do. Having traveled as much as we have, San Diego for me is home. So, I’m happy to be back in the US but I want to bring some of the lessons life experiences that we’ve learned from the places we’ve been back to my home. I know there are so many people that believe that by going someplace else life will be better, and in some cases where you live can greatly impact your life. But, one of the big lessons I learned from this extended trip is that wherever you go your life and your challenges go with you.
I’m looking forward to integrating some of the lessons we’ve learned into our lives in San Diego. One of the big ones is to build our tribe, that group of people that we want to spend our time with. We have lots of friends already, but before we traveled we lived a pretty isolated life. I want to get away from the isolationist life-style that is pervasive in the US. I want to respect Ilise’s need for downtime and space, and I also want to make sure that I respect her need to have a clean home, but we need to entertain more and spend more time with like-minded and like-hearted people. This goes beyond my work. I can always find people who I can connect with around business, but it needs to go deeper than that.
The other thing that I want to have in our new home is more laughter. I have found that laughing is something that I haven’t done enough of over the past few years. I’m understanding a bit about why, and it’s time to bring that deep sense of enjoyment to our lives. We are so blessed to have the life that we have and just enjoy each day. I believe this also gets back to spending more time with others that we really enjoy and have shared energy.
The rest of this week is very tactical, getting the kids to their friends in Brooklyn tomorrow evening so they can get on the camp bus on Sunday. We have a bunch of suitcases that are currently in NYC that need to get on the plane to Denver on Friday and then back to San Diego on Monday when I return home. This weekend we have a family wedding that we are really excited about and then it’s finally back to San Diego on Monday. So, where does this leave me? Where am I in all of this, the person responsible for my future, the captain of this ship? I’m at peace for the first time in a long time. I know who I am, I know why I’m here and I so look forward to each day.
Each person I talk with brings a new sense of knowing that I can really help people on their journey. I was meant to be a coach, I would even say I was meant to be a life coach and my ideal client is the beast know as the entrepreneur. The past 51 years of my life has prepared me for this part of the journey. There are plenty of people that can help people monetize their business, which I can do as well, but what is really needed is helping them find a deep understanding of why they do what they do. Before we left on this journey I wasn’t exactly sure who I was or why I am here, but time to process these questions has been amazing and I’m ready to move forward on this next part of my journey.
To a life well lived!
Larry Kesslin 