Preparation Equals Separation

“It just brings me joy to see you thriving and enjoying life”

This week I traveled to New York for work. I met my new teammates, heard about the opportunities we have within the organization, how we can work as a team, and spent time with people I care for. This trip allowed me to bond and be present with the new team and those within the company. It brought me knowledge about my team; how they work, what makes them tick, and what their preferred communication style is. These things are important in order to gain perspective. Lastly, it gave me a community. A sense of attachment. With being remote, you need to find a way to connect with those around you. But how do you do that when there is no one around you other than your dog? My best guess, being yourself. I am thankful for the community I have created and am growing.

This was my first time visiting New York City, it was everything I expected it to be. It was busy, loud, and diverse. I enjoyed every minute of it, I truly missed the slowness of Omaha. No traffic, quiet, space, and its unique skyline. New York brought the sights, the lights, and the bites. Ya’ll ever had Joe’s Pizza? It is the best pizza I have ever had. Light, crunchy, and full of flavor. 10/10 would recommend.

New York showed that personal connections are important, I understand that many don’t want to go back into the office for their own reasons. But for me, I enjoy the office. First of all, I enjoy getting dressed up in the morning. Setting your clothes up the night before, takes the cake! Secondly, the people. The conversations about the weekend, the small talk, and just being able to connect with others in a deeper level. You can only get so much out of a Zoom meeting. You can’t have that genuine connection because everyone is in a rush, as soon as you “jump on a call” you’re on a timer. 30 minutes, 15 minutes, whatever you set the meeting up for. “I know we are at time”, thats how you wrap up a conversation on a virtual meeting. It’s tough.

The connections I have made in the past has allowed me to get to where I am today. Those connections allowed me to grow, learn, and be vulnerable. For example, I worked with a Sales Leader at my last job, I was his Account Analyst on a few accounts. We had a great connection. Instead of managing me, he molded me, he showed me how to work, how to tell a story with data for QBRs, he showed me how to finesse a client email, and how to be myself. This week, we were finally able to meet and it was fantastic! He congratulated me on my new career move and shared how proud of me he was. He gave us a tour of Williamsburg, bowled the worst game of our lives, and found a new park where the city skyline was just gorgeous.

Our connection will last a lifetime, from mentor to a friend. I appreciate him for everything he has done for me. I am not even mad that he exposed my lack of bowling skill. Thank you for everything, Dan.

Picture this, I am in an Uber heading back to the hotel with a friend who is now my co-worker, again. We began to talk about our parents and what they sacrificed to get us to where we are today. He shared how he saw his parents putting sweat, blood, and tears into getting him and his siblings through school. Our hardships may not look like our parents, but this is what they wanted. They wanted us to have a better life than they did. They are proud of us even though they may not say it as often as we would want.

I do want to say that I am proud of the man Marcell has become over the last four years. He has grown into a man that has total confidence in himself and his abilities to succeed. He is one of the kindest, genuine, and dedicated people I know. I appreciate his friendship and will always want the best for him. Don’t tell him I said ANY of this.

I received an Instagram message from an old high school friend who told me “It just brings me so much joy to see you thriving and enjoying life.” She has seen everything I have been through since I was 18. I have worked hard to be where I am today. I am thankful to have those friends that continue to root for you. I read her message and teared up. Only because I don’t always enjoy what I am currently doing. I am focused on “whats next?”. I need to stop and smell the roses. But if I do that, I feel complacent.

I feel like my life choices have been under my own microscope. I want to make the best decision possible, for my family, for my friends, and everyone else around me. I want to make them proud. The career choices I have made to get where I am today prepared me for my future. The accomplishments I have achieved allowed me to build confidence with my future. My hardships have prepared me for any obstacle that comes my way. I have prepared for this.

I am excited about my future. To have many opportunities for growth and development move me. It motivates me. I told the team that I am ready to make mistakes, but learn from them, and get my hands dirty. I want to be a sponge. I want to celebrate the wins and learn from the losses.

I’m ready. Let’s get it!