"It's never too late to be who you might have been."

 --George Elliot

This quote hits a little personal for me. 

On October 12, 1993 I started working as a Corrections Officer inside the Warren County Jail in Lebanon Ohio.  I was quite successful at the career, achieving the rank of Corporal within 5 years, then the rank of Sergeant less than a year later, and ultimately the rank of Lieutenant 3 years after that.  I was planning on further promotions, eventually becoming the Jail Administrator (Warden) and planned on retiring after 30 years at the young age of 53 years old.  Well, the Lord had different plans for me; in June 2013, while working at my desk, I had what the doctors termed a "sudden onset stroke".  That was my last day of work in the Warren County Jail.

I went on sick leave and was employed with Warren County for a few more months while I recuperated.  However, in January 2014 I ran out of sick hours and had to make a decision.  I could have asked fellow employees to donate sick leave to me, and I am sure many would have as I always donated to others when they needed it.  However, morally, I could not do so as I knew the chances of me returning to the job were slim; I was still (and do to this day) get dizzy very easy.  So, I made the decision to leave the job I loved on January 30, 2014.

Now at this point I am a 43-year old man with an MBA in a career I can no longer do, I still have a mortgage, a car payment, 2 pre-teen girls, and other bills; what do I do?  I thought for sure it was "too late" to do anything productive.

Today, after a couple of years of trying some careers, I am finding success in the funeral industry.  I get to help people plan a funeral that they want, and make a decent living doing so.  In fact, this year, my first full year in this profession, I should make more than my highest year at the Sheriff's Office.

It is never too late!

"Most 'impossible' goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine".

- Don Lancaster

I remember an old saying, How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  That is the essence of this quote; don't focus on the huge ending, focus on the little steps that get you to the end.

I like to take my family to Disneyworld annually.  We make the long trip from just north of Cincinnati Ohio to Orlando Florida usually in the middle of the night (so my girls sleep through the trip).  Inevitably, I am the only one awake while driving.  If I focus on "600 miles to Orlando", I feel defeated.  Instead, I focus on "50 more miles to Tennessee", then maybe "100 miles to Atlanta", and so on.

It makes the long trip so much more manageable.

That is how we should be with any goal in our life.  I have an amount I want to make this year; it is a fairly large figure but I don't think of it that way.  I think of how many families I must help THIS MONTH to be on pace for the goal.  I have that amount written down, I believe I can achieve it, and I go about realizing the smaller tasks that will ultimately lead me to the higher goal.

Oh, and by the way, if you know me or have ever seen my size, you would know I have eaten an elephant or two in my life.