When in hell, keep on walking
I’m speeding on the highway of life
With so many things to do. And so little time
Work is going well.
Before and now — work has given me many feathers in my cap.
A memorable one from an IRS senior enforcement officer who said:
“Mariana, if I ever get audited, I’ll hire you.”
Heads of companies hanging on every word I say.
Or this, from a business owner client: “Boss, just tell me where to sign.”
(Trust. The highest feather in my cap.)
Trade and group associations leaders give me green light on training projects.
Yes. Work is going well.
On the highway of life I’m running at 120 miles an hour or faster.
Most of the time.
Then it happens
And I stop abruptly.
I’m looking at my life “speedometer.”
And I see something I haven’t seen in many years.
0 miles an hour
I stand still
And look around
I’m in Hell
The Hell of Failure
No, this is not work-related failure.
But it doesn’t make my walk through hell any easier.
It’s dark in here.
Every step I take requires a huge effort.
About five years ago on my project list was to form a “Pets R Family” group.
I’ve never put a date on it.
And it always got pushed to “sometime soon” pile.
Busy with work.
I worked on projects with higher priority.
Even though I knew how important is to have this group.
Especially for me.
Birds are not the usual type of pets where I live.
That makes forming a support group for bird-people that much more important.
How important?
In 2006 it probably saved Flipper’s life.
No matter how smart you are, when you are in the “eye” of the storm, your thinking can get “cloudy.”
You need people who care.
People who, when you ask them to jump and help, the answer is:
“Open. I’m at your door. How high you need me to jump?”
People whose judgement you trust.
That’s what happened in 2006.
Flipper was egg-bound.
Had to take her to an out-of-town specialist.
Needed a series of procedures done.
Including a series of injections.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to put her through that.
But the person I was with, who supported me every step of the way, saw things more clearly than I did.
Flipper received the injections.
And delivered the egg (with blood on it but she quickly recovered).
Had I been on my own, chances are I would’ve wanted to spare Flipper the pain (from injections).
But being egg-bound is life-threatening for birds.
Having those injections most likely saved her life.
And that’s how important is to have a support group.
People ready to help when needed.
Friends whose judgment you trust.
Not forming the Pets are Family group for bird-people (when I knew its importance) — that’s what makes me a big failure.
Please don’t write to tell me otherwise.
It would be a wasted effort.
The reason I’m writing this:
I’m hoping it will help someone out there.
Someone who needs to hear this now.
And if this post serves as a call to action — then mission accomplished
As for me, I’m strong.
I’ll keep on walking
Following the wise advise of people who done it before me:
When in hell, keep on walking.
Thanks for visiting.
Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.
Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.
Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.
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