July 2001

Dear Anthony,

Thank you so much for your help last year as I contemplated the direction of my life and career during my sabbatical! The experience has had a remarkable impact on my life and career -- most notably in reminding me of some of the important things I forgot about myself over the years as I strove for corporate success. I was amazed at just how much I had forgotten about myself.

I found my discussions with you particularly fruitful. For me it felt like an onion: peeling off layers of junk that had accumulated for more than 20 years and obscured the awesome contents inside, and then allowing new, fulfilling layers to grow in their place. I was able (eventually) to clearly define what I did, and perhaps more importantly, did not, want to do with my life. Then, when I saw opportunities that matched this new definition it was so obvious and I "fell" naturally into my new position and activities. Amazing things happened and I emerged with a new definition of work - and a rather clear definition for myself. So, what concrete changes occurred as a result of my process with the Rockport program?

Here are a few:

• Having been awakened to (reminded of) my love of teaching, I began working and continue to work as a volunteer math tutor for children with learning disabilities. What a rewarding undertaking!
• Having been reminded of my love of fixing things I started fixing things again. What a blast! Even my friends have been amazed by my spatial/design/engineering skills. It's something many of them had never observed before in me. For so many years I've been paying others to do this stuff for me. So long that I forgot how much fun it was. Now I've got a short list of inventions that popped up out of nowhere.
  
• I began studies in vipassana, or insight meditation to help me process my own information and to keep better touch with who I am.
• Melding a number of traits together I decided to become involved as a volunteer with a new foundation that is establishing chess as a part of the curriculum in schools where children are under performing. I organized the first international chess match between the top chess players from the United States and China which was held in Seattle in March 2001. I'm now starting the organization of a similar event to be held in China next spring. A key skill that alerted me to try something like this was my constant need to solve problems. It also satisfied my need for novelty. I would never have even thought of undertaking something like this before I delved into my strengths and interests. What a great way to wrap up a sabbatical year! In return, some of the top chess players in the world will suffer through a game with me . . .
• Through my explorations and our discussion, I came to recognize why sales/sales management was so appealing to me. I realized that my frustrations with it in the past weren't due to the actual "job" but to the people and company I was working with. I set some guidelines and standards for what type of company I would work with, what kind of person I would work for and what kind of products I would sell. I moved from intangible to tangible sales and I can't believe the difference it makes! I'm now (as of May) a regional director of vaccine sales for a new division of my old company. A division whose values are in line with my own and with a boss whose values are in line with my own. The regional office is in my house, I didn't have to move, and I was able to keep all my seniority, vacation, etc. Now I'm busy solving problems for large accounts, creating and delivering training programs, and helping to develop some of the strongest sales people in our company of 110K people. I no longer have to deal with internal politics, policy decisions, endless meetings, and other wastes of my time. Administration is minimal. In fact, my new position meets ALL 9 of the Pre-existing conditions and requirements that I set after my discussion with you last year.