***I’ve been told one thing that’s nice about this blog is that each post is fairly short. I want to keep it that way but there is no way this post can be short so I’m writing it in 2 parts.

This fall I’m going to join a men’s group. Other men of varying ages who are at a similar point in life as me. At least mindset wise. As a part of joining this group the leader asked that I submit a personal and professional bio. I had one that I had used for sometime in my position as EVP of The Lampo Group (Dave Ramsey’s company) so I pulled it up and made some needed modifications. The bio listed out what I had been responsible for in my 13 years there and then I added the following statement, “In 2012 I left the Lampo Group to pursue other interests. . . .”

I left The Lampo Group. This was the first time I had written this out and it felt weird. This is a place where I had spent the last 13 years. This is a place where I not only had the privilege of working under one of the greatest men I’ve known but also along side some of my best friends. If I started listing off the top of my head the memories / experiences I had at this place I know I couldn’t possibly remember 1/2 of them. And if I did, my writing couldn’t even begin to do them justice. From 27 – 40 years old I was there. I worked there yes, but, more importantly, I did life there.

Not many opportunities come along in life as good as Lampo. I would go as far to say that I may never see an opportunity like that again. 27 years old and given the opportunity to come in and grow my own thing. From the ground up. Not just some random thing though.. . I was able to be a part of something that had already changed my life. Something I was passionate about. If you were passionate about computers and in your mid-20’s would you have liked to have been asked to be a part of a company called Apple before anyone had really ever heard of it? How about Google? Seriously, that is how I felt about the call Dave made to me in January of ’99. Out of a very clear, focused, God directed vision had grown a best selling book, a very popular local radio show, some live 1 day teaching events and a 26 week class on personal finance. A few other ancillary efforts but for the most part that was what was known of Lampo. Fast forward to today and you have what I believe to be a truly great company with a national footprint. I was privileged and honored to be a significant part of that growth over the last 13 years.

So why would I leave?

At the end of the day I knew, in my heart, that I was no longer operating at my top capacity. Even though it may have looked like I was at the top of my game, I knew that I wasn’t. I had lost that fire to run through walls, climb that hill and take out anyone who got in my way. That’s how I view most challenges in my life so when I felt that passion weakening I had alarms going off. B/c of my position I was able to jump in to many new challenges and rekindle that fire but, over time, it would begin to die again. So what was it? What was this nagging at my spirit? It was at this time that Amanda and I started to seriously pray and seek trusted counsel. Over the year that we did, this one thing was becoming clear. . .

I was ready to step out completely on my own.

Since I was in college I had found a niche helping other people succeed. Being a #2 if you will. I was good at it and came to discover that I really didn’t need the public eye and was completely content being somewhat behind the scenes and helping others grow. Most of that was true. Some of that, however, was a lie. It was fear of criticism. Fear of failure. Fear of taking the risk. Leaving Lampo would certainly be facing that fear. Leaving Lampo was deciding that at 40 years old, I was going to step out and do my own thing. I knew Lampo culture really well. I knew what it took to win w/in those walls. I deeply believed in the Lampo Mission and could have easily stayed and continued to press forward advancing that mission. Doing that would have also meant that I would have had to shut down that internal voice telling me it was time. Time to step out.

So, I sat down w/ Dave. We talked through where I was at, what my heart was telling me and with equal parts friend, mentor, uncle, leader he sent me on my new venture. I’m still humbled by the process.

I moved on. My only plan was to not have a plan. To relax, take 6 months to a year and spend time with my family and with myself. To clear my head and be open to what the next 40 years of my life held. I will say that getting people to believe  the simplicity of my plan was a little more difficult than I had envisioned. A very typical and regular conversation would go like this. . .

“So seriously man, what are you doing? Like, let me in here, why did you really leave? What are you planning to do b/c I KNOW you have a plan.”

I think my eyes would cross a little when I got that question. It’s like. . .

“Did you not just hear me? Do you think I’m lying? I worked for a great company, a great man, w/ some of my best friends doing something for a long time that I loved to do. My heart was telling me it was time to move on and after months of prayer and counsel I decided to act on that. To step out not really knowing the future and to embark on — w/ my families full support and the confidence that this is absolutely what God is telling me to do –the next adventure for my life.”

I guess that answer could have been this entire blog post. Short and sweet. However, as I’ve said before, this blog is for me. It’s helps clear my head and organize my thoughts. I needed to write this post today. Thx for coming along for the ride.

Tomorrow I’ll write about what I’ve learned over these last 8 months. Believe me, it will be a much shorter post. Turns out change takes time.