At the end of the last school year, our carpooling arrangement ended and I ended up driving the 20 minutes from home to school then 20 more minutes from my sons’ schools to the office. Then I’d work intensely for the next  six or so hours, eating lunch at my desk, and then rush across town to do the pick-ups then drive home again. Next was homework, dinner and the bedtime routine, then I continued my day’s work and went to sleep around midnight or later.

We underwent drastic changes at work shortly before that, with a change in ownership then a change in management that led to the departure of several of my co-workers. So the 80 minutes in the car was often spent with me mentally going over all the things that I still needed to complete or things that I had forgotten to do.

Eventually, I had enough of the commuting stress. One weekend day I was at the library and decided to look at the audiobook section. I needed some inspiration for all those hours in the car, maybe I could find something that would help.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I listened to three motivational CDs: “The Strangest Secret” by Earl Nightingale; “What I Know for Sure” by Oprah Winfrey; and “Abundance Now: Amplify Your Life & Achieve Prosperity Today” by Lisa Nichols.

Their messages were similar and all spoke to me.  I’ve heard these type of messages in the past, but at this point in my life, I was ready to hear them. I needed to reboot my life.

I discussed it with my husband and he was on board. Soon after, I gave notice from my job, where I’ve worked for 17 years. It’s been a little scary, as I no longer can depend on that regular paycheck, but as I’m developing my new business, it’s also exciting because it has given me the opportunity to experience something new. At times, I’m out of my comfort zone, but I’m looking forward to seeing where this next chapter leads.