For my birthday this year my wife got me concert tickets to some guy I’d never heard of (Thomas Rhett). Yeah I know, I’m not “with it”. We had an awesome date, and in the middle of the concert he broke into one of his biggest hits, Life Changes. And in many ways, his chorus became the anthem of our 2019.
The past 9 months have been a wild ride full of incredible changes.
So what’s changed?
- I’ve resigned from the Army after 8 years.
- I’ve resigned from teaching after 10 years.
- I’ve officially started a business and now work from home.
Hanging Up the Uniform
It’s not often in life that that you reach a true fork in the road. The one where your life can go one of two directions.
In January I fulfilled my eight year contract with the Army.
It was an incredible experience serving our country and the Soldiers as an officer and fellow soldier.
Eight years is nearly halfway to a military retirement. And I had to make a difficult decision.
Should I commit 12 more years and see it through to retirement, or should I resign and take life a different direction?
Not going to lie; this was one of the toughest decisions of my life.
I weighed the pros and cons, made checklists, and talked with family, friends, and mentors.
After attending Michael Hyatt’s Free to Focus Live in 2017, I really began to define what was most important for my family and I.
The main factor in my decision to leave the military came down to the desire for independence.
While serving, I spent one weekend every month and two to four weeks every summer away from my family. At least two summers I was gone for three to four months.
I missed out on countless special occasions, the birth of my youngest daughter, funerals, and more. I don’t regret serving, but going forward, I knew that I wanted to share those special times with my wife and kids.
Today, I still get to practice leadership and service; only my unit has changed.
- Instead of having rank on my chest, I have arms around my neck.
- Instead of Soldiers, I have my kids.
- Instead of a Platoon Sergeant to set me straight, I have my wife 😉.
Now we have more time as a family to focus on what matters.
Saying Goodbye to School
I’ve been freelancing online for close to five years as a side job just to make a few extra dollars off my hobbies and make ends meet.
Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to share my systems, strategies, and support to help professionals like John Meese, Matt McWilliams, Grant Baldwin, Ray Edwards, Notable Themes, and Michael Hyatt’s Platform University.
I also worked with the Nozbe team and became a Nozbe Ambassador.
This side job began to take on a life of its own the past two years, as other business leaders and new clients began reaching out to me for help.
Near the end of 2018 and six-months of part-time work, one of my clients offered to bring me on full time.
Again, it was decision time.
And again, this was one of the toughest decisions I’ve faced.
I love teaching and worked at one of the best schools in the nation.
I asked myself, “How can I give up a solid career and a secure job to take this crazy risk. Can I even put my family in this situation.”
After long discussions about opportunities, finances, life, and goals, my wife and I determined that sometimes it is wrong to not take a chance.
We didn’t want to look back in 30 years and wonder how things might be different.
[Tweet “Sometimes it is wrong to NOT take a chance.”]
We wanted to set an example for our kids. Showing them to take calculated risks and knowing that they can always pick up and start over again.
It’s not that I was giving up teaching, but gaining opportunities to serve others in a new way.
Starting Something New
In June Robby Miles LLC officially opened for business (in my basement, haha)
So what is it that I actually do?
I’m a productivity and technology consultant who designs and manages operational systems, automated product funnels, content development, and customer service helping busy entrepreneurs free up time to work on their business not in their business.
But wait there’s more…
I’m still coaching personal productivity and recently launched NozbeCoach.com to help more people use Nozbe as the center of their productivity system.
Deep down, I’m a teacher just wanting to help other people improve their lives.
I’ve traded working one full time job and two part time jobs for a single job with a flexible schedule.
I have the opportunity to go to lunch with my wife or take an afternoon off with the kids when the occasion arises.
Now I know, it’s not going to be all rainbows and unicorns.
I still have to show up every day and get the work done.
The freedom and responsibility that goes with this new situation is both freeing and intimidating.
But, I know that I’m in charge of my destiny, and right now it’s so important that my kids see this example and learn from it.
It’s so important that my kids see this example and learn from it.
Over the coming months you’ll see more than a few updates to this blog. You may have noticed some already.
So stay tuned.
Here’s to new beginnings!
