Please excuse the RANT!

I will apologize in advance for the following rant. Tomorrow and Thursday, I will be faced with several hundred of my peers who have known me for years and have not seen me since October when I weighed over 345 pounds. Today I am at about 264. You think I would be happy about being down 80 pound, and I am. However, I am sure to endure countless inquires from mostly well intentioned people about my weight loss. Being president  of the association, it is not like I can hide at the meeting. As many of you know, being noticed and recognized for something you believe (whether right or wrong) was the result of an internal character flaw to begin with, has its stresses. It is kind of like being told, "Hey, your wife looks great! Glad to see you have stopped beating her half to death on a regular basis". Well, it is not exactly like that, but I am sure you get the point. Let's couple this with the fact that in the last 30 days I have had the experience of putting my Mother into a mental hospital, against her will, and my Father (who has Alzheimer's) into a nursing home. But wait! There's more! Some idiot breached our server security and copied the entire association membership on an email,with about 250 of our members email addresses exposed, on an unsolicited email yesterday! The idiot is actually a member of the association and was plugging his own company to the entire membership, with my stolen contacts. (You can never overestimate the stupidity of some people.) Needless to say, this has been fun to deal with. We lost the participation in the association of the Executive Director of a major wireless carrier over it. That is not a total disaster. Like the Titanic, some people lived, ya know. However, I must admit that I did feel a bit better after figuratively ****ting on the culprit's VP's desk earlier today. Let's top this off with a move to a new home over the last month, and more than a little stress with the Mrs., and you have a perfect recipe for a nervous breakdown. I am sure I will get through this, at least that is what I keep telling myself. My problems are insignificant compared to those among us with real problems, and I know I should be counting my blessing. Ok, it is out of my system now. Thank you for attending my rant. JP

Just curious, which major Cell carrier ?   If it was from Sprint count your belssings, they're not very good at running a company, Unless the goal is to run it into the ground.  You will get through it. Someone once told me that God doesn't more on your plate than you are capable of handling. Clearly he has alot faith in your abilities

GM, I wish you knew just how funny I found your comment. It gave me a much needed laugh this morning. I specifically did not name the carrier, but it was not Sprint/NX. However, I have a lot of friends there, and they would all agree that the acquisition of Nextel has been a disaster. I feel for them. Most of them are very competent people. Any large acquisition will create some temporary paralysis for a company, however, this company has not twitched a toe in a year! The senior direction is late, inconsistent and contradictory. It is a shame, because Nextel was a really good company. If they would of had the spectrum assets they needed to grow, they would have been right up there with Cing & VZ. Thanks for the kind words. Take care. JP

Dude!!! Not only were you already notched up a few on my new best friends list......... But now, you getting some props, bro.  It must be awesome to know that your personal Higher Power trusts you so much!  You are obviously a man of great strength to be able to lift those things up for support. You are going to do just as great as you have already, and possibly even better!

Thanks Danny. Mary was packing up the box last night. I think you will find three decent shirts in the there, too. Nothing great, but they should be useful for you. I hope the jacket fits you well, it's been good to me and I hope it serves you well! Take care. JP

JP, Dam!!! With So Much Sh*t? Keep digging at it- "There’s Bound to be a Pony in there somewhere!" That’s a lot of stress. The only little glimpse of silver lining I see is- All that stuff would have been harder carrying another 80lbs. Yes? Hang in there. May not feel better for a while yet….which suks. It is interesting that a "Rant" here is about Real Sh*t-Storm As opposed to the ones most often seen- "My Co-Worker Girlfriends are jealous of my Weight-Loss! And my Boyfriend is Un-supportive of my New Needs!" Yeah, Right! You got the a stack of Real ‘Rant-ibles’ piled up here.,,,, Sort through them the way you have to do with anything--- One Day at a Time….. The meetings this week where everyone will be noticing and saving- "Dang, You’re Looking Good!" Take it for that—A stream of Compliments. That’s what it will actually be. Take in those positives, you could use ‘em right now…. Don’t let all the stress from the rest of the stress, distort what you hear into- "Now you’re looking better- You did look like Crap!" That’s not what they’ll be thinking or saying. I Hope life lightens up on you pounds a day! Best Wishes- Dx

Dx, Thanks. Words of wisdom indeed, and thanks for not calling me out as a whiner. "Baby Steps", that is how I am taking it. (Seen the movie "What about Bob?") Take care. JP

JP, understand that all of this stress is a test.  A test that you will have to continue to go through until you pass it.  First, all the stress about the work, family, server, etc. is a test to see if you have really changed your behavior.  I am going through the same type of thing. You need to make sure you keep your commitment to you on the exercise and food, not falling back on eating as comfort and stopping workouts because of everyhting else.   I also have a job that is public and has me speaking in front of large groups.  Two months after surgery I was honored at a party of 400 of my peers at NASDAQ on Times Square.  Although I could have been self-conscious, I CHOSE the attitude that these people are here to hear me, and this is a platform for me to share how great this surgery has been for me.  Most in my case already knew because someone blabbed it at a standards meeting.  Here is how you nip this in the bud. First, change your attitude about it and feel good about the new you,  Don't be embarrassed about it, embrace it.  Second, make it the openign of your speech.  Take 2 minutes in the beginning of your speech and acknlowedge the surgery, you are only part of the man your used to be, and how happy you are with the loss and changes in your life.  This will tell everyone that is a "Glad you stopped beating your wife" into fans.  It also tells all the people who might think you are sick or disagree with the surgery to shut the bleep up. Finally, embrace this opportunity.  You never know how many people will come up to you that are considering  the surgery or have a family member that had it or is considering it.  You become the go to guy for the surgery for your industry....what an opportunity. So it really comes down to your attitude.  I say embrace it rather than fear it.  It can be the most positive and memorable professional experience of your life.  Mine was.  I was king for the show.  It not only did incredible thingss for my confidence in the industry, boldnessto help my customers, but it greatly helped our business,  Our business is up 80% this year...I never thought about it, but I wonder how much of that came from how I handled the show. Do you remember the movie Clear and Present Danger?  The beginning there is the friend of the president that gets caught wth all the drugs.  Harrison Ford's character advises t he president to not only acknowledge the friendship, but embrce it as a life long friendship.  It diffuses the situation.   You can do the same thing here.  And all the trials is forging the character in you to do that, embarce the opportunity, and make a difference in this industry. Hang in there wiith al the trials.  Stay focused on what is most important and embrace the opportunity my friend.  We're behind you JP. Greg  

Greg, Thanks. Interesting perspective on stress, test you repeat until you pass it. It is funny, in the past I would have ordered a pizza to the hotel and eaten the whole thing, as a comfort. Now, I find myself having to make sure I get my cals and protein in. I am not meeting my exercise needs, however, and really need to fix that. I completely agree with your ideas on how to handle the meeting, and planned to address it in the opening moments at the podium. Fortunately, public speaking does not carry any stress for me, as I have doing it forever, and went to college on a music scholarship. I am very used to performing in front of critical audiences. I am not the featured speaker for this event, but I am the MC. I am also moderating the educational forum in the morning. The funny part is that this isn't even my day job! I started the trade association as a nonprofit corporation to raise money for charity. Yes, it helps my business by giving me plenty of publicity and new contacts in the industry, but I am keeping my eye on the ball in this regard, which is really helping me stay focused. I set a goal of giving away $50K this year, and after my health and family, it is my primary goal. I am looking for creative fundraisers if anyone has any ideas. We are doing a golf tourney in April and I am working on a "Texas Hold 'Em" tourney for Q3. I would love to do some different and creative things, which also add value for our members in the industry. Thanks for insight. Take care. JP

JP, Hey man, while I didn't enjoy your pain, I did enjoy listening to your rant.  There are people I know that couldn't handle one of those issues without a breakdown, let alone all of them. And man, I can relate to those days when it seems like no one wants to cooperate and help me accomplish anything.  But, you know what?  I lived.  I make it through those days and better ones follow. Hang in there, bro! Bob