Chapter 19: My Life In Business - Focusing on Myself (2021)

My life as Co-Founder of Thirty-One

20 chapters from my 20 years

Including never before shared stories

The Pandemic still had a hold on things as the year turned to 2021. We tried to keep things feeling as normal as possible. We went to Disney World over Spring Break and had to stay masked the entire time, even though we were mostly outdoors.

If you removed your mask even just long enough for a photo they threatened to remove you from the parks. The capacity was limited to just a portion of the normal park capacity numbers. The social distancing in the ride lines was beyond anything we’d ever seen. The lines stretched all over the park with six feet between each party. The performances and programs were not available. The whole experience was just so different, and not in a good way.

In April we flew in a plane for the first time since the Pandemic and went to Las Vegas for our daughter’s tumbling and trampoline competition. If you’ve experienced the Las Vegas strip or only seen it on TV, the sight of a nearly vacant Las Vegas strip with no performances happening and very little choice of entertainment variety was crazy to see. We opted to visit the Hoover Dam, Death Valley and other remote areas where the true beauty of the state Nevada is evident.

While a normal year would have included at least a couple of works trips in the first several months of the year, the first trip since the Pandemic finally arrived 16 months later. In May we traveled to Park City, UT to host a smaller incentive trip.

It was nice to gather in person again after so long. The weather was warm in the valley and snow was still on the ground in the mountains. The beauty was all around and we took it all in.

In June our oldest daughter, Jordan, graduated high school in a social distancing outdoor ceremony on the football field. It was a painfully hot afternoon but a big day of celebration.

In July we held our 2nd annual virtual annual conference. While we didn’t gather in a large group in a convention center or arena, we did see smaller groups of our sales consultants gathering together across North America. I was able to join a group of about 60 consultants who rented a large cabin in Pigeon Forge, not far from where I live.

The rest of the year remained as a remote working situation for all of our staff. Our consultants were adjusting from the party selling focus to a social media selling focus. We were looking forward to the future as we hoped that the in-person partying popularity would return. While in reality it was never going to look the same.

Personally, with the impact of the Pandemic and how it affected myself and my family was bringing a lot of awareness to me related to my mental health. I talked to my doctor about the feelings of being constantly on edge, not being able to shut my mind off to rest and just overall feeling anxious. We agreed on a trial period with a medication that could help me.

Over time I did not adjust well to the medicine and asked my doctor if there was an alternative. He guided me through at least two more medication trials before landing on one that seemed to do the trick. Over time I began to feel a lot better and my anxiety calmed so I could focus on life. I think whether you've lived a hard life with a lot of change, or had a fairly smooth ride for as long as you can remember, it can change at any time and life can get hard. Asking for help and talking to someone is the best first step in my opinion. I am glad I asked for help.