Curtains Up

I think the first time I was in a play was in 7th grade. I don’t remember the name of it or my exact lines, but I do remember the butterflies and the heat of the stage lights when I walked out for my part. They said to picture the audience in their underwear (no thanks to seeing my parents in the 4th row!) or to focus on something in the back of the room. Anything to keep your mind off the uncertainty that’s about to happen...

Through more experience with big presentations in school and work I have developed my own tricks to put my mind at ease. My best one usually happens the morning of at home when I start to get nervous about what lies ahead. I picture myself back at that same spot at the end of the day knowing that whatever I am nervous about will have past and that I would be just fine. All I can do is give it my best and the rest will sort itself out.

It worked when I was nervous about a golf tournament, final exam, speech, or presentation. But would it work when facing a cancer diagnosis?

With so much going through your head it is hard to picture yourself on the other side of the fight in a healthy state when it comes to cancer treatment. Eight months is a long time so all I could do was focus on what my oncologist and nurses said to do and live day to day.

I got very good at putting my head down and living in two week chunks from treatment to treatment.

That’s all I could do.

It became my new normal and rather comfortable if you can believe it.

As I neared the end of my treatment and learned that I was in remission I started to face the prospect of emerging from my comfortableness back into the real world. Add to the mix that I developed the Latitude Concept that I am simultaneously releasing to the world and I feel like I am back in 7th grade behind the curtain waiting for my cue.

Will people be as excited about the prospects of this concept as I am?

The good part is that I am more comfortable with myself than ever thanks to the introspection I did over the course of my treatment. That and I’m not worrying about what my 7th grade crush is thinking about my costume... I now have a hot wife who is incredible in every way and is my partner in Latitude enlightenment.

Am I nervous about what’s on the other side of the curtain now that I am coming back into the real world? Sure.

But it’s more of a nervous excitement when you know you are holding something inside you that has the potential for a bigger impact than anything you have ever done.

There is never a right time to pull the curtain back, so here we go.

I just hope people are wearing sweet underwear...