Did you ever think about starting over from scratch? That is what I did when I came on board at GHE. I was 42 years old and had spent 22 years working in the transportation industry. I played many roles over those 22 years. Ssome were a lot of fun like being the Wedding Coordinator of a limousine company. I coordinated transportation for large events like the MLB All Star Game and Lollapalooza. I planned events for 14 to 14,000 attendees. I worked around the clock answering my phone in the middle of the night to speak with a client from Australia. I stood in pouring rain to usher a crowd across busy Chicago streets. I woke up at 0400 to make sure there was coffee in the meeting space.
At age 42 I was burned out. I was ready to try something new. I needed to spread my wings and fly. Life circumstances (which we can discuss in a future blog) brought me to seek a second income. Although it was a financially challenging moment in my life, it was also an exciting time, an opportunity to try something new, to reinvent myself. What was I going to do? I thought about bartending, thinking it could be fun but I really didn’t want to spend nights away from my family. I thought about working at a grocery store as well. I just wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I needed another job.
The timing was perfect; Maria, The Queen Bee of GHE needed immediate help. I was discussing my need for additional income with a friend and she overheard and handed me a piece of paper with her warehouse address and a time to start work. Easiest job interview of my life! Until I walked into that warehouse. I had never set foot in a warehouse in my life! I most certainly never saw or used a pallet jack and I wasn’t very sure of myself using a box knife. But I was so excited! I was alive! I was 42 years old and learning something new each day. I was feeling so energized by spending the day on my feet moving constantly, it was so much better than sitting behind a desk looking at spreadsheets. Yes there are spreadsheets here at GHE too, but I also wound up with an opportunity to learn Quickbooks to assist with the commercial division. That also grew into a dispatch job to route the day for our delivery driver, which brought my love for the transportation industry into my new position. The burnout I was feeling at my full time job built and fueled a passion for my part time job, making me appreciate both positions even more. I decided to leave my Transportation Manager position and come onboard to GHE full time after just 8 months. Almost two years later, I feel amazing and brand new and like I have 25 years of fight in me to learn and grow in a new industry. You are never too old to learn new tricks! You just have to put yourself into a position you never thought you would be in and open your mind to new experiences–it could open doors to an amazing new place, possibly an 11,000 square foot warehouse!
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