Hurricane Milton set off what was one of the craziest weeks of my life.
Here's the short version:
- Monday: Boarded up both our house and my in-laws' house with storm shutters, preparing for a major hurricane to hit Sarasota.
- Tuesday: Evacuated at 4:30 AM with my wife, son, dog, and grandparents to Boca Raton (a 4-hour drive).
- Spent the next few days in a hotel, trying to stay present, manage work lightly, and avoid getting sucked into the nonstop hurricane news. This was challenging to say the least.
- Friday morning: Left the hotel at 6:30 am to drive back home when we found out our house had power. It was an eerie feeling to know we were coming back to an area that just got crushed, and not knowing in what condition our house was in.
- When we arrived back home in Sarasota it looked like a hurricane had hit. There were massive trees uprooted, lines for the gas station were 2+ hours long, and the grocery store was pretty bare. This was unlike anything I had seen before.
- Spent all weekend cleaning up the house, which had minor damage to the roof and patio, as well as taking down the storm shutters for two houses. Energetically I was running on fumes.
I am a believer there are always lessons that can be pulled out of any situation. Here are some Lessons Learned from Hurricane Milton:
- I have never been more grateful for what I have in my life. When you see others who have lost everything, it really anchors you in gratitude for how lucky we are.
- I am so happy to be home. Experiencing a hurricane from the other coast of Florida was an elevated experience that brought its own set of challenges. You lose the comfort of your home & space, your child's routine is thrown off, and you are in a high stress environment that feels somewhat helpless for an entire week. You long for sitting on your couch and things going back to normal.
- I am so thankful for my friends. I received so many DM's and text messages checking in on us, many from people I haven't heard from in a long time. It was noticeable, appreciated, and really shows you who cares. The love was real.
- One of the biggest things I was aware of and challenged with at times was my self talk. This was definitely a high stress & anxiety experience where emotions ran high, which made it easy to slip into scarcity or negativity. It's why doing any element of my normal routine was so important (ex. meditation, running, reading). It was one element I could control.
- Momentum is real and when you've got it you want to keep it going. Before the hurricane I was coming off two incredible days of deep coaching that had me soaring. The next thing I knew I was thrown into a potentially life threatening situation. I didn't want the hurricane to take away my momentum, so I made it a point to share some positivity and inspiration where I could. This was both for me as well as others going through it.
- I became super aware of the systems of my business, or where there was a lack of them. Ask yourself, "If I took a week off of work, would your business still grow?" If the answer is No, you've got a hole in your boat. Right now I'm evaluating those holes in my boat to build a stronger one for the future.
This experience reminded me that hurricanes, whether real or metaphorical, are part of life. You can’t stop them, but you can control how you respond.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some podcasts and videos on how to stay strong when the inevitable storms roll in.
In the meantime, I've got something that can help: On Wednesday, Oct 16 at 12 pm (EST) we are hosting a Free Writing With ChatGPT In A Human Way Masterclass
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Sending good vibes your way.
