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Back in the thick of things

Dinner with colleagues at my place

Sunrise … it’s a new day!

Well I know the time between posts is increasing … but trust me it’s not because I’m running out of steam or losing interest.  It’s because I just finished my second week back to work. With all my added responsibilities it’s a lot to manage … and I don’t have as much time as I used to devote to the blog … but trust me I will continue to write on this topic and others … it’s important to me and based on the feedback I’ve been receiving … it’s making a difference.  And as I’ve said … if I can only help one person avoid making the decision Lynn made or change a few minds on how they view suicide … it’s all worth it.  And I think we’re doing it.

So I started back the day after Labor Day.  And as stated above … with all of the additional things I need to do to manage life outside of work … it’s a lot … but being back feels right, it feels good … so I will figure out how to effectively manage it all! Also as I mentioned in an earlier post … my Company and my colleagues have been fantastic to me … such great support … they “pulled” me back in. As a business leader we use all sorts of ways to communicate to our teams. So it’s no surprise that blogging has become a common way to communicate. Over a year ago I started an internal blog called “Hall Talk” … I thought I’d share with you what I wrote yesterday to colleagues.
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I’m Back!

Team,

Well, if you haven’t seen me or heard… I’m back after ~3 months leave. First of all, I want to thank you all for the support and encouragement that you’ve showered on me via notes, cards, texts, emails, calls, and hugs. As you can imagine this has been and continues to be the most difficult time of our lives for me, my boys, and our extended family. My wife, Lynn, was an incredible person… beautiful inside and out, loved by so many… and simply irreplaceable… so it’s just hard on so many of us. I struggled with the thought of coming back to work.

As mentioned in my recent Facebook post, losing the love of your life can change your whole perspective on life… it changes how you view things; what you consider important; and how you find “purpose.” So when I addressed my team my first day back to work, I told them that the way I came to terms with coming back was that I found “purpose” in leading them. I can find “purpose” in leading a great group of people… that make a living doing great work. Yeah… I can find purpose in that… leading good people, doing good work, and providing for their families. As I’ve also said to many who know me well, that in the midst of such an unimaginable tragedy… I’ve witnessed and experienced so many incredibly “good” things. And related to coming back to work and my career… I could feel my business family pulling for me to come back, encouraging me… that feels good.

I know many of you wonder how my family and I are doing… like I mentioned above this is the most difficult thing we’ve ever faced and maybe (hopefully) ever will. There are times where we are “ok” but there’s lots of difficult moments and sometimes “it” just hits you like a ton of bricks. But we’re doing our best to cope and trying to make forward progress… one day at a time. It’s going to be a long journey for all of us… but hopefully someday the wonderful memories of times shared with Lynn will overcome the pain that we currently have in our hearts.

So, the last thing I’ll leave you with is this… my boys and I will continue to face into this tragedy with heads held high. We want to continue to honor Lynn’s legacy; shine a spotlight on the stigma associated with suicide; and raise awareness about the devastating effects that the disease depression can have on people who suffer with it and their loved ones. One of the ways we are doing this is via a blog that I launched in July. You can find it at: lynnslovestory.com. I encourage you to check it out as it will give you a better perspective on how I/we are dealing with this tragedy. Also, please share this blog with others freely… we’d like to help as many people as possible.

So again, I’m happy to be back. You have my word that I’ll give 100% to being as effective a leader as I possibly can. I look forward to interacting with all of you to make this business the best it possibly can be.

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I’m going to start adding more references and links to resources that are helpful and pertinent to these topics.  So let’s start with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline … 1-800-273-8255. Coincidently, September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Share … #BeThe1To’s … 5 action steps, resources, tips and messages throughout September to show the world how we can all make an impact in someone’s life.

As always I hope this blog is helpful to you or someone you know. I’d really appreciate your feedback so I can continue to improve it.  And please share, share, share … we want to reach and help as many people as we possibly can!

Much love,
Lance