Have you ever had a defining moment in your life

Have you ever had a defining moment in your life when you knew that things would never be the same again? We all experience these on a global level as well as a personal level. On a global level I remember standing at work watching the twin towers crumb on September eleventh and saying to a co-worker that the world as we knew it had just changed. I realized it on a personal level about a year later on a very hectic morning that found me rushing to the airport.

At the time I worked for a large advertising agency. I was flying to Boston to meet with a huge client that was very upset about their account. When I had arrived at work my secretary handed me my plane takes the numbers for motels in Boston for me to contact from the plane and the travel bag that I keep in my office for such emergencies. In the taxi on the way to the airport I contacted my wife and let her know about the emergency trip. I let her know that I did not know which of the motels in Boston I would be staying at but I would call her once I was settled. I then started reading the letter the client had written to our agency and the complaints about the advertising campaign we had been running for them. This was a huge account and if I did not save it our company would be in a financial crisis. We were already working bare bones. My assistant had been let go in an effort to cut costs. That was why I had to call motels in Boston to find a vacancy. In the past my personal assistant would have made that contact. In the past things would have been done more efficiently and this trip would not have been necessary. Mistakes were being made because all of us were over worked. We had major cut backs and changes to the company because of new owners. The new owner did not care about the work we put out they only were interested in making money.

Once we were at a safe altitude I started calling the motels in Boston that I had numbers for. No one had openings because it was the peak of tourist season. My wife called me on my cell to remind me that my son had an important scout activity the next day that I was suppose to help with. At that moment I knew that I needed to change my job. I was missing the best years with my children and I was stressed and unhappy. I held the meeting in Boston, saved the account and flew home because the motels in Boston were full. I turned in my resignation the next day and stated another chapter in my life. I went to work for a rival company that cared about clients.