Lost Some Skin

It’s day two in Newport, Rhode Island, and simply a beautiful morning right before sunrise as I prepare to take on the Cliff Walk at The Chanler. Yesterday, I walked and jogged about two miles out on the Cliff Walk when I had to turn back so I could be at my meeting on time. Today, I am starting just before daybreak so I can go the full three miles out and back as I am determined to see the beautiful point of this amazing Cliff Walk. I know from yesterday that I will incur sidewalks, dirt paths, tunnels and some treacherous rocks on the way.

I know this is a six-mile roundtrip commitment, so it will be what I consider (my knees talk to me) a long jog/walk. After 20 minutes, I take this picture of the sunrise. I am so pumped, not my usual dread of running. The scenery and goal of making it to the point has me in the zone. I love being in the zone as it is when we are at our peak performance. I realize that for some of you, my peak in jogging might be your warm-up, but hey, we all need our zone.

The first tenth of a mile featuring big rocks is staring at me, so I slow down some and make it to the next path with no problem. This is where I had to turn around yesterday so it is even more exciting as I jog along this new path. After a second tunnel, I am facing what appears to be at least two-tenths of rocks and they are not as big or level as the first stretch of rocks. About halfway across, I'm picking up a little speed as my confidence grows then BAM! My foot slides off the edge and jams between the boulders. Talk about a sudden, painful stop!

This is hurting already and I haven’t got my leg free yet. As I ease it out, I’m praying that I have not broken or sprained it. All I can see is blood as I have scraped most of the skin off my shin. I have a significant bruise around the side of my knee and it is swelling a little. But my ankle appears fine. I just need to catch my breath, stretch a little and see if everything is working. I’m only about half a mile from the point. I could turn around here, and maybe I should as I have about a tenth more of these rocks and I can see more rocks on the point itself.

My leg hurts and is bleeding, but it seems sound and I really want to meet my goal of making the point and taking some pictures. I start towards the point at a slower pace to see how I do. I made it and it is certainly worth it. I lost some skin along the way but I am so glad I continued on this journey.

Our profession is on a similar journey and the path forward will be a mixture of paved legacy paths, bare paths and some treacherous rocks. We know that in order to enjoy the view and take fierce ownership of our client relationships, we must take a new path. A path full of unknown twists and turns. It will be hard to make this journey and not lose some skin along the way. If we are not careful, we might break a bone or twist a joint, yet we must persist or be left standing at the hotel wondering what the view could be. Who is at the point with our clients? Let’s fight the fear of a fall or slip and keep moving towards a bright future.

It’s time to put some skin in the game! My leg is already looking better!