Yes, you read the title correctly.

It’s time for radical change.

Later this year my wife, daughter, and I will move out of Washington state.

I’m choosing  to leave my job as Vice President, Corporate Communications at Premera Blue Cross to take a temporary role at the same company as Culture Change Evangelist (which I’m thrilled about for the next several months!).

Why?

I’m forcing myself to move.

We’ve had the itch for quite a while. Well before I changed and Stephani changed in 2013, she in particular wanted out of here. The topic of why we’re moving makes for a longer post; for now I’ll summarize:

• We hate the weather (Seasonal Affective Disorder is not a joke)
• The Seattle area is increasingly unaffordable
• The traffic sucks…and is getting worse
• We want distance from broken family relationships

Those are the things we will leave behind. Here’s what we’re going after:

• A sunnier climate
• Simpler living
• Less traffic
• A new community
• A chance to start over

And by start over I mean capitalize on the fact we’ll be empty-nesters in our early 40s. We paid a high price for starting a family very young. Now we mean to capitalize on the opportunity to lead an entirely new adult life.

Joseph is a freshman at college. Sophia is the equivalent of a sophomore, but now in online high school and taking a very non-traditional track (including becoming a yoga teacher herself!). Stephani and I are both healthy, talented individuals ready for the next phase of our lives.

Our time is coming.

Later this year the lease on the house we rent will end. My temporary job will come to a conclusion. And we’re out.

Confession: that can be completely fucking scary.

We don’t know for certain where we’re going (but New Orleans is a very strong front-runner). I don’t know what I’ll do for work, other than knowing it won’t be what I’m doing today.

Another confession: I’m not that scared.

I’ve been searching for jobs for roughly 10 months. Nothing panned out, in part because I put a lot of parameters about what that job might look like. Mostly, the jobs were way too traditional and tied to perceived financial needs versus being something I loved. The one I did love — and would otherwise chase other opportunities with that employer — is in a city we like but eventually ruled out (Portland, OR) because it’s only a marginal improvement on much of what we dislike in Seattle.

So, I’m committed to moving without a job being secure. It’s time to take a chance.

I don’t know how the finances are going to go, but I believe in the power of the Universe and God to provide, and I believe in the power of manifestation to help Stephani and I wake our dreams into reality. I also believe in the ability of talented people to chase their passion. And that’s what we’re doing.

Some of the best part about doing — and writing — this?

It’s exciting.

And. Totally. Fucking. Liberating.

Maybe if you’ve read my posts in recent months you could sense the angst in me.

Several days after I wrote this post about “chasing your joy” one of my employees said, “I liked your post…but it doesn’t seem like you’re able to do that lately.”

I had to chuckle inside because it was so very true. Little did she know all this was brewing for me.

A physical move. A career change. A new phase in married life. A new adventure.

That’s huge.

And thrilling.

And I’ll chronicle it right here in the months to come.

I love what you’ve done with the team.

Truly.

The Seattle Seahawks are now among the great franchises in the NFL. CenturyLink Field is a feared and famous venue. The team is a regular part of conversations about best squads in the league, year-after-year.

That’s damned impressive.

And so much of that success is based on the culture you have created and the roster you have built.

I couldn’t help but notice today the entire starting linebacker and secondary units of that famous defense are players you found in the draft. Meanwhile, the defensive line starters are largely an assemblage of expensive and affordable free agents you successfully pieced together, while stocking up mostly on talented draftees as their reserves.

Again, damn impressive. Hats off to you.

On the offensive side of the ball you have perhaps the greatest 3rd round pick of all time at QB. Your trade for Marshawn Lynch was masterful. The needle in the haystack find of Thomas Rawls was superlative. And the value you have found at wide receiver via undrafted free agents and all-purpose threat Tyler Lockett in the 3rd round as well is mind-blowing.

So much so, you get a pass on the pricey swing-and-miss for Percy Harvin. Oops.

All of this is excellent. If there were awards for best coach and/or GM over the last five years, rather than just annual accolades, you’d be at the top of the heap.

But. That. Offensive. Line.

F. M. L.

Russell was under siege back there against Carolina.

A common Sunday scene: Russell under duress behind the line of scrimmage. Credit: Seattle Times.  

I just saw 13 Hours. I don’t think the six well-armed CIA contractors/elite armed forces vets in that tale, who held off dozens upon dozens of bad guys in the flick, could have stopped everything pouring through the offensive line toward #3.

Maybe that’s harsh. It was one playoff game. On the road. With a 10 am PST start. Against a great defense.

Here’s what bothers me though: Russell Wilson was tied for 3rd in the league for most sacks, 45, during the regular season.

If you had told me at the start of the season that the most elusive QB in the NFL would be sacked nearly three times a game in the 2015 campaign I would have drawn one conclusion: disaster.

Russell’s development into a crushingly awesome, three step, pocket passer down the stretch threatens to make us forget how inadequate the offensive line was for key parts of the year, not the least of which were the repeated failures to move the ball and protect a lead during those five, Fourth Quarter, come-from-ahead losses that put us in that #6 seed, back-to-back 10 am PST starts, on the road in the playoffs scenario.

Let’s not do that again, ok?

So, pretty please: you guys are smart. Your football record speaks for itself. The roster-building Force is strong in you. Put together an offensive line worthy of the rest of this team.

The Legion of 12s would be even further in your debt.

Hugs, kisses, and screaming cheers at the Clink,

A Seahawks fan

P.S. Go Hawks!

Footnote: ribbing and plea for improvement aside about the at times porous offensive line,  the culture the Seahawks have built really is amazing. Read more about it here, here, here,  here, and here. It’s an amazing organizational culture, whose lessons apply way beyond sports.