I gotta admit, I feel awesome...I feel like I'm at the start of a journey. And you know what, I'm reclaiming Kenny Rodgers The Gambler.

Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep.
‘Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser.
And the best that you can hope for
Is to die in your sleep.

I just received word that I've been green lighted for financial aid for my studies. Not having the student loans wasn't a showstopper, but it does ease concerns to have them in play. Even just the textbooks for accounting ain't cheap with titles that start at $150 a pop. CLEARLY, it's not for the glossy pages and color photos. But, that's the thing with knowledge: rightly applied, the price tag is worth it. Things are lining up nicely for a Spring 2019 kickoff. While I wait for my transcript to be evaluated, I'm already preparing for my first class even though class enrollment is in November. I was fortunate to run across an earlier edition of Spiceland's Financial Accounting, 3rd Ed. for the first class I'm going to take. I won't be able to use it to save a couple of bucks— that's not the point. At any rate, from the syllabi I've read thus far, there's a strong bent toward using outside e-sources along with the main text.

My preparation is important for this: as a past grad student, my take on college education is that professors are helpful to point students in an effective direction, but books remain largely the vehicle to get them there. When I was an undergrad, I just sat there to soak up what I could in the lectures—sure, I'd peruse, but, I wouldn't describe it as poring into the text; looking back, I recognize that this tepid method left a lot of juice in the fruit.

My focus back then within Management Information Systems was on graduating—it wasn't on immersing myself into the discipline, including consuming outside sources to further deepen my understanding of the field. It was this rush to get out there in the industry. It was about techniques to pass classes while preserving a 3.0 GPA with minimal effort. What good is that? And to some extent, that's the inherent flaw in the system. That said, it's a shame we first go to college at 18 instead of 25 to allow for the brain to finish forming.

...but all that commentary aside, the title of this post says it all, "When you sense a change, nothing feels the same." Everything in the past just adds to my backstory of the character I'm developing. I'm picking up the tools to build the future for "I found an ace that I could keep."

...and YES, I do feel a change in my life . 2018 has been just that, a catalyst leading to confident strides into the wilderness of 2019. It's not just the weightloss—that's not the endgame here. Yes, I've removed somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 lbs—again, I won't know definitively until November 20, but C'MON you and I both know it's in the bag already! The weightloss process is just an outer manifestation conforming to my mind. But, I'm not referencing the weightloss success...

—it is the mindset that changes; it's the confidence to dream possibilities, a shift away from merely managing a limited scope and preventing losses. It moves into a tour of potential, not pipe dreams floating untethered from the ground, but gains made from an approach similar to this:

• Frequent discussions;
• Ambitious in scope;
• Measured by specific metrics and milestones;
• Transparent for everyone in the organization to see.

—see this great write-up from MIT SMR

Sidebar: I was unaware I was following FAST—I just organically found my way here. I love its ambitious nature; if goals aren't ambitious, you're just doing maintenance.

So on this Monday morning, a moment of the week far from abstraction while possessing a daybreak with all the realism of a sledgehammer, what in the world am I talking about?! I've applied to the University of Memphis, specifically its UofM Global online program to study the discipline of accounting.

I like accounting conceptually: how the system moves; the exactness and the optimization required; identifying cuts; exploring financial opportunities; and so on, clearly, something I've only experienced on a consumer level. There is not the fluffiness of some fields where qualification weighs heavier than quantification. I very much look forward to furthering my knowledge of the overall framework of business, a rich launchpad for further opportunities.

Accounting intersects with my NT rational temperament. Yes, I've had an IT career in desktop / server / network support; yes, I dabbled in English pedagogy and got the creds and the postcards on the wall; yes, I'm currently a pretty awesome homeschool teacher. I have been fortunate to possess a strong aptitude for an interdisciplinary approach. But, all of that is about to change. Today, I wade out beyond the shallow waters and dive deep into a single discipline to specialize in the arcane recesses of accounting.

Look, I'm 40. Some folks are wrapping up their lives and coasting for the next 25 years until they can buy that RV and cruise on up to all the glitz and glamour that is the Branson, MO rhinestone. That's NOT me—I'm retooling myself for the 2nd half. I've seen how life has been since I was 15 with the first 25 years, and now it is time for my next 25.

There is a whole life that happens at the start of 40—I witnessed it myself for I was born the year my father was 40. At the age of 4, I remember vaguely his time as a paper salesman while being a reserve sheriff's deputy in Slidell, LA., namely because I liked to eat paper samples and he gave me his badge after leaving that job. Later, he was a Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy, before becoming a manager at a regional commercial printer. Finally, he started his own print shop and ran that for the next 15 years. All of that was in a span of 26 years after 40.

This is me taking my shot at 40. I've got the next 25 years to plan out; I'm so stoked at the possibilities of what I will be doing.

Yes, I want it ALL!

I want to...

• Drop weight to reach 155 and beat out my 163 lb high school wrestler frame;
• Run 5Ks, 10Ks, and half-marathons culminating into my 1st marathon in 2019;
• Achieve 10-12% body fat by EOY 2019.

That comes off as an early New Year's Resolution list, doesn't it? It's a veritable series of S.M.A.R.T. goals. Clearly, the work I've done in 2018 is a bridge into 2019.

HOWEVER, I've got another iron in the fire for 2019 that could make a huge change in my life. More on that later...