victory, at last... lol

Well, last night, I made my second trip to village council in a month with a new "out of the box idea." I pitched my idea to the council in two separate committees and "made my sale" and gained their unanimous agreement. They took action in open council allowing me the time to bang out the details with the village attorney and in two weeks (provided there are no legal issues) we should have ourselves an agreement that's beneficial to the village, the chamber, the business community and the general public.

I've been dealing with these guys for about 6 weeks on the issue at hand and I think I've finally managed to come up with a plan they really like and that will benefit everyone involved and that feels good. It has been frustrating to deal with some of our local government officials, they are indeed a different breed. And they should be, they are after all dealing with taxpayer money in a very conservative, traditional, fiscally restrained part of "flyover" country here in western Ohio. I prayed for patience and tact, leaving my personal opinions and frustrations aside and made a salient presentation to two different groups and so far we're headed in a better direction. The devil is in the details as they say, so I can only expect that the discussion with the village attorney will be delightful lol. But, I think we can work something out. My victory is that I was finally able to come up with a plan and present it in such a manner that really got them excited and interested and on our side. HP really hooked me up this time!

Why does any of this really matter on a sobriety/recovery blog? Well, I've had a history of not playing nicely with others where my pride and ego (and my profession, reputation, and ultimately my checkbook) are concerned. Oh don't get me wrong, I've had my magic moments behind closed doors and have held a few "less-than-charitable" conversations about my friends in local government. But, when it counted and mattered most I was able to do a nice job, be positive, be confident and professional and come away feeling good about my efforts and the outcome, despite how it all ultimately turns out. That's some serious growth for this former "winner-take-all" alcoholic/addict.

It's really just an eensy weensy blip on the radar of life, all things being equal. But it was important to me and my career at this juncture. If it hadn't been for AA, there's no way. Like everything else good in my life, if it weren't for God, AA and you people, none of this would be happening. For that I am grateful!