Change Horses Mid-stream and Create a New Future

No one says you have to "stay the course" in order to be happier or successful. Sometimes a shift midway makes all the difference. Follow the stories of two people who discovered a new way forward.

(Photo L-R: Uncle Norm with my mom and dad skiing at Vail)

Back in the ’70’s, my Uncle Norm was slogging through a difficult time in his life and was under tremendous stress. A lifelong skier, he loved being out on the slopes and was particularly fond of Vail, Colorado.

During one of his ski trips to Vail, friends who had moved there years earlier handed him a set of keys and said, “This townhouse is move-in ready. Go back home, pack up your stuff and get back out here!”

Scaling Down and Starting Over

So, he did. Faster than you can say “lake effect snow,” he sold his house, quit working for his ex-father in law’s tool and die shop, and moved from Rochester NY to Vail, Colorado. He got a job in marketing at a ski shop and soon became a fixture in the community. After a number of years and due to his affable nature, locals bestowed him with the symbolic title, “Mayor of Vail.”

Norm scaled down, changed environments and started his life and career all over again. He gave up the large colonial house, the higher pay and familiar surroundings for new vistas and a lifestyle that no doubt contributed to his longevity.

Note this: He used his years of skiing experience and love of the sport to earn himself a new lease on life.

And he was happier than a snowball rolling downhill!

“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” —Frank Zappa

“Change Horses” and Shift Lanes

My friend Dianne was laid off from a fundraising job during Covid and was drawn to also take something she loved and turn it into a new career.

So she started a flower farm! She operated “Dianne’s Dahlias” successfully for three years, then shifted again and downsized to a smaller operation to meet her semi-retirement goals. (You’ll meet Dianne in the Small Business Spotlight below.)

Both Norm and Dianne made a radical shift in their lives, but each leveraged something they loved on which to build upon.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at.” —Bruce Lee

It Starts With a Vision

Imagine living a life or creating a career you have molded to fit your dreams and desires. Imagine it. Then look around at others who have discovered, to their amazement, that life could indeed be better on the “other side!”

Interested? Take these steps:

• Ask yourself, “Why not? Why not me?”

• Carve out some quiet time to describe (on paper or out loud to a trusted friend) the kind of future you want

• Identify what you’re willing to risk or give up in order to get it

• Pick the brains of others who have “changed horses” midstream

• Test it out — sample what it would look like, feel like —start small

• Be willing to fail, then give yourself grace and try again

• Consider a minor iteration if your first approach isn’t the right fit

• And don’t expect to have all the answers right away —insight takes time

Question: Have you “changed horses” somewhere in life and started anew? Was it worth it? Care to share some tips with other readers?

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“Change will lead to insight far more often than insight will lead to change.” —Milton Erickson

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A Humorous Change

“Yesterday, I changed a light bulb, crossed the street and walked into a bar. My life is a joke!” —Author Unknown

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Small Business Spotlight

Real life stories of people who have created fulfilling work and happier lives!

Dianne’s Dahlias by Dianne Reitan

“I have grown hundreds of shade-loving flowers in my backyard over the last fifteen years but I never knew about the sun-loving dahlia until I saw the Cafe au Lait featured in a Martha Stewart magazine. I was completely mesmerized by the buttercream and blush colors as well as the shape of this variety.

During Covid in 2021, I started with seven tubers / plants on my full-sun plot at the Bear Creek Community Garden in Colorado Springs. Every season, one tuber multiplied into massive crowns, yielding 5-25 more tubers per plant! After being laid off from my fundraising job during the pandemic, I leased some land in 2023 and grew over 100 different varieties and 300 tubers. By the third year I grew two thousand plants for the 2025 season.

After growing dahlias commercially for three years, my husband and I retired, so now I grow a smaller quantity at home for private sales. And I teach classes about dahlias! I serve on the Education and Outreach committee for the American Dahlia Society and I co-write and publish their free, monthly e-newsletter that goes out to 4,000 subscribers nationwide.

Flower farming is hard work—something you don’t appreciate until you physically plan, plant, harvest, transport, dig, divide, and store—then repeat for the next season. I was fortunate that my flower farm faced North Gate Blvd across from the Air Force Academy because all that daily traffic gave my business great exposure with very little marketing needed.

When The Gazette ran an article about my farm, the exposure further promoted my business. My husband was ready to retire and put the “5:00 am wake-up and head to the farm lifestyle” to bed! So we compromised and built a dahlia pergola, complete with hail cloth, in the backyard so that I can still service my wonderful customers in a more personal setting. In addition to selling bouquets, I do small weddings and sell my excess tubers to fellow gardeners all over the US.”

Dianne has definitely created a business that fits her lifestyle! Learn more about Dianne at: www.diannesdahlias.com.

Until next time friends…

Warmly, Laura

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Laura Lollar is a Colorado author, writer, coach, USAF Veteran, happy wife, mom and wildfire survivor. She celebrates faith, family, freedom, everyday leaders and people with an entrepreneurial spirit! Visit LauraLollar.com and her humor site at CabinMama.com