Before Lou and I actually embarked on the first leg of The Imposition Tour, Lou had interviewed for several jobs.
Most of the gigs were executive positions that would rely heavily on Lou’s past business experiences. But one of the jobs was in Miami, and it was for another MLM company that was basically thinking about doing a “reboot.” When Lou originally interviewed for that job, he didn’t feel like it was going to be a good fit. The company was very top-heavy with executives, and they didn’t have any good products to sell.
But the owner of the company had been calling Lou to keep the conversation alive, and Lou genuinely loves to advise people from the network marketing industry. But the first time this guy called after we took off on The Imposition Tour was when we were staying in that horrible dorm room in Minnesota. I remember how hard it was for Lou to sound normal. He was in so much pain.
But when this guy called, I think it was the only time I saw Lou’s spirits rally that whole time.
Since our return to Dallas, the owner of the company had started calling Lou with more direct questions, and he expressed a sincere interest in getting Lou involved on the management side of things. We were still doing what we could to recruit and build our wrinkle cream team, but Lou really started to wonder if looking into a position that had a salary package, insurance, and other benefits might be a smarter choice for us at this stage.
We both felt so vulnerable about our financial future, and we were starting to get bills from the hospital. (Even though Lou was listed as an indigent patient, the hospital still solicited us to pay what we could. It’s only fair, right?) But these realities were pressing in on us all the time, and the thought of steady employment was mighty appealing to us both.
I remember discussing this Miami possibility for days when we were stuck in the dorm room, and we came to the conclusion that if this company made Lou an offer, we would have to seriously consider it. Lou was good at running MLM companies, and, he loved building downlines with people. That’s what made that business fun for Lou, and so this prospect really buoyed his spirits.
The only really tricky part was how to step away from the Zant Wrinkle Cream Team without harming anyone.
It was a horrible feeling to get people involved in a company, only to walk away from it (and them) when something changed. (One of the things I really don’t like about multi-level marketing is how personally I take it!) But we decided to use some wisdom from my mom when dealing with this job prospect: Don’t borrow trouble.
We would need a pretty good package to make a move to Miami work, so we would just have to wait and see what was on the table. If or when that happened, Lou and I would figure out how to transition out of one commitment into another. Right then wasn’t the time to make any decisions.
So we just committed to wait it out…
We had only been back to Dallas for a short time when the Miami-based MLM company’s owner called again to see if Lou would be willing to fly to Miami for another formal interview. I remember how excited Lou and I were about this news — but I also remember feeling really uncertain about Lou’s health. I can’t tell you honestly if Lou’s bleeding had gotten better, or if we were just measuring the situation with a more generous eye.
I know that every time Lou would go to the bathroom, I was always listening to hear if he was in pain, and, I’d usually do a quick follow up to make sure things were tidy. Things always seemed to be about the same — which was still pretty bad, but I comforted myself by telling myself that they weren’t getting any worse.
Lou was still in pain — he couldn’t hide that part — and he was still going through a lot of dude dipes; but that was to be expected. He was on the mend, and he would be for a while. That we knew.
But when Lou told me about the fly-in, I remember feeling like I had to trust Lou’s word when he promised me that he was feeling well enough to go. I wanted him to be better for so many reasons; but I also really wanted Lou to get a job that would support us better. So I’m sure I dismissed some of the obvious signs that proved how little Lou was actually improving.
I’m pretty sure Dona was equally torn.
I would often process my thoughts with her to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind. I was so “in it” with Lou that I wasn’t very confident that I was giving him the best advice. And, I was so tired and worried about our future. We couldn’t live with Dona and Dave forever — even though they made that idea pretty darn tempting. But I was antsy and felt like we needed to get our act together sooner than later.
The night before he left for Miami, I remember packing Lou’s suitcase with a healthy — but not obnoxious — supply of dude
When Dona and I dropped off Lou at the airport, Lou refused to take the yellow donut with him. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I wanted him to be careful, but I also wanted him to look his best — and that donut was very distracting. But I remember feeling a little bubble of emotions rising in my heart when I kissed Lou goodbye before another solo adventure. I was nervous about him traveling alone, but I knew I had to let him go.
