Ohana’s Makeover!

All my life, I’ve centered my focus on the woman I was with, and each time a relationship ended, I was devastated… (as I am now because the relationship I was deeply invested in has just ended).

Through experience, I’ve come to realize that people have different "centers" in life—a concept Stephen R. Covey explores in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. A person’s center might be their spouse, work, family, or something else entirely. For me, my center has always been my spouse. My greatest satisfaction came from pleasing my partner. So when relationships ended—whether it was Donna (30 years, lost to death), Lisa (4 years, who wanted to figure things out after losing her husband), or Laurie (4 years, experience from 2 prior marriages had her unwilling to work through our differences)—I struggled, often fighting off deep depression.

Covey’s advice is to build a life centered on principles rather than external attachments. That’s my new focus: defining what I want to achieve in life and ensuring my actions align with my goals. This shift allows me to find pleasure and fulfillment in any aspect of a purpose-driven life.

Going forward, my center will be caring for Ohana and embracing our shared adventure on the water. No rigid destination—just the journey itself. I’ll remain grateful that my disease is manageable and that I no longer have to work in the corporate world. Yes, I’d love to find a new “First Mate,” but I won’t let that pursuit consume me.

And in keeping with my commitment to Ohana, my upcoming trip to North Carolina is all about upgrading her—installing lithium batteries, adding another inverter, putting soft-starts for the A/C units (so they will run of the battery and I don’t need the generator running), and expanding the solar setup.

As for the rest of my life’s center… we’ll see. And that’s what much of this blog will be about.