Between a Mouse and a Bean Place

Very rarely are any of us blessed to be in a position that, either way we choose, we win. Or we lose. Either I stay and win, or go and win... or I stay and lose the opportunity, or go and leave an opportunity. Is it a blessing or a curse?

So..... I got offered a job by The Disney Store to be their assistant manager. Long story, which I'll condense here, but bottom line is, its been a week of ups and downs, highs and lows, stress and wonder.

They made the offer, its about 9% more than what I make now at Starbucks as a manager, and at first, I just didn't know. I counseled with some good friends of mine, including some people who worked at Starbucks, getting Godly advice and wisdom.

Being debt free, we're in a position where money isn't the main factor... lets be honest, its always a factor, but its not the main factor, for the first time in my life, and thats refreshing. But here's what I consider the main factor... where am I going to go? At Starbucks, I'll be a manager for a while and then... well, nothing. Unless I either a) move our family to Atlanta on hopes that I can get a corporate job or b) wait for corporate to come here. Or, I could be a district manager, but I didn't list that as "c" because that's not a possibility--I am not going to be a DM, at least, not for Starbucks.

What about The Disney Store? Well, the obvious step is, if I can prove my mettle, I would move up to manager, obviously. After that, there is the step of Disney DM... which I'm not sure I want... or don't want. I dunno. And if I have to relocate, I'm going to Orlando a thousand times or more before I go to the Ay Tee Ell.

However, I've been at Starbucks five years. I started at the barista level, 22 hours per week, worked my way up and now am a full time, salaried manager. Go to Disney, start all over. The benefits are comparable, the 401K is better with Starbucks than Disney, though not significantly enough to sway me one way or the other.

I had pretty much decided that The Disney Store was right for me, and then I had... well, kind of a weird experience there on Friday, something that made me step back and go "hmmm.... is this what I want?" Kinda freaked me out a little, and my buddy Jason said, "you know when you pray about missions, you tell God that you are going to plan to go until He tells you not to? Maybe this is God telling you not to go with this."

Then on Saturday, it all was fixed and cleared, at least mostly. My role there was more explained, offering a challenge to which I am kinda excited about.

Bottom line is, I don't have a passion for coffee. I don't drink it. Yes, I like a good iced coffee con leche, but I have never been a straight coffee drinker. My passion is for people. My passion is to help people succeed, to encourage people, to help people be better than who they are. And I do have quite a fondness for The House of Mouse.

But what happens if it doesn't work out, you say? What happens if this is a job that turns out to be a disaster? This is also a consideration. I have a great job, and keep in mind, I went to The Disney Store to look for part time work to save money for a Disney vacation in February, to take The Lovely Steph Leann as a part of a 5th year anniversary celebration. The manager from The Disney Store calls me, asks me to meet with their DM, which it works out that I can...

You know, when our bigwigs come in, typically they spend about 10 or 20 minutes in our store. Our district manager is actually around a lot more, but I'm comparing the Disney DM to someone above the Starbucks DM, perhaps like a regional director. I'm thinking I'll walk in, get a handshake, ask a few questions, answer a few questions, and then have a job interview for the Cast Member position.

What happened? Met with the guy for almost 2 hours. And because I wasn't looking for a new job, I answered all of his questions honestly, with not a hint of the "say what they want to hear because I want this job" that typically is in an interview. And towards the end, he told me he wanted me to consider management there, gave me the weekend to think about it. The following Monday, they made the offer.

Plus, there's a free silver pass that gets me and three other people into the parks anytime, plus we get up to 50% off on resorts and cruise lines, and everything in the store and parks (including food) is 35% off. Lil Sister Ashley says thats perfect because, "You and Steph are so Disney retarded."

Funny story... last night, we're having dinner with Mikey and his family and a bunch of other people for Mikey's 30th birthday, and someone comes over and asks me a Disney question, which I answer easily. As they walk away, The Lovely Steph Leann looks at me with incredulity, with an offended look on her face that says, "Uh... I know that... I know Disney... I know more than my husband does!"

Yes, the discounts will be nice. But is it worth it? Can I walk away from FIVE years of building relationships and working my way up in Starbucks? I left a fabulous job at Cox Radio, and all its perks, to take a job at NBC 13, with all of its promises of growth and opportunity for more money, which at the time was the main reason. It was a disaster, with NBC 13 being one of the worst jobs I've ever had. The money wasn't worth it.

Plus, at Starbucks on University and 20th, I've got a great team... Matt, Jessica, Megan, Katie--some of the best people I've ever worked with. Seriously, they know their job, they know their responsibilities and they know what they are doing, which is refreshing. I'd also be giving up great customers like Stacy the nurse, who in some strange way is kinda hot, plus Kevin & Sandy, plus Carla, Matt's boo and baby mama, who is just fabulous and... I could go on and on. This is also the only time I get to see Lil Sister Ashley on a regular basis, and thats a big plus, cause I'll be honest, I love that chick. She's awesome.

So here's where I stand. I was about ready to take The Disney Store offer, then some stuff happened that made me think I wasn't, then some stuff happened that made me think I was and... after almost 10 days of going back and forth, seeking God's will, looking for guidance from Him and from other people, and really stressing out about it, and being completely overwhelmed and...

...by the way, The Lovely Steph Leann is the most wonderful chick ever. She wasn't giving me any indication of her desires for me to go to Disney or her desires for me to stay at Starbucks--she would only tell me she wants me to be happy. Sometimes that's maddening, but its moments, hours, days, weeks like this that make you grab your spouse, hold them tightly and thank God that you have someone you are so close to and that would support you in any and everything. I love My Lil Sister Ashley, and I love my friends KT & Jason and others, but The Lovely Steph Leann is the greatest.

...anyway, after all that, I've decided. I want to do what glorifies Him the most, which is really what we're all here for... and I know what that is. I feel it. I sense it. I'm at peace with it.

Actually, its Sunday night, and I've known my answer since yesterday (Saturday) evening.

If you want to know what happened, you can read the follow up post...