Our local high school football coach asked me earlier this year to speak to the seniors on his team on a weekly basis. I have always enjoyed public speaking, so I jumped at the opportunity. Although I am finding plenty of meaningful activities to keep me busy since retiring nine months ago, speaking with the players is one of the most enjoyable things I do now.

My talks with the team members are not lengthy – perhaps five to ten minutes each time. For the content of my talks, I rely for the most part on the experiences of my 25 years as a head basketball coach.

My most recent message to the seniors was about momentum – specif­ically, how to maintain positive momentum.  This was particularly appropriate for the team, as it sported a perfect 4-0 record, was ranked in the top ten in the most recent statewide poll, and had just come off of a victory on the road against its biggest rival, which also was ranked in the top ten.

Momentum plays a huge role in sports, particularly in football, where games often feature just a handful of scores by both teams combined. One constant message that I preached to my basketball teams when I was coaching was that they should concentrate on extending positive momentum swings for as long as possible, and that they should make an even stronger effort to minimize the negative momentum shifts. The most successful teams I coached were able to do this.

Based on my experiences as a coach and in the various leadership positions I have held as an educator, as well as my readings on leadership, I suggested to the seniors that their positive momentum could be main­tained if they made an accumulation of good decisions, diligently executed their game plans, and did so one on top of the other.

Living with multiple myeloma can be a life of wild momentum shifts and swings. I have been on a positive upswing of momentum for the most of the time since my autologous stem cell transplant two years ago. Since retiring last December, the positive momentum has gotten even better, and I realized after speaking to the football players about momentum that I had unconsciously been practicing what I had just preached to them.

Over the last nine months, I have made good decisions about taking better care of myself. I’ve been exer­cising by walking four to five miles a day and lifting weights three times a week. I’m finally eating three meals a day instead of the one or two per day that was the norm before my retirement. I’ve reduced or elim­i­nated items from my diet that needed to be reduced or elim­i­nated, which has helped me shed unwanted pounds that I have tried to wish away for years. I’ve also vastly improved my sleep habits – I’m now getting 6-8 hours of sleep almost every night.

However, I recently made a bad decision, and the experience has reinforced to me how important sound decisions are. It also reminded me that, although I am in a good state right now, my multiple myeloma and the side effects of my Revlimid maintenance regimen cause physical weaknesses and shortcomings that must be recognized and respected.

In August I attended a conference out of state that twice required me to be at the airport by 4:00 a.m. to catch early morning flights. The flights I took to and from the conference were full. The conference itself was attended by 3,500 people, so I came into contact with untold numbers of people from all over the world.

As anyone who has multiple myeloma could predict, I came down with an upper respiratory infection within a week after returning from the conference – the first such infection I had experienced in over nine months.

A better course of action would have been to catch later flights, wear a mask on the plane, reduce the interaction with strangers at the conference, and immediately see my doctor at the first sign of the oncoming infection – something I did not do, hoping that the condition would just go away.

Although I have not been perfect, I have been fairly diligent about executing the game plan for treating my multiple myeloma that has been drawn up by my oncologist.  I did slip up, however, about a year ago, inadvertently leaving my Revlimid at home when I went on an extended trip. As a result, I did not take any Revlimid for two weeks. My quarterly checkup occurred just days after that trip, and not surprisingly – for the first time since my stem cell transplant – the blood test revealed the presence of a monoclonal protein. I have never missed taking that turquoise and white capsule since then.

Multiple myeloma is a heterogeneous disease, and what I suggest for living as near normal a life as possible certainly isn't applicable in all cases. Anyone who has been afflicted with the disease knows that it has no respect for our schedules, timelines, or plans. I know that relapse is inevitable, but until it occurs, I'll try and practice what I preached to the senior football players. I’ll be focused on making good decisions, diligently executing the game plan, and doing so one on top of the other with the hope that the positive momentum I have experienced continues.