While still gaining altitude – somewhere leaving Texas and crossing the into Louisiana – I am typing this last note of the year while traveling. Today is day 155 of being on the road in some way, shape or form, and unlike a lot of years past, I am not coming home to end the great December travel rush tired and exhausted. Even as the last few weeks especially have seemed really rocky for me professionally, I don’t have the feelings of exhaustion and fatigue that I normally have by the end of the year.
A couple of things that lead to this new state are things like a new diet (which I started back in September) and a new outlook on life and business. A dealer I was with earlier this month said, “This has been the longest/shortest year of my life,” and he meant that while it has been a long and tiring year, it has flown by. I don’t disagree with this statement, as while many things have happened this year in record time. There have also been some big hardships that just flat out make you want to hang your head. But, with a different outlook on life and business combined with a new feeling of power from a healthier lifestyle, I am eager for what challenges are coming next and what great things are to come.
In 2018, I doubled down on my investment not just of money but also of time in helping people. Human capital is the greatest asset that I have and without great people, there is not a great company and a great reputation. Great people truly make all the difference in the world. While spending more time and energy in developing people, I really feel that this has also made a difference in the lack of exhaustion that I feel and the harnessed power. My professional life improves as the people around me improve. My fears are couched as the people are who are around me become better, and life is simply more enjoyable. Even though sometimes my frustration runs high with people, 2018 will end with a sincere sense of accomplishment in the fact that I am better because the people around me are better.
But, just like everything in life, you do have disappointments. While I continue to write this note as the plane has topped out at about 37,000 feet and we pass through Louisiana east towards Mississippi, the thoughts of the ones who didn’t make it along the way and didn’t survive the year are also in front of me. Career Casualties are tough to deal with if you are a leader who is truly invested in the betterment of people around you, but they are going to happen, and you have to accept it and understand not to let it cloud your vision of the future. My dad always says that too many people fail in this world because they focus too much on a small little ripple in the pond that is usually an issue or problem, and they fail to focus on the horizon at all the things they should be focused on. I find myself in the trap of this sometimes, and while he is a constant reminder not to focus only on the negative, I still have to remind myself daily not to let it get to me. Nobody is ever going to do things exactly how you want them done, but you have to accept they will do it at about 85 percent as well as you want it done and allow them to sometimes surprise you by doing it better.
When you have a big body of water in front of you and your job is to watch over it with all your focus and attention, you cannot let yourself get caught up looking at the ripples made from rocks that fall in the pond. The key to success is to be the master of the big picture and not get held up on the smaller stuff.