This was a catchphrase used in Silicon Valley during the go-go boom-and-bust tech years. There, the culture was: give up your life for the pursuit of millions, then hop off the treadmill a few years later and cash in your chips and live happily ever after.
I went to a big lunchtime sales function recently, and as I was leaving I spotted the McShea sales manager, Chuck Kusbit, walking behind me with one of our top producers. The first thing I thought to do was to quicken my pace and avoid them for fear Chuck, who had been out of town, would question me about my latest deals. I didn’t want to admit – especially not at a sales function – that all of those deals were currently at a standstill.
Sure enough, as soon as he caught sight of me Chuck loudly called, “Hey Ro!” I cringed a bit but I was forced to slow down and greet him, anticipating that I was going to have to swallow my pride and admit what kind of a state my deals were in. But to my surprise, he said, “I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately – how did your [fairly serious medical procedure] go?”
Wow. There I was, worrying about the latest dime I was chasing and Chuck asked me about something much more important: my health. I was so pleased that someone from work cared enough to ask me about my health that I felt like giving him a great big hug. Then it hit me as I began enthusiastically telling him that the procedure had been a great success and how much better I felt: he, too, was happy and relieved that the procedure had gone well for me.
It was another stark reminder to me that life is not all business, all the time, even in the business world. Sometimes we have to slow down and focus on things like our health and families before we focus our time and energy on business. It also reminded me that it is important, even when your deals are stuck at a standstill, to take the time to be grateful for the positive things in your life like good health and good friends and family.
The happiest people I’ve met in life all have one characteristic in common: they are grateful people.
Have a great weekend,
Ro