Be like wine. Play the long game.
I’ve been realizing these past few days that there really is a lot that we all have in common. Seems like an obvious thought, but let’s be honest – it’s been pretty hard to see that these past few years. Everything has become so polarizing as people feel the need to “take sides” on every issue – politics or otherwise. And yes, there is always an issue, even when there’s not. That’s the time we live in so we roll with it.
But I feel that we’ll always have more in common than not. One of those things is that we all can agree that high school was a weird, weird time.
Catching up
I recently spent a long weekend with my wife in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. We left the kids at home with family so it was nice to remind ourselves that before we were mom and dad, we were married and didn’t have a weekend schedule that made you long for Monday so you could finally go back to work and relax. We played it by ear – to borrow a musical term – and did what we wanted, when we wanted.
Playing it by ear seems like a default, lazy way of going about a leisurely day, but it can be a forgotten art. A lost skill. Weekends like the last one help to make sure we keep our chops sharp on that front.
The highlights for me was visiting an old high school friend, Matt, at a restaurant he and his wife Angie opened a few years ago in North Charleston. Stems & Skins is an incredible wine bar with a fantastic small plate menu. Everything was delicious, the conversation was meaningful, and the music was perfect.
It’s been years since I’ve seen him so it was great to catch up, meet his awesome wife, and enjoy first-hand what they’ve put so much into. We talked about the challenges of starting businesses from scratch and how although skill and know-how might take you far, luck is always that elusive factor that we all need.
Don’t be that guy
It quickly became clear to me that Matt was out here doing it, living it, and being it. I was psyched for him. He’s out here living his best life with his best years still ahead of him.
It made me think of the other side, the people that I’ve met in my life that peaked in high school, or maybe college. You know those people – the ones that are always trying to act like they’re that age because they know that’s when they were at their best.
Don’t get me wrong, many of these people are good people, but yeah…something’s a little off.
Peaking too early is never a good idea, but the problem is that it’s hard to know that you’ve peaked until it’s over and you’re looking back mumbling, “Well…shit.”
This is the paragraph…
This is where I would give you the answer to how to make sure you never become the one that peaked early – in life, in business, in relationships, etc. Right here. This space. This is where I would give you the insight on how to avoid it.
Except I don’t know how. #sorry
What I can offer you is that maybe there doesn’t have to be only one peak in your life. Maybe the trick to not having peaked too early is to never having even peaked at all. To keep the metaphor, when you’re done with one climb, have the confidence and ability to find another. Matt and Angie did and it was great to be a part of it, even for only a few hours.
Always learning, improving, growing, and adding is perhaps the key to all of this. Putting old things behind you, and looking at new things to conquer. That’s true for when you start a business from scratch, yes, but it’s true for just about anything else, really.
Change happens to all of us, but those that take it in stride and keep going are the ones playing the long game. These are the people that haven’t peaked, and if they had it their way, they never will.
Take it from the wine we were drinking: when handled properly, it gets better over time.
#bewhatyoumake
