The Opposite of Ugly People, Dog Sitting Jack, Keith and Kathy

“Because you are beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence.”
— John Green

Good morning and sorry for my delay, we are dog sitting, and we’ve had a busy morning.  Jack is a year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever; they often play with Parker Van Halen’s Boyfriend.  We’re watching Jack for his human that usually watches Parker when we are away.   

A great day yesterday; we worked here until lunch, headed down the hill to run some errands, and grabbed a bite to eat at J.J. Madwells, a fantastic local restaurant.

We picked up our goods and headed home.  We spent the afternoon working and then began prepping food.  My wife made a salad and grilled veggies with a balsamic glaze; I made my parmesan-crusted fish and homemade tartar sauce.   Our guests arrived around 6:30, we dined in our dining room, and they did not depart until 10:30; we met Keith and Kathy in March at the Hot Springs, they have become good friends.

Keith is the antitheses of me, a big gun, a hunter; he’s a man’s man.  But something is endearing about him; he’s got a large heart and has had an exciting life path, and I think he is one of the kindest people I’ve met on my journey.  His mate Kathy is a bodybuilder; she’s a mother and has a kind heart as well; we enjoyed our 3-hour chat about our past, mistakes, and wins. Finally, they left; we cleaned up and hit the bed a little later than usual; we did sleep in a bit, it’s ok; we earned the right.

I caught a news story about a judge taking a child away from a parent that could not get the vaccination due to health issues.  I’m sure it will get overturned, but the gall of some of our people in power to exercise their authoritarian muscle is a little off-putting.  If you are new here, I’m vaccinated, but I don’t think we are in a position to mandate anyone do something that is counter to their physician’s advice.  This young lady will be limited in how she will be able to live moving forward; I think we need a carve-out for those that can’t take the vaccine, just my two “sense.”

There is a dog circus going on as I type these words.  Wrestling, licking, loving, one dog is a lot; two is more than a lot.  But it’s fun watching these two play; they have the run of the house, the yard, they play for a couple of hours and then crash, get up and do it again. So puppy energy is a possible solution to climate change.  

A leisurely morning here, we have our all-staff meeting at 10:00, then lunch, then home, then a hike, home to cook and relax—a lovely day. I hope you, too, have a day planned that will give you joy and happiness.  Speaking of pleasure, we had our monthly sales meeting yesterday; our team is rocking.  We are 114% to goal for the year, we had some nice wins, and the team is looking to help one another.  It’s fun to build something that has a tinge of success.  I’ve learned my role is to get out of the way and let the team do their thing.

We are adding a new tool to our arsenal.  We found a product that can help us track the workflows of our service team.  It gives us a few indicators of the amount of time a person is doing a specific task.  Daily we will get a report that shows what percent of the day they were focused, and we can then compare the daily averages.  With your team now mainly working from home, we are often asked how do you know if the work is getting done. Of course, the work is getting done, but this tool will allow us to see who might need some help; it’s another management tool that I believe will help separate us from our competition.

That’s my role these days, working on the company, what can we do to improve.  I’m still involved in the sales process; I no longer bring on new clients for myself. Instead, I work with our team to foster new relationships and let them fly.  I got into the industry in 1992; I was a water boy, carrying water for the team.  I began buying the company in 1996, but I was still on the front lines.  I played offense and defense for many years before having a paradigm shift. Finally, I realized if we were going to grow 3x, I needed to shift my position from salesperson to sales manager.  I began that move four years ago once I began our Colorado experiment.

The Colorado experiment was a success, as was my movement from day to day salesperson to sales manager. I still am engaged; I keep a few select clients to help me keep my skills sharp, I am always listening for opportunities, I’m not shy about what we do. If I think we can help someone, I’ll offer our services.   Most of our work is virtual these days; our service footprint has grown since moving to the virtual model.  No longer are we locked into our geographic location; we can now write business worldwide. For example, we are working with a client in Ukraine, something I don’t think we would have fathomed before the pandemic.

That’s a little insight into my life; I’m sorry, how are you? What’s going on in your world?  Are you in love? Do you wake each day with a zest for life, or do you wake and feel a sense of terror? If you read my work, I think you are a zesty person; most terror-filled folks read my stuff and think he’s too optimistic. But, on the other hand, I am confident, I see gifts and opportunities in everything, and I suggest you try to mind-shift yourself to that reality.  Join me, it’s a beautiful existence, and I’m not alone.

“Because you are beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence.”
— John Green