Stay true to your vision....

With Humility.

I’ve been wanting to write this one for a while, but between working 50+ hours a week tossing pizzas to keep cash flow and pay the bills, to preparing for my first farmers market, things became a bit chaotic. One moment i’m on cruise control working a hectic but regular schedule, the next I find out the farmers market is opening sooner than the end of the lock down, which was unexpected and a moment of anxiety.

With today being Memorial Day, I am reminded to be thankful to those who sacrificed it all, so that someone like myself could pursue “The American Dream.” I’m always reminded as well, that while I failed to serve my country when I was younger, I can give a better effort in this phase of my life moving forward. First to honor those who humbly accepted their missions, like my grandfather who served in WWII and my father in Vietnam. Second is to learn from our history, acknowledge mistakes made, but to see the bigger picture of what we have collectively compared to the rest of the world, and the good we can do when we come together. This is what D-Day was all about, this is what. This is what the flag on my wall represents.

To begin, the flag is a Betsy Ross flag, which is symbolic to me as a reminder of our founding principles that became a basis for one of the greatest societies in civilization (arguably the best), despite our many flaws. It’s what every ”good” person suffers from, despite facades. Betsy was an abolitionist. Like many in her time, they understood there was a wrong in society, but worked together to maintain their freedom from the British and other imposing threats. The second symbolism of the flag is it represents Normandy Beach, where 6600+ Americans died in 1 day. I was fortunate to visit this place for my honeymoon this year.

Despite being closed for New Year’s Day, it was very surreal, since we watched/listened to “Saving Private Ryan” on my way there. It was very humbling to know this was the place that changed the war against the Nazi’s. It happened though because of sacrifice through some poor planning and challenges. They adapted though, and never gave up. This is our history all the way back to George Washington, who failed multiple times before success. We start with good intentions, but we don’t always execute properly. Through many failures, and tragedies, we American’s, from all walks of life persevere to the final goal and vision. This is what we, 50 states are now about. We are all individually different, but we come together for a common goal.

To tie this to business, life and faith, it’s all the same. In humility, we sacrifice through the suffering, eventually achieving the goal of a new life. Sadly sacrifice of life often happens, whether we are talking about Jesus, His Apostles, our troops, and sadly those who sacrificed building our country everyday from the slaves, to the immigrants who to this day, all contribute make us better. In return we try to see injustices around the world and our communities, striving to make them better. Today, on Memorial Day we honor all those who died trying to preserve this vision of “Liberty, Justice and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

In your business i’m reminded to stay true to the vision in this same manner. To sacrifice, when I want to be lazy and give up.. To be humble when someone from the government is imposing a silly rule one me, and making me jump through hoops to accommodate their authority. To never fear when the manageable debt isn’t being paid fast enough, but in my original plan I know I can pay it off, if I am conservative in my spending moving forward. Most of all to be confident, you are the best at what you do. You are an American, influenced by the melting pot of the world.

In seeing all the cultures I have experienced, I see all the good and successful ways everyone has, in addition to the things that have brought on troubles and failures through out our history and other civilizations. Through it all, I have seen those who are successful remain humble and true to their original vision. This was always how I operated when I turned around the 31 different stores I managed successfully, lay the ground work and have confidence that solid foundation will produce results. My troubles at that time, was my lack of humility, which always made it tough to sustain peace in my life. Later in life I read Habakkuk 2 randomly walking into a church one day, it forever changed my life, and here I am 10 years later, knowing I am closer to my vision than I ever thought possible. Not even a pandemic will undermine that, since I made sure, to have a solid foundation and willingness to work for the vision.

In close, one other detail I forgot to add. I recently discovered a company named “Cloosiv” through a Facebook ad. They caught my attention since they are from Charlotte, N.C., my home for half of my life. They are an app service for local coffee shops that provide a mobile ordering option, which ironically is contact less . They were founded 2 years ago, and in the early life of this company, society just happened to take a turn that boomed their business, unexpectedly. I was fascinated by this though as another great idea, that the founder believed in creating something, and in what some would see as tough times, this business was ready at the right time for success. This is life, make lemonade out of lemons. How will you respond? Will you be a victim? Or a solution for society? Free will is a beautiful thing, and in a country as beautiful as America, you truly have that choice. Will you follow the vision of those who say you are a victim? Or follow the vision of those who say you can do anything if you simply try, and never quit, since you are born with the same rights as anyone else and can create it on your own.

My first farmers market, which went smooth. The day before I practiced this set up in my driveway. In everything, it’s 90% preparation, 10% execution. Due to my plan, everything went great since I trained for this day for the past year plus, technically 2.. Afterwards, I assessed the feedback from those I trust for guidance, and will make the appropriated adjustments moving forward.