Good Morning Friends! Here are my 5 Things to Consider this week!
This week was a busy one for me. To be honest, I didn’t feel like writing my usual 5 Things because I spent so much time writing, talking and explaining about everything that went on. It was a crazy one as I’m sure you know. I didn’t want to go a week without posting and like a lot of us, I’ve been thinking a lot about what we were up to last this year at this time. So below is my post from the first week of August 2019. It’s actually one of my favorites. A snapshot back on a simpler time. I can confidently say I haven’t since and probably will never again use the term “fucked up” more than in the 5 paragraphs below. Enjoy!
8/05/2019
Culture – Burning the Candle at Both Ends. We’re a work-hard-play-group, that’s for sure. You could argue that getting drunk or high is in our DNA. We’re the place that keeps the party going way after it should probably end. We embody getting fucked up and honestly, we do it with style and grace. We’re Classy as Fuck. And when we get off work, the tendency is to keep it going. Eventually a lot of us get caught in the “restaurant lifestyle” of; work, get fucked up, sleep, work, get fucked up, sleep…repeat, repeat, repeat. When you’re in the cycle, the “great” nights are worth the shitty next days. Here’s the thing about “shitty days,” they cost you the most precious thing you have, TIME. Screw health. We all know getting fucked up isn’t good for you. If you don’t, NEWS FLASH – GETTING FUCKED UP IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!”. The real thief that is the hangover is all the time you spend being hungover. Don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not trying to be holier-than-thou here. As an old, gristled manager once scoffed at me, “I’ve spilled more than you’ve ever done!” All I’m suggesting here is that you be aware that being hungover steals your time…and eventually that time piles up. Eventually, the great nights are no longer worth the shitty next days.
Musical accompaniment for this reading – When I Drink by the Avett Brothers.
Leadership – Leaders are parents, not friends. In this business, like many others, it’s easy to become friends with the people you work with. It’s hard not to. People in the hospitality industry spend around 60% or more of their awake life with the people they work with! And for all of you reading, those are the people you lead! Parents and friends share plenty of similarities. They can both be supportive, caring, loving and nurturing. They can both be concerned about the well being of another, but a good parent must sacrifice being a friend to look out for the future of their children. As parent leaders, we must ABOVE ALL ELSE set up our tribes to have stable, healthy and prosperous futures. Sometimes this means giving our tribe members tough love. Sometimes this means not being a friend at all. Having to discipline or reprimand a friend is harder than having to discipline or reprimand a someone you’re not friends with. It’s that simple. The old saying, “familiarity breeds contempt” fits perfectly here. What does that mean to you?
History – Life in the Shack – The Early Days – Part 1. Rule #1 – Don’t get too fucked up. Back in the way early days of the Shack with had a funny rule. It was, “Don’t get too fucked up.” This rule was an early attempt to manage something that can never be managed; people getting fucked up. Someone will ALWAYS ruin this for the group. Always. Of course, as we knew would eventually happen, someone got too fucked up and we had to implement the rule of “No Substances While Working or immediately before.” It’s funny to look back on a “rule” like that now, but when we were first starting off, we wanted to be cool. We wanted to trust people. We wanted to be different. We wanted to business that mirrored our way of life at the time. A lot of that early thinking still exists today. A lot has changed. But like everything we’ve done, we know that change is inevitable, because change is progress and progress is growth. We’re better today than we were yesterday.
Motivation – “It’s easy to spot a red car when you’re always thinking about red cars. It’s easy to spot opportunity when you’re always thinking about opportunity. It’s easy to spot reasons to be mad when you’re always thinking about being mad. You become what you constantly thing about. Watch yourself.” – Not sure who to credit this to. I saw it on IG.
What I’m Reading or Watching – Since I linked an Avett Brothers song to my first “thing”, I’ve been listening to them while writing the rest of this newsletter. I’ve seen these guys dozens of times and they’re easily one of my favorite bands. I’d argue they’re one of the best live acts in music right now. Currently, my favorite song lyrically is No Hard Feelings. An awesome album is True Sadness and a great “get to know that band” playlist is here. Happy Listening!
Thanks for reading! Like or hate any part of this? Let me know! I really value your feedback.
Have a great week!
5 Things to Consider Archive 