Three Things I Love

This week, I returned from a week-and-a-half-long business trip.

I love to travel but these few days away from my family and the business got it “out of my system” for a while.

I left on an early (!) morning flight, flew from Greensboro, NC to Washington Dulles airport, then to Toronto to discover my luggage “was misplaced”. This is always a fun thing to find out, especially when you’re waiting to go through customs and immigration. For the process, you have to retrieve your bags so that you can physically take them “across the border”, then you put them back into the conveyor belt system of the airport. Once I filled out paperwork that I was crossing the border without my missing luggage, I got on another flight to go to New Brunswick. It was a long day of travel.

I enjoyed several days meeting with clients, family and friends. My suitcase miraculously reappeared when I arrived in Moncton. Great news!

It’s a rare opportunity to meet face-to-face with clients that live 1500 miles away. And it proved the old sales adage that when you meet with clients that will give you work — if you ask for it. I returned with lots of notes and paperwork to get lots of work started.

I traveled back to North Carolina by way of Dallas because I taught a marketing class for a National Certification program for Consultants in Arlington, TX.

I was finally headed home on an overloaded jet. It’s interesting that the airlines charge for luggage and snacks now. Yet, they all seem baffled by the amount of food that’s carried on (and the garbage that they have to collect when they’re checking that our seat belts are fastened). They also seem exasperated that so many travelers are carrying on suitcases, garment bags, shopping bags and briefcases. Surprise! No room anywhere on the flight — except for the now empty luggage compartment underneath us.

We had to wait quite awhile on the tarmac before taking off — so I met the gentlemen sitting next to me. He was getting back from a job interview and he explained that he doesn’t get to fly much. When he heard about my flight schedule, he asked incredulously, “Why do you do it? I suppose it’s the pain of owning your own business.”

It got me to thinking. Why do I do it? If I dwelt on the negatives, I’d not be a very good husband, employer or business owner.

I do all I do, because of three loves.

1. I love my clients. I genuinely care for each person I do work for. I know them personally and in business. I want them to succeed and I want them to live a fulfilling life. Life is far to short to deal with horrible people. Even in frustrating exchanges, I remind myself that I love these clients.
2. I love the work I do. It always surprises me how many people I meet that don’t like what they do. Some polls put it close to 60% that really don’t like what they do. That’s not me. I get up each morning, go to the gym, and find myself thinking about the day. With anticipation. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I’m a round peg in a round hole.
3. I love the results. I think this is the raison d’être of the last point. Each day I see results that I help generate for the clients I love. And when I think about it, every job has positive outcomes. Sure, there are some negatives — but I choose to dwell on the positives. Marketing and branding works. It gives the most results for the time and money. I believe it. It drives me.

Why do you do what you do? Perhaps you aren’t getting the results you want. We’d love to help you. I’d also love to hear what drives you. Tell me. Why do you do what you do?