Movement. Balance. Growth.

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." (Albert Einstein)

I remember a Monday when I arrived at work following a major snow storm in the Denver, CO area. It was cold and I was loving life. Cold weather has always been a favorite of mine so I was feeling pretty good that morning. One of our customers came into the dealership mid-morning and informed us that the car we had let him take over the weekend had been totaled. We had seen that car on a flatbed tow truck just a few moments before he walked in but had not yet connected the dots. My good day very quickly deflated. Of course we were concerned about the driver and any others that may have been involved in the accident. he was fine and only one vehicle was involved in this accident. I don't remember all the details as it was quite awhile ago. I do know that there was a crash into a wall and then the car rolled several times down the highway. Modern vehicles are really amazing. So much damage to the exterior but only minor bruising and scrapes to the driver.

I had a conversation with my boss later the next day about the incident. There were many things we had done wrong with regard to a loaned car (paperwork) so the dealership and our insurance would be on the hook rather than the customer and his insurance company. We (my team and I) received a major chewing out later that day. I accepted full responsibility for the snafu with our paperwork and was fully prepared for whatever consequence followed. There were none, other than the yelling and cursing. My boss and I had a conversation a few days later where he did tell me that he was fully prepared to release me from employment with the company until he spoke with his boss (the owner) who said simply, "Did he (me) learn anything from this?" to which my boss replied, "yes", and then the owner replied, "Then we are done with the incident - if we and our employees are not learning from what happens here every day, then we have a problem and changes need to be made. We will pay the deductible, the insurance company will pay off the car, and we all move forward."

I have been grateful for the understanding of a seasoned employer and for the lesson learned every time I consider what might have been.

Movement. Balance. Growth.

Our son, Adam, was given a bicycle when he was 5 or 6 years old (I think.... possibly a little older) and he really wanted to learn how to ride that bike without training wheels. We didn't take them off until late in the summer because he needed to grow physically in order to ride safely. He did grow and the day finally came when we decided to give it a try without those training wheels. We worked for several days helping him to balance and try. I remember the day when he finally understood that he had to keep moving forward or he would fall. There was one thing lacking yet - he hadn't quite caught on to the trick to maintain balance. I finally realized that he had not been given the key to balancing on a bicycle and shared it with him quickly and quietly. "Adam, when you feel the bike starting to tip to the right turn the handlebars slightly to the right, when you feel the bike starting to tip to the left turn slightly to the left." He gave me a quizzical look but I could see him thinking about it and suddenly...the light bulb turned on and he understood. Forward momentum, turn toward imbalance, and the bike will right itself. It was fun to watch him ride for the rest of the afternoon with no training wheels and no tumbles.

I hope we all understand that we grow and learn the most when we are struggling or even failing. This is a lesson I have been learning repeatedly all my life. There is a quote attributed to Robert Kennedy that says, "Only those who dare to fail can ever achieve greatly." I believe this to be true.

Oprah Winfrey once said, "Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it."

Many of us, me included, let the distractions of life (family, entertainment, working for a living) get in the way of what we really want to do. Today is the time for me (you make your own choice) to take some risk. There are things I want to do. Now is the time to begin.

Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.