~*~*~
You spend most of your life at work - love what you do
Many of you "know" Matt-Man only by what he writes. You know he works at the beer mine. You know he's a smart ass. What you may not know is that he has held some pretty phenomenal jobs - jobs that came with HUGE amounts of responsibility and "corporate politicking." Matt-Man does what he does because he loves doing what he's doing. He made a conscientious decision to work in an environment that he enjoys being in.
How many of us go to a job every day that we really don't like, allowing it to negatively impact the parts of our life we do like because we limit our views of what "successful" means?
No matter what you do, do your best
I watched Matt-Man in action at the beer mine. His performance was as well choreographed as the Bolshoi Ballet. Customers came in, were helped promptly and efficiently, then pulled out and were on their way. The beer mine could just as easily be a cluster-fuck if it weren't for the fact that Matt-Man takes pride in what he does.
How many of us do what we have to do and nothing more, or expect to be recognized in some grandiose way when we actually do go above and beyond?
Everyone wants to feel special
I don't care if you are eating dinner at a fancy-schmancy restaurant, or driving through the beer mine, you want to feel special. There is nothing like knowing that someone remembers you or is going out of their way to offer you great service. Matt-Man sees his customers coming before they ever drive in, often having their "regular" order ready for them before they even stop inside.
How many of us wait for someone to ask us for something even when we know what they want or need instead of being proactive and allowing them to feel special because we were thinking of only them in that moment?
Nice is a choice
There was a customer who came into the beer mine while I was there who wanted a bag of ice. He asked what was available - 8 lb and 25 lb bags. He asked for an 8 lb bag convinced the 25 lb wouldn't fit in his cooler. Matt-Man brought him an 8 lb bag and gave him his total. The man then decides he needs a second 8 lb bag. I'd have rolled my eyes while mumbling some "mother-fucker"'s under my breath, but not Matt-Man - he chose to be nice.
How many of us make a situation worse for all involved by making the choice to to be nasty instead of making the choice to be nice?
It doesn't matter how much you've got if you're not willing to share
I spent less than two days at the Bagwine abode, but felt like I belonged there from the minute I walked through the door. Matt-Man and Schmoop shared their home with me - nothing was off limits - not even Kelly.
How many of us find ourselves holding on so tightly to what we have that we miss the opportunity to feel gratitude and appreciation from others?
It doesn't matter how fast you want to go, there is always road construction
There were a few times during my trip that I found myself with my foot on the brake pedal more often than it was on the gas pedal (What the hell are they doing in Indianapolis? Building another bridge to nowhere??) Life is kind of like that some times - we want to go fast - reach the goal - but something we hadn't planned on stops us dead in our tracks. We can either spend that time looking at things we would have missed had we sped by, or we can wallow in the fact that it is taking too much time to reach our destination.
How many of us get so caught up in how fast we think we should be going that we neglect to appreciate where we are right now?
So yeah ... some of you are going to get tired of the Matt-Man and Schmoop love fest here, but I walked (drove) away from this weekend with quite a bit of insight into some things I wasn't expecting to gain any insight on, and I think there are some really good life lessons to share.
You spend most of your life at work - love what you do
Many of you "know" Matt-Man only by what he writes. You know he works at the beer mine. You know he's a smart ass. What you may not know is that he has held some pretty phenomenal jobs - jobs that came with HUGE amounts of responsibility and "corporate politicking." Matt-Man does what he does because he loves doing what he's doing. He made a conscientious decision to work in an environment that he enjoys being in.
How many of us go to a job every day that we really don't like, allowing it to negatively impact the parts of our life we do like because we limit our views of what "successful" means?
No matter what you do, do your best
I watched Matt-Man in action at the beer mine. His performance was as well choreographed as the Bolshoi Ballet. Customers came in, were helped promptly and efficiently, then pulled out and were on their way. The beer mine could just as easily be a cluster-fuck if it weren't for the fact that Matt-Man takes pride in what he does.
How many of us do what we have to do and nothing more, or expect to be recognized in some grandiose way when we actually do go above and beyond?
Everyone wants to feel special
I don't care if you are eating dinner at a fancy-schmancy restaurant, or driving through the beer mine, you want to feel special. There is nothing like knowing that someone remembers you or is going out of their way to offer you great service. Matt-Man sees his customers coming before they ever drive in, often having their "regular" order ready for them before they even stop inside.
How many of us wait for someone to ask us for something even when we know what they want or need instead of being proactive and allowing them to feel special because we were thinking of only them in that moment?
Nice is a choice
There was a customer who came into the beer mine while I was there who wanted a bag of ice. He asked what was available - 8 lb and 25 lb bags. He asked for an 8 lb bag convinced the 25 lb wouldn't fit in his cooler. Matt-Man brought him an 8 lb bag and gave him his total. The man then decides he needs a second 8 lb bag. I'd have rolled my eyes while mumbling some "mother-fucker"'s under my breath, but not Matt-Man - he chose to be nice.
How many of us make a situation worse for all involved by making the choice to to be nasty instead of making the choice to be nice?
It doesn't matter how much you've got if you're not willing to share
I spent less than two days at the Bagwine abode, but felt like I belonged there from the minute I walked through the door. Matt-Man and Schmoop shared their home with me - nothing was off limits - not even Kelly.
How many of us find ourselves holding on so tightly to what we have that we miss the opportunity to feel gratitude and appreciation from others?
It doesn't matter how fast you want to go, there is always road construction
There were a few times during my trip that I found myself with my foot on the brake pedal more often than it was on the gas pedal (What the hell are they doing in Indianapolis? Building another bridge to nowhere??) Life is kind of like that some times - we want to go fast - reach the goal - but something we hadn't planned on stops us dead in our tracks. We can either spend that time looking at things we would have missed had we sped by, or we can wallow in the fact that it is taking too much time to reach our destination.
How many of us get so caught up in how fast we think we should be going that we neglect to appreciate where we are right now?
~*~*~
13 comments:
Wow...you are too kind, Dana. That was an incredibly nice post. Wow, I don't know what to say.
Schmoop and I were just being ourselves, and more importantly, the two of us we're happy that you felt comfortable enough to be yourself while staying with us. Thanks Dana. Cheers!!
Everyone needs to work in a service industry at least once in their lives - it fosters a new respect for how hard people work in those jobs (waiters, beauticians, fast food employees, sales associates, etc.). It helps one get over the "my shit doesn't stink" attitude.
The person that honors his/her host honors themselves....
Good post Dana!
...quite the well-constructed and enlightening post...bravo!!...
Matt-Man, you know, you do much better when people call you an asshole than when people applaud the good stuff. I'm so glad *I'm* not that way! :)
Evil Twin's Wife, it's really not the "my shit doesn't stink" issue - we have no control over the crappy attitudes of others - but more the taking the high road when society doesn't demand it, let alone expect it.
Joker_SATX, honor is such a powerful word - and a powerful action.
Phfrankie Bondo, one of the things I like about road trips is that they give me lots of "quiet brain" time to think and to - hopefully - work on some stuff that sometimes is too easy to ignore.
Excellent post Dana...dang, when you come to Memphis I might have to include massages and spa treatments!
Vinny "Bond" Marini, why? Are you thinking my post blogger meet-up review can be swayed by gifts?? Not a chance!
Looks like you had a nice trip.
Awesome post. I think you made Matt-Man blush.
i love this post.
made me smile...over and over again as i read it.
what a wonderful outlook and experience.
Great post. Now I want to go visit Matt-Man! :)
Are you sure???? LOL
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