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I am planning to leave for a few days on a business trip and I am hectically planning for this event. Because my mind has been in this endeavor I think I’ll change the format of today’s newsletter. It will equate to more of a blog and hopefully you will like it. At the end of the newsletter you will be treated with a nice special offer. Now don’t peek. (I have a way of knowing if you skip to the end). I sat down the other day to write a few things and here is what surfaced. It is quite interesting what comes out when you just start pounding the keyboard. You should try it. Torn Pants When I was a kid my mom used those iron-on denim patches to mend my pants that I was always destroying. It didn’t matter whether it was baseball, football, basketball, dodgeball or tetherball I managed to mangle my clothes. As long as a ball was involved, I was there. Can you still buy those patches? I’m not sure whether people have so much money today and don’t mend pants or the kids don’t play hard enough to tear their jeans. My friend Malin and I played “Home Run Derby” hours on end in his corral. I’m sure I stepped in my share of “cow pies”. We fought over who would be Mickey Mantle. I usually won because I was bigger than Malin. That was just part of being a boy growing up in the 60’s. My first skate board was made by nailing the wheels from a pair of roller skates onto an old 2X4. If we were lucky we could just straighten the rusty nails that we found in the 2x4. My skateboard wasn’t great but it worked well on a steep hill. The asphalt made for excellent brakes. This is where the sew-on patches were essential. When I wore holes in my shoes, off to the cobbler they went. It was a little embarrassing but money was tight and besides all of the other kids had to deal with this as well. By the way – what ever happened to the shoe repair shops? Do they exist any longer? I have to admit I miss the aroma of leather and polish that filled the air in the little shop. When did the kids quit playing “Cowboys and Indians”? Perhaps it’s because of “Political Correctness” they aren’t allowed to play “Cowboys and Indians”. Heaven forbid if someone were to be offended. Hummmm, we even used cap guns as we ran around like, well - Cowboys and Indians. I remember having to be called into the house by mom several times before I would finally relent and go inside. I knew the next command would be issued by my father who could back it up with a brown leather belt. Before anyone calls CPS, be advised that my dad is now 82 and probably wouldn’t remember that far back. Or if he did he would say “so what”. Actually the brown belt rarely had to be employed. Maybe as a kid I wasn’t brilliant but I did have a very good memory. Once I had a turn with the brown belt, I was a believer. I especially remember dad saying “this will hurt me more than it will hurt you”. Sorry Dad, you were wrong on that one - but I got the idea. And you know what – I think I turned out ok. Thanks dad for being a man and treating me like one. I think too many people missed that lesson. Don’t let others hold you back. Success begins from within. I cringe when I hear someone say “I can’t”. We have two grandkids that are just learning to walk. It inspires me when I see them continue to get up every time they fall. If either one of them thought “I can’t”, they would never walk. When we started this business approximately 16 years ago I really didn’t know where it would go. I did know however that I wouldn’t listen to anyone who told me “you can’t”. I know for a fact there were people who wanted us to fail because they didn’t want anyone to do better than them. Please don’t listen to the nay-sayers because they will probably always wallow in their mediocrity. You were born to be great. You were born to do great things. The resources today are so much better, faster and cheaper than they were in the time frame alluded to in today’s stories. Success takes time but it can be done more quickly and more easily today than in any time in the history of the human race. (I almost wrote – “in the history of mankind”, but those letters……..). When horses race they can become overly excited and therefore have blinders placed on them so they are not distracted. Business is in a sense a race, although more a marathon than a sprint. We need to put on our own blinders so we are not distracted and therefore stumble as we move down the track. In the film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart says to Ingrid Bergman, “Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world”. Remove the small things that really don’t matter a “hill of beans”. I’m still not sure what I’ll do when I grow up, but whatever it is I will have fun doing it. And the journey will be strewn with laughter and fun surrounded by those I love. Oh yeah – the special. The Anfora is a great pouring bottle that looks awesome and is very functional for vinegars and oils. We have a super special that won’t last long so check it out at: www.sunburstbottle.com/new-items?search=ANF Also we just received a beautiful 700 ml bottle from Italy that many of you will really like. It’s called the NORY and can be seen right here: Have a great day! Until the next Message In A Bottle ... ….. here’s to your success Dennis Gibson |
Message In A Bottle - Torn Pants