Early Success is a Poor Teacher
“Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn’t always have to be their top priority.” – William Arthur Ward
A long-time friend (Dan) and I were recently having coffee together, and we chatted about many different things. In fact, we had planned for just 30 minutes, but more than an hour later, we were still deeply engaged in our conversation.
Dan made a comment that landed with me when he reminded me about a business he launched while in his early 30s.
“Jimmie, I still think about the automobile shop I started 20 years ago. If you remember, it was going so well that I opened several shops here in town. There was a point I was making more money that I could spend.”
I responded … “Yeah, I do remember. You and Beth were traveling all over the world and in First Class!”
Dan continued … “Little did I know that this early success was going to be a poor teacher. It did not take long for these quick riches to inflate my ego. The downfall was when I stopped caring about my customers, and bankruptcy was my only choice.”
Early Success
Obviously, there is nothing wrong with having success, whether it comes early or late.
However, Dan’s point related to taking things for granted when they come so easily.
This conversation reminded me about my college officiating career. I was hired to work in the Big 8 Conference (prelude to the Big 12) at the age of 22. In fact, I climbed the ladder so fast that I skipped the high school and small college ranks.
I still remember walking on the floor for my first ESPN game featuring Wisconsin at Texas Tech. There was no doubt that this level of competition was more than I could handle.
Over the years, I was able to make some adjustments that kept me in the league, but my ego didn’t help any. The early officiating success made me think that I was a superior referee, which I clearly was not.
In other words, moving up the ranks this fast was a poor teacher for me. One notable downside of advancing this fast was that I closed-off learning opportunities. I felt that others should be learning from me instead.
Yes … in just a few years, I plateaued. While I continued to work collegiate games for 25 years, I eventually made my way to the bottom of the barrel, which led to my retirement.
Going Forward
What has changed?
Since 2010, I have slowly become more involved with our parish, and I have learned about humility and respect for others from my Sisters and Brothers.
The benefit is that I am no longer leading with ego and pride. While I still care about career excellence, I find it just as important, if not more, to serve others.
As Dan and I ended our friendly conversation, he said:
“I’m glad we met today, my friend. In a way, you are my accountability partner, reminding me of what is most important in my life.”
Interestingly, I had the same feeling about our get-together.
Inspiring Quotes
“Priorities over conveniences.” – Jatain Neha
“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” – Stephen Covey
Homework Inquiry
During the next week, here’s your homework inquiry: How will you spend time on priorities that really matter to you?
I use this opportunity to share with you a unique story and a couple inspiring quotes. Oh ... as a professor at heart, you guessed it, I have a homework inquiry for you. This is a powerful question that might just trigger you to take action on something that really matters in your life. If you feel the Catalyst Newsletter brings benefit to you.