walkin’ in Memphis (and adjusting on the fly) (February 22, 2021)

It’s time to kick Monday’s ass…

Hello from sunny-still-snowy Memphis (holla if you’re nearby!).

Let’s talk about driving on ice and snow. For most of my friends in the Southern US, that was a new or unfamiliar experience as a hard freeze blew in and took out all of Texas last week.

I’d had my trip to Memphis planned for over a month by the time “moving day” rolled around. A lot of my friends and family were understandably worried about me being on the road given the state of things.

Unfortunately I had a hard check-out time at my place in NOLA. And with so many people checking into hotels just for a chance to get warm, I knew the likelihood of me being able to adjust my plans was very slim. So I did what I had to… which meant hitting the road for the 6-ish hour drive to Memphis, even though things were still icy and unpredictable.

There were points along the way where the line of cars and trucks stretched for miles, all of us crawling along at 10-20 miles an hour. That was because there were large stretches of highway where only the right-hand lane had been cleared of snow and ice… and the left-hand lane had not yet melted.

Every once in awhile, someone would get impatient, jump into the icy lane and try to floor it. They’d immediately fishtail, or struggle to maintain control as the ice flew up and beat against their undercarriage. I even saw one spin out and wind up stalled out, facing the wrong direction. Another such impatient person damn near sideswiped me as they moved to overtake me. Thank the powers that be my mom taught me to “watch out for the other guy”.

Thankfully Stella and I made it, and are none the worse for the wear. Added perk: we have power, and this new Airbnb is not nearly as drafty as the old (and beautiful but COLD) place in NOLA.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what got us here… it wasn’t that my car’s outfitted for cold (it’s a tiny red Kia – it’s totally not). It’s not that I had chains or winter tires or any particular skill with driving on the ice (I’m from south Texas – I assure you I don’t have any of those things).

It was patience and preparation, in a nutshell.

I left early, knowing I’d probably be going slow for a portion of the drive (and that I wanted to arrive before the sun set and the roads froze over again). I went slowly and followed the path that’d been cleared vs trying to forge my own… even when it felt like it was plodding and I’d NEVER arrive because DEAR GOD CAN THIS LANE MOVE ANY FREAKING FASTER?

There are a lot of parallels between this and building a business. Sure, there are people with experience who are equipped to drive in the icy lane. They probably made it where they were going just fine (and much faster than me).

But I started this trip knowing what I was working with (namely, a tiny little loaded down car, and myself as an inexperienced winter driver) and deliberately slowed things down. As a result, I knew that barring a freak accident I’d get where I was going… and I did, with an hour of daylight left! Plenty of time to unload my car before dark.

To sum up: don’t worry about the people who are impatient and need to go fast. Some of them are prepared to go fast. Some aren’t and will wind up paying the price for their impatience. You go at your pace… get there when you get there. The payoff is still the payoff – but the cost of rushing things (or judging yourself for not going fast enough) could be high.

And now, let’s jump into this week’s video…

Kick Monday’s Ass: Adjusting to a New Kind of Normal

 

Preparedness is a virtue – we know this because we hear it from all corners… Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and folks who are getting their bunkers ready for the end of the world (no shade intended, also can I crash with you?). However, at some point you’ve gotta just do the damn thing, and adjust as you go.

When I set out on this business building/digital nomad journey back in November, it was with a car so packed full of shit that it was ridin’ reaaaaaaaaal low. Now, three months in, I’ve got the packing down to a science. Here’s how I learned to tell the difference between need-to-have and nice-to-have (and what it means for you and your business)…

Badass of the Week

I’m a little biased because I’m from Texas and grew up with H-E-B grocery stores… so this week I’m stoked to share my love of H-E-B with the world.

When Texas (and really all of the US) was slammed with a brutal hard freeze last week, their infrastructure could not handle it. Most of the state was without power or water last week. Of course, as the storm moved in many moved to stock up on essentials… which led to a bunch of them being in line at the store when the power went down.

The store had every right to apologize profusely for something that was obviously beyond their control, and deny their customers the needed supplies.

Instead they took the long-game approach, understanding that many would seriously suffer if they couldn’t get these groceries home and weather the storm… so they let people walk out with their groceries after the power took out their payment system.

With that one move, sure they ate a big chunk of change – but the business and loyalty they’ll get from that one act of big-picture, people-centric thinking? It’s going to pay dividends.

(If you know someone who should be featured as my Badass of the Week, leave a comment and tell me!)

On Repeat This Week…

 

This one’s called Cold by Evans Blue.

Purely inspired by the fact that it’s freakin’ freezing this week. We’re far from comfortable this time.

Prepare to throw up the horns, rock out, and revisit my early college years with all its associated angsty nostalgia.

Cold, but I’m still here, blind, ‘cause I’m so blind, say never
We’re far from comfortable this time
Cold, now we’re so cold, mine, and you’re not mine, say never
We’re far from obvious this time

Wait, another minute here, time will kill us after all
Now can you feel its second hand wrapped around your neck
So fall into my eyes and fall into my lies
But don’t you forget
The more you turn away, the more I want you to stay