I told the team my plan, so now we wait…
[Specific names kept private, added notes and elaboration are italicized…]
Monday, February 22nd, 2021 8:46a NS4L Office
Jesus,
I thought Friday’s meeting went pretty well with the team. I’m sure lots of internal conversations are happening behind my back [I didn’t mean this in a negative way], so I just pray over those. Afterward, [team member] came to me and expressed interest in scaling the business down and keeping it alive. I pray your blessing over the exploration of that idea. I told him that if [the business broker] was unsuccessful with selling it, I would certainly consider it.
[As leaders, we tend to build things up more in our heads more than we need to. I wasn’t looking forward to the conversation with my team, but it wasn’t that bad. Sure, there were some questions, but for the most part, the team knew things weren’t headed in a great direction. They weren’t blind to everything happening in the world.
I was also pleased that some team members thought it was worth it to keep New Scooters 4 Less alive. It meant something to me that they saw value in it and wanted to fight for its survival. New conversations arose about moving the business, scaling it down, etc.]
I’m afraid that the month of March will be the longest one yet. Waiting to see how these options play out. Having faith that they will play out exactly how you want them to. I woke up not thrilled about the business day. I was so fulfilled spending time with my family. I crave more quality time like that. I enjoyed spending the entire day at Busch Gardens with them on Saturday and then just hanging out at the house with mom, Harper, Scarlett [my nieces], Shannon, and the boys. (My dad was working and I know he wished he could have been there too.) Beautiful weather. Beautiful time with one another. Thank you. Please bless us with more quality time like that.
[So many blessings came out of the pandemic for me, but this was the greatest. Time with family. The busyness of work and extracurricular activity schedules vanished and there was more time for meals at the dinner table and freedom to take weekend trips. We were gifted Busch Gardens season passes and we definitely got so much value out of them.]
Help me wrap my head around this day, this month. May I be more present. May I be filled with excitement in exploring this idea with [team member]. May you set the direction and I follow. Thank you for supportive family. Thank you for all the gifts you have put in my life. Thank you for the emotion on last Friday morning. Thank you for the breath in my lungs this morning. Thank you for my health. Thank you for the health of my family. I love you.
Collin
P.S. I got to speak to Mr. Allan yesterday. He doesn’t get to see Mrs. Doreen often. I pray for them LORD. I pray they have found you. I pray they will get to see each other soon. [These were my “English Grandparents.” We met them when we moved to Littleport, Ely, England when I was a child and my dad was in the Air Force. They were our next door neighbors and became life long friends. By this stage in their life, due to their medical needs, one was living in assisted living and the other at home. Both have now passed, but both played such an important role in my life. I miss them dearly. Also… hearing that they had to be apart from one another at the end of their life is just another reminder to never take the time we get with our loved ones for granted. I know that was hard.]
Today’s final thoughts…
What are we doing? Why did it take a pandemic for people to make family a priority? Why do we go through life being a slave to the worldly things and the poor decisions we make? Deeps amount of debt (often to buy things to impress people). Unsustainable work hours with no clear boundaries. “Me first” mentalities.
Why don’t we realized that freedom is gained when we put God first and when we realize that we are stewards of what is His (finances and family, for example). The more time I spend with God, the more time I have for everything else. I used to say, “I don’t have time” like most, but when I made time for Him, amazing things started to happen. My eyes were opened to new ways of doing business and life (God’s way). I started working LESS - sticking to a 9:30a - 5:30p Monday through Friday schedule, no working on weekends (intentionally leaving my laptop at work), no working on holidays and taking an average of one month off per year - and the company became MORE profitable.
My goal is freedom. Financial freedom and freedom to work on whatever I feel called to by God and when God wants me to. I don’t want to be the creator of my own prison. Unfortunately, too many people have created their own prisons. It’s time to get out by surrendering it all to God and making appropriate steps to live this life according to His Word.
Matthew 6:33 ESV But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
A few pics from this time in 2021…
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