New – Dave Glardon

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope your day is starting off well.

The other night, we were watching The Princess Diaries. Yes, it’s an old movie and yes, I’m a guy. But I think we established in yesterday’s post that I’m not overly macho. Any chest hair on this body was purely accidental, and it doesn’t have many neighbors.

There was a line in that movie that I wrote down, because I knew it would come in handy someday. I had no idea it would be so soon, or that it would be over something as simple as looking at a dinner menu. But, especially in the deep south, that can be an adventure in itself. “The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.” That was the line.

I thought about that as I looked over a menu in southern Louisiana that included everything from plain old cheeseburgers to a seafood platter full of stuff I can’t even pronounce. And I know from the few times my mom tried making Creole dishes, there’s a certain art to it. Let’s just say Mom was no artist. At least not in that regard. But dammit, she tried!

So, in Mom’s honor, I decided to sample some of the local cuisine. I asked the waitress for a recommendation and ended up with fried catfish and crawfish etouffee over rice.

For those who don’t know, etouffee is a French word for stew. And stew is an American word for “whatever we had sitting around.” In Creole country, etouffee simply means, “don’t ask.” But I didn’t come this far to eat cheeseburgers. You only live once. And you’re not really living if you never try anything new.

If you want my review of crawfish etouffee, you can skip to the end or just keep reading, because I really am hoping to make a point with this. You see, I’ve always been the guy who goes into the same restaurants and never looks at the menu, because I already know what I’m going to eat. If the chef wanted to poison me, they could plan it weeks in advance.

But when it comes to other things, I’ve always been a little more adventuresome. Especially on the job, I’ve never been afraid to try something new, to stretch my boundaries a bit, and raise my hand when everybody else is sitting on theirs. It’s served me well over the years, and I’ve seen some impressive career success that can’t be explained any other way.

Another quote that fits this topic is one you’ve heard from me before … to have something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done. It means stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new. And that’s scary. But if what you’ve been doing all these years was ever going to work, it would have already happened.

When we open our mind to new ideas, opportunities for success grow exponentially. We experience things we never knew and learn new skills we never imagined. Some of those skills and experiences are a bust. There are parts of every success that are as enjoyable as steamed Brussels sprouts. Yes, I’ve tried them. Many times.

But other things we thought we would never like become second-nature. After a while, we may even come to enjoy them. And some will become our favorite part of the journey. If you had told me forty years ago I would spend my life writing system requirements, I would never have given up drinking. But nobody else wanted to do it, so I did. And I positively love it.

Ask somebody to describe their dreams, and their eyes light up. We love sharing the things that excite us. And the more excited a person is about their dreams, the more likely they are to achieve them. Until you show them a way to do it, a way that isn’t exactly what they’d planned. “Yeah, I won’t be doing that!”

So, what’s more important … reaching your goal, or how you get there? You can always follow the same path everyone else is on, and it may lead you to your dreams. But odds are, if you try something the rest of them aren’t willing try, you’ll get there faster. And you may even get someplace better, someplace so amazing you’d never even dreamed of it.

My first bite of crawfish etouffee was a bit of a shock to the tastebuds. But the second bite was a lot more pleasant, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying a dish I would never have tried a few years ago. Most of all, I gained the courage to try something else new.

The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. Open your mind. Throw caution to the wind. Dreams await those who are willing to try something new. Are you?

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Follow @dglardon

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope your day is off to a great start.

On my personal page, I wrote a few days ago that it’s been 44 years since I left home for a career in the Navy. Lots of things I’ve forgotten about the 1970s, and for good reason. But I’ll never forget that day. In fact, if I think hard enough, I can probably remember something significant from every hour.

I joined the Navy to see the world and sail the seven seas. In my first four years, I saw Orlando, Memphis, and Key West, and the closest I came to sailing was getting drunk on my friend’s boat. In the second four years, though, I more than made up for it. My last cruise took me all the way around the world. Okay, the first half was in a plane, but it still counts.

At the 12-year mark, I traded in my sea legs for a tractor-trailer rig and spent the next year driving across 22 states. By the end of that first year, every truck stop I pulled into on the eastern half of the country, I remember thinking, “I’ve been here before.” More often than not, I was right.

We’ve been doing the RV thing, part-time, for just under six months. And already, we’re finding a lot of familiar scenery and a couple of favorite gas stations. On our next trip, we’re actually planning the first day to get us as far as a Cracker Barrel where we spent the night on a previous trip, simply because they have a parking space that fits our coach perfectly. Wow.

Thankfully, most of our trips have been to someplace different. This next trip, after we pass that Cracker Barrel, will be something new. Okay, we’ve been there before, but in a car and we stayed in a hotel, so that doesn’t count. And while we’re there, we’ll spend some time in our campground directory planning out the next trip. This is what it’s all about.

There’s something to be said for stability and knowing what each day will hold, but life should be an adventure. We should try different things, visit different places, make new friends, sample different cuisine. Says the guy who can go into any of ten different restaurants and never has to look at the menu because he always eats the same thing.

But every now and then, I shock my wife by ordering something different. Even the waitress is like, “Really???” Over the years, I’ve sampled all kinds of foods that a lot of people would never consider. Alligator, sushi, bison, frog legs, calamari, Spam … okay, that last one isn’t so exotic, but you’d sure think so the way some people react to it. Fried, of course. I’ll eat raw fish, but not raw Spam. That’s just gross.

The thing is, I enjoy a lot of things today simply because I was willing to give it a try. And there are things I’ll never do again, but at least I can speak from experience. There are places we’ve been that we never thought we’d care to see, and now we can’t wait to go back. Kansas isn’t one of them. Sorry. See one tumbleweed, you’ve seen ‘em all.

It’s that way with most things in life. When was the last time somebody offered you a chance to try something new, and you politely (or not so politely) passed? “No, that’s not something I’d enjoy.” Are you sure? I used to be scared of rollercoasters until I made myself get on one with my daughter. Now I’m the guy in the front seat, hands in the air, yelling, “Rock and roll!”

If you had asked me forty years ago what kind of business I’d like to be in, I’d have never given any thought to the business I’m in today. But in a time when workers are unemployed, stores are closing down, and entire industries are being decimated, I’m lucky to be in something that, so far, has proven resilient. And all because I said, “Sure – let me take a look.”

All through your life, opportunities will come your way. Some will be rather inconsequential, and some could be monumental. That’s not to say you should try everything somebody suggests, but if your default answer is always to shake your head and walk away, you’ll never experience anything beyond what you’re doing right now.

We started the week talking about habits. Recognizing opportunity is a matter of insight. Giving opportunity a fighting chance is a matter of habit. The people enjoying life to its fullest are those who are in the habit of saying, “Tell me more.” Be one of those people. Try new things and be open to new ideas. There’s a whole world out there waiting to be discovered.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Follow @dglardon

Tag: New

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