The Definition of the Attributes of “There” Has a Nice Rhythm to It, No?

Written By: Dr. Rich Houston, Director of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy

The other day I was inflating my tires prior to taking a ride. I put the valve cap on the ground in front of me on our exposed aggregate driveway. Please don’t think our driveway unmasks groups for who they really are—this is what I mean by exposed aggregate:

I reached the ideal level of pressure and looked carefully among the embedded pebbles for the cap but couldn’t find it; I concluded that either I lost it or it’ll turn up later and took a cap off another bicycle’s tire to replace it. I walked away and sat in a chair to put on my shoes. I glanced at my bike, and something caught my eye. The valve cap. It was right where I had looked. It’s likely I was too close to the problem to solve it, and taking a step back to gain perspective helped me see the answer. I have every item in this cartoon, which is a bit embarrassing.

I was nearing the end of my bike ride last Sunday and was about a half mile from home, focusing on beating the rain, when a song on my random playlist caught my attention. It was this beautiful Mamas and the Papas-ish harmony by the Lemon Twigs (2023). It took a second, but I realized that the lyrics consisted of repeating “Every day is the worst day of my life” for 3:25. What a classic example of a cry for help hiding behind a beautiful disguise that upon cursory attention becomes transparent. If you’re the observer, pay the cursory attention and, if you’re wearing the disguise and don’t want to reveal what’s underneath, how can anyone help?

If the line at the coffee drive-through causes you to think or say some unprintable variation of drat, go to a gas station or Jack’s to get a cup. You’ll do fine without foam, and you can throw in an elaborate biscuit and still save money.

What aspect of you will you have to overcome to be successful and be careful about how you define success.

We work so hard to plan how we’re going to get “there.” Perhaps it’s having the perfect job or best career, maybe it’s making a lot of money, or possibly it’s attaining the ideal balance between different parts of your life. Can you define perfect, best, a lot, or ideal? Me either. By the way, doesn’t “the attributes of there” sound like the title of a movie where you end up not understanding the ending?

Relatedly, chill out and be patient as, for the vast majority of you, your true talent or greatest gifts have yet to be revealed.*

It’s difficult to get to know a class when we don’t talk outside of it or if you don’t attend.

Does me listening to the Beatles seem to you like someone watching the Lawrence Welk Show seems to me?

Gather ‘round young people and heed this advice—never stop moving. Not in the benefit-a-real-estate-agent sense, but rather in the sense of doing some form of exercise consistently. It’s critical for remaining flexible and feeling good as you age which, believe it or not, you will. Don’t say I never told you. This song is absolutely not about exercise but I use it as motivation to get up and do something.

I’m launching another attack against the scourge of the exclamation point, so don’t think I’m not glad to hear from you or proud of your accomplishment! Update: I wrote that last sentence on Tuesday and it’s now Friday. I’ve been successful, but it’s so difficult! I’m paranoid that everyone I email or text thinks I’m depressed or not excited about what they have to say.

Thinking about how things would be had you taken a different path is a sucker’s bet. In such analyses, we often glorify the road not taken and overemphasize the potholes on the one we did.

Someone messaged me the other day and said:?“I finally stopped running and everything I wanted ended up right in front of me.” How great is that?

When we went on vacation last May, I deactivated the notification on my email app to make it my choice to see if I had any messages. I’ve never turned it back on and now know that the dopamine rush of seeing a number encased in red is not worth the anxiety created by seeing the number of messages and speculating about the contents.

Many of you comment that the accounting program is like a community. Within a strong community, people work together for the common good. So, realize that you are not competing with each other; in fact, success is more likely if you support each other instead of viewing others as rivals.

Put your past performance behind you and put all you have into today. If you’ve succeeded and you loaf today, you could lose what you’ve attained. If you’ve struggled and go all in now, it could change the trajectory of your life. Speaking of loafing:

*Make your own ending. Instead of “revealed”, you may substitute cultivated, honed, or recognized. I considered noticed and polished, but they got the axe.