Thanks for shutting the door on me

I was thinking about gratitude recently, and naturally one's mind goes to thankfulness for all the great managers and colleagues that we have had in our professional lives - and to be clear, I am very grateful to all who have given me chances and opportunities throughout my career. Yet, at the same time it struck me that I am also grateful to those who directed me away from where I thought I should go; or who closed the door on me; or turned me down; and even to those who impacted me with their self-serving politics. I am thankful because I wouldn't be in such an amazing and fortunate place in my life if it wasn't for them too. Strange how things turn out, isn't it?!

And so follows my traditional story for this time of year, and as always, the credit goes to Dr. Steven Covey for this perennial favorite. Here's wishing you a wonderful and successful 2019:

'Big Rocks', paraphrased from Dr. Stephen R. Covey's 'First Things First':

One day an expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration which started as follows: 

The lecturer said, "Okay, it's time for a quiz."

Reaching under the table, he pulled out a wide-mouthed gallon jar and set it on the table next to a platter covered with fist-sized rocks. "How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?" he asked the audience.

After the students made their guesses, the seminar leader said, "Okay, let's find out." He put one rock in the jar, then another, then another, until no more rocks would fit. Then he asked, "Is the jar full?" Everybody could see that not one more of the rocks would fit, so they said, "Yes."

"Not so fast," he cautioned. From under the table he lifted out a bucket of gravel, dumped it in the jar, and shook it. The gravel slid into all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Grinning, the seminar leader asked once more, "Is the jar full?"

A little wiser by now, the students responded, "Probably not."

"Good," the teacher said. Then he reached under the table to bring up a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar. While the students watched, the sand filled in the little spaces left by the rocks and gravel. Once more he looked at the class and said, "Now, is the jar full?" "No," everyone shouted back.

"Good!" said the seminar leader, who then grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it into the jar. He got something like a quart of water into that jar before he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the jar is now full. Can anybody tell me the lesson you can learn from this? What's my point?"

An eager participant spoke up: "Well, there are gaps in your schedule. And if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life."

"No," the teacher said. "That's not the point. The point is this: If I hadn't put those big rocks in first, I would never have gotten them in."

*****

Again, wishing everyone success in reaching your goals and dreams in 2019!

Best regards

Simon