Happy Fourth of July! God bless America and God bless all those who have fought and still do fight to keep our great nation safe and strong.
Beaches, baseball, and barbecues… family, friends, and fireworks… missing loved ones and mournful remembrances…
The Fourth of July means many things to many people. I have wonderful memories of family vacations and backyard celebrations. And among my more vivid memories is seeing the movie Jaws for the first time in the summer of 1975.
I was a wide-eyed 11-year-old and this movie blew my little mind. I was instantly intrigued with sharks and began reading all about great whites. One fun fact that has stuck with me is that great white sharks would die if they stopped swimming, because they breathe via ram ventilation — literally ramming oxygen-rich water across their gills by swimming fast. This concept only added to my fascination of their machine-like existence, especially after hearing Matt Hooper plead with the mayor to close the beaches by telling him, “What we are dealing with here is a perfect engine — an eating machine. It’s really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks.”
Nearly 50 years later, I think of “ram ventilation” in BTL terms. Meaning, we must keep moving forward in all aspects of work and life, or we’ll die — figuratively, if not literally.
If we stop exercising, our muscles will atrophy. If we stop challenging our minds, we’ll lose focus and sharpness. If we stop filling our pipeline, our business will stagnate and shrink. And if we stop pouring into our relationships, they can wither away, as well.
Enjoy this holiday! Be safe!! Celebrate our independence and freedom!!! AND, as you reflect on our freedom and ALL that freedom affords us, take stock of what matters most to YOU. Write it down. Then ask yourself, “Am I moving forward? Am I feeding these gifts in my life, or have I stagnated? How’s my health? How’s my faith, my work, my dearest relationships? Are they thriving or are they withering, gasping for air? Finally, ask yourself, “What can I do TODAY to ram some oxygen-rich water over the gills of what matters most to me?”
Keep moving!
BUILT TO LEAD 