I was at my dad’s house a few months ago. I was sitting in his kitchen. The light was pouring in through the 1980’s venetian blinds. They were showing their age with some of them perfectly lined up letting light in, and the few that were broken holding their closed state interrupting the perfect pattern that my o.c.d. nature likes. My dad pours me a cup of cold coffee, places it in the microwave, and hits 30 seconds. While he’s preparing the coffee, we chat about the latest things. I share with him some of the things I’m up to. He opens the microwave, pulls out my steaming, reheated, Foldgers coffee, and carefully carries it to the table trying to avoid spilling because he filled it just a little too much hoping that I’ll stay longer if I have more coffee to drink. I’d stay anyways, but I’m flattered. He sits down across from me with the light shining on his face, his hand gently grabs his coffee mug with his palm on the cup, and his signature middle and ring finger going through the handle, and slowly bringing the other hand to hold the other side. He lifts it to his lips with a bit of a tremble, takes a sip, and lowers it at the same speed. He looks at me, and he says “I was worried about you Matthew. I can’t believe you did it.” While referring to me making a living off of photography. We continue to chat, and he says “You have vision.” He says it in a way that shows he’s proud, because he didn’t see it. I smile inside, and accept my father’s way of showing he’s proud of me.
The truth is I always think big. I’m the guy who pays parking tickets late, checks the mailbox every two weeks, and plans parties 8 days beforehand. My mind is just somewhere else. I love to create, think of big ideas, and collaborate with people. I never thought I’d be a business owner. I just wanted to create, and collaborate. But now I actually find creativity in owning a business, and how planning and hard work allows me more freedom to be more of who I am, and do more of what I love. I am in this for the long haul.
This is a vlog of a trip I made to Calgary June 7-9. I do quarterly planning with a company called Measurable Genius. I wanted to share a little bit into the behind the scenes of my life. This basic task of setting goals based on values, and then planning down to a three month window has really made a huge impact on my life, and I know my customers gain from it.
Thank you Alexander Ford and the Measurable Genius team. I’ll see you in 3 months.
