What is slow?
Have you ever met a person that always looks like a million bucks, someone that is always smiling, and happy, someone that just oozes confidence, and charisma? It’s interesting when you meet people like this. Sometimes you get to know them and you realize that underneath that polished exterior they are just as messed up as you and me and then you can see through the outward persona. But, sometimes, not often, but sometimes, you meet someone like that and they really are that person they seem to be, they are even humble and nice. Then you get to know them and you get the feeling they have a secret; something that they know that no one else knows (Now, hold that image).
Before I talk more about this I want to share some facts about my family:
I live in a very upscale neighborhood on the South End of Denver, Colorado. At one time I read in USA Today that my county had the highest mean average income of any county in the United States. My son, who is a freshman at the time I wrote the article, attends a very exclusive private school, the campus of the private school cost 90 million dollars to build. Since they opened the school 3 years ago they have won 2 state championships in football. I am telling you this, not to beat my chest, but highlight the kind of people and families that I am around every day of my life. My son plays two sports, Tennis and Wrestling. While watching my son compete this year in those two sports, I have met some very wealthy parents. Some of them own multiple car dealerships, some of them own mutual funds, some of them are Presidents and CEO’s of large corporations and some are small business owners. All of us have one thing in common. Our Pace of Life…
I believe that the pace of life today has never been faster. We all overbook our schedules with so much stuff that it is impossible to do any of it very well. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I have met some very charismatic parents at my son’s school, and most of them are mentally and physically tapped. They are always late to parent meetings, or the barely get their kids to events on time; they rarely have a pulse on the school calendar. I can guarantee that one topic of conversation with these parents will always be… Do you know what day such and such is going to happen? This is not a knock on them; I say this because this is just a sign of the times.
Okay back to the main topic – What is Slow?
Obviously, the lifestyle above is not slow. While I believe the parents at my son’s school represent the extreme end of fast, I also believe that this type of environment exists at every high school in the United States. We can all see this, if we stop for a second and watch.
While most of the people I meet fall into the extremely fast paced life style I mention above, I have also met a few other people that are different. You yourself know people like this. They are always the parent that knows the school calendar, they always have it together; they always look great, they are always happy, always helpful, there is just something a little more together about them. So what makes them so together? Are they just better than the rest of us? Are they smarter? Are they on some new Super Drug? How do they have time to do it all? The quick answer is they Get Slow!
How do you Get Slow?
In the past year I have met few people that have inspired me. I am going to use them as examples when I talk about Getting slow. The first thing you should know is that Slow is Fast! Growing up my father always told me that there are no short cuts. The fastest way to success is to do the work. Doctors get rich faster than the rest of us, by slowly getting more education. But in the end their salaries are fatter, faster than the rest of us.
This blog discusses the art of getting slow…