This time of year, we tend to think about costumes. Who would we like to be? What hero - or villain - can we portray? It's intriguing, admittedly, to dream of being someone else. Given a universe to choose from...Who might we be?
No costume for me, this year. After a busy decade building a business -- and a year that needs no commentary -- I am getting back to ME.
It's taken some soul-searching, but I have decided there is no one that I would rather be. It is far to0 easy these days, with social media, to fall in to a comparison trap. And comparison truly is the thief of joy.
I have decided that the only person I am comparing myself to is...the best version of myself. That is my costume this year. The man in the mirror. It is the only comparison I choose to make, these days.
I admit it: I have slipped a bit. Fifteen years building a business. It's not easy. Fitness and health have taken a backseat these past five years. I have told myself that clients and/or employees have come first. I have gotten a bit complacent and comfortable with my "success"...when I know I can be even better.
I have even let my personal style be swayed by what people expect, what seems to be "Palm Springs fabulous", or what I see in magazines.
So, I am re-committing to being my best self and my authentic self -- so that I can show up at my best for my family, my clients, and my Dream Team.
I am picking up the weight set. I am putting down the martini. I am setting the alarm clock and getting out the drafting paper. I am reading the books.
That is my re-commitment to myself and to you, this year. To get back to ME. To turn inward. After all, when we do not go within...we go without.
Another way of saying it is expressed in the verse of a song...
I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me.
- Charlene, lyrics by Kenneth W Hirsch / Ronald N. Miller
To any new faces around here, and even those "old" ones, please allow me to say "Welcome, friends!"
I’m the kid drawing floor plans and furniture designs in middle school, who spent weekends touring model homes with his mom, and preferred art class over little league.
I loved markers, a fresh stack of paper, and rulers. I still do. I was embarrassed about that, once. But no longer. What made me different back then, what made me not-so-cool...is exactly what people hire me for today. It is the reason my name is on a building. And, wow, that makes me all-kinds-of-tingly just thinking about it.
My mom, before she died, actually said to me, "Don't sell your name." Not exactly the normal sort of motherly advice. But Moms always know, don't they?
Thank you, Mom. And I miss you.
So, hello, again. I'm Christopher. You can call me CK.