BEHIND THE MIKE

Everybody likes a happy ending. Since there are a multitude of definitions of “happy ending,” I will attempt to take the high road for this week’s perspective.

We all want things to end well. When you take another’s hand in marriage and march through life side-by-side with someone you love, it’s cool to look up in your final moments and find your family encircling your death bed with a loving spouse who remained devoted to you for decades, and kids and grandkids that are, in fact, your progeny.

Happy endings are about more than sweet goodbyes. They are about endurance, fortitude, resolution, durability and strength during the challenging times.

Every life is laced with ups and downs. Every career is fraught with occasional defeats. Every business fails and fails before finally becoming success.

Every marriage is repeatedly tested by trials and tribulations, by what was meant to be. Every parent has faced the challenge of a child not always making the best decisions. Some people call these things grooves… others define them as a rut.

Talent only takes you so far. Your aptitude in business or your flair and capacity for stardom in life is going to be repeatedly greeted with potholes, dents and depressions that occasionally end in a rut… which is the result of an overused path. The rut becomes a grave with both ends kicked out.

When my beautiful grandchildren Ava, Ashley, Cameron and Keenan invade our house on the weekends, my belief in the human race is renewed by their enthusiasm, passion, fervor and zeal with life.

Spike (aka Keenan) and Yogi (aka Cameron) don’t see obstacles blocking their path. They themselves are their biggest obstacle. I actually think that obstacles are the definition of what they are searching for, i.e. a stepping stone.

The beauty and innocence of a three year old is they do not see obstacles. They see a step for growing or not growing, but most importantly they get to choose. Sometimes they make bad choices that I like to call “obstacle illusions.” If a road has no obstacles it probably does not lead anywhere.

Henry Ford once observed “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

The beauty of three year olds is they never take their eyes off a goal. They want something so badly that they hunger for it, battle for it, fight through it or work around it. They themselves are easily the biggest obstacles to their own happiness.

Happy endings are what we all hope for. It’s why the Cinderella story exists. It is what Horatio Alger was all about. It is why everyone pulls for a rags-to-riches ending.

Three year olds, in simple terms, want to turn the invisible into the visible. The only limit is their imagination and commitment. They stay committed to their goals, but as they grow older, they realize the limits of their abilities.

A three year old does not see failure; he only sees results. He understands there is always a way if he remains committed. The truth is, we don’t live in the information age, we live in the entertainment age. A three year old knows that.

Their favorite two words are “no” and “why.” If something doesn’t go Yogi’s way, says “no.” And if the challenge is greater than he expected, he resorts to “why.”

I am convinced that the greatest sales people alive today are grandchildren. I say get even with the parents! Give the grandkids everything they ask for. That is truly the happy ending they want.