A Letter from Chris suarez
DON’T “SLACK” OFF NOW!
Based on overuse, the word “innovate” may have lost some of its true meaning, but all of us are looking for change. If we aren’t looking for change somewhere in our life, it means we have settled.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
THE TRUE MEANING OF TIME
Humans love fresh starts and temporal landmarks. We look for certain days of the week or the month or the year to reset, to refocus, to recommit, and to recenter. We look at the year ahead as if we know exactly what we will do and when we will do it. As if we know exactly how much time we have for everything we want to accomplish. As a species we have an overall fascination with time - how we spend it, what we accomplish in it, what we can do with it, how to slow it down and speed it up.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
THE WORLD IS WIDE BUT LIFE IS DEEP
It is easy to keep adding to the list of things we want to see, want to complete, or want to experience. It is easy to keep adding to the list of places we want to go to, the list of people we want to meet, or the list of things we want to do and achieve. The world is incredibly wide.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
HOW TO HIT A HOME RUN
Over the past few months I’ve taken the opportunity to spend some time getting better acquainted with some historical figures that contributed to our world in meaningful but different ways. Each of them had a considerable impact on the world. Unfortunately each of them never experienced that impact as the world took note, recognized, acknowledged, or felt it only after their death.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
LESSONS LEARNED WHILE TRAPPED ON AN ISLAND
Every day I woke up and they were in control. It’s how I like it when on vacation. Vacation is for my family. In a world where I find myself being asked to make decisions almost every day, I love the opportunity to go an entire week without needing to have an opinion or make a decision.
A letter from Chris Suarez
IT'S LONELY AT THE TOP… AND THE BOTTOM.
There's a commonly used expression which has turned into a commonly held belief that “it is lonely at the top.” Some use that to indicate that as you grow and build and achieve, you will find yourself in a class of your own… But that thinking is limited and flawed.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
YOU HAVE MORE CONTROL THAN YOU THINK
Ultimately, we allow a day to decide how we feel. We allow a day to decide that we will spend time with family and loved ones. We allow a day to motivate us to let other people know how we feel about them through phone calls, messages, texts, and emails.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
A RUN THROUGH NEW YORK
There has always been something about New York that allows me to feel anonymous while being surrounded by millions of people. As I ran through the streets, at times weaving through groups of tourists, dodging the dog walkers, and ducking past the obligatory selfie-taker, there is something about being surrounded by other people, while being completely unknown.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
PERFECT 20/20 VISION
A few days later with the lenses in place, and glasses sitting squarely on my nose, a new crisp picture of the world came into view. What I thought looked perfectly fine before suddenly became crystal clear. It was almost shocking what I had settled into accepting for my vision.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT TRAIN?
There is something about traveling that excites us as humans. It’s the thought of seeing something new, meeting new people, creating new experiences. I’ve always been amazed how you can start the day on one coast and get off that same airplane on the opposite coast or an entirely different country or even continent just a few hours later.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
WHO HERE IS COMPETITIVE?
In those moments, it seems almost natural to begin to compare yourself to other people. We notice: How far they’ve come. Or perhaps more specifically how much farther I thought I’d be at this point. How much they’ve grown. Or perhaps more specifically how much larger I thought I’d be at this point.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
GO AHEAD, TEASE ME.
... I made good on my promise to take my daughter to a concert. The headliner started a bit after 9:30pm so I knew I’d be there for the evening.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
OUR LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH SPREADSHEETS
Over the past few weeks, we have been working on business planning for 2022, building budgets across all of our companies, and pouring over proforma’s. Needless to say, I’ve spent a few too many hours staring at Excel spreadsheets, figuring out formulas, and correcting those formulas. In most cases, I was able to get the spreadsheet cells to do what I wanted them to do. The spreadsheet definitely serves a purpose, but it also made me grateful to be able to work with people every day as well. My frustration with that spreadsheet led to a valuable leadership lesson.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
I 100% AGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT
Recently I have found myself using the expression “100%.”
Someone says something that I agree with and I answer with, “100%.”… Someone asks me if I am hungry and I answer with, “100%.”
A Letter from Chris Suarez
“VALID ID & REGISTRATION PLEASE”
While driving I was recently pulled over by a police offer. Now don’t ask any questions because that is not the point of this post, but no, I didn’t get a ticket. The officer asked me for a valid ID and registration. As opposed to my “invalid” ID that I usually carry around? As he brought back my license I couldn’t help but think about the word “valid”.
A Letter From Chris Suarez
WORK IS WORK
If we are willing to work hard in one area of our life, chances are, we are willing to work hard in all areas. Studies show that hard workers in the classroom end up working hard on the field, working hard at the office, working hard at home, working hard on themselves, working hard on their relationships.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
TAKE OUT YOUR SKETCHBOOK
My youngest has always loved art, but she started drawing in earnest about a month ago in a brand new sketchbook… This week she brought it to me, proud and excited to show me that she had filled every page of that book in just two weeks. She flipped through it with me page by page.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
Be Honest - We All Like A Little Country Music
A lesser known fact is that this guy, born and raised in New York, has always loved country music. And every so often there is nothing better than driving all day listening to some good country.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
WE NEED MORE FIREFIGHTERS
Fire fighters focus on the most dangerous parts of the fire and put more manpower or energy on controlling that specific area. They identify the hottest spots of the fire and they run towards it.
A Letter from Chris Suarez
DON’T FORGET THE PAST
If we forget the past, our laser focus on the future can cause us to forget the price we already paid for the lessons we have previously learned.