Weekend Words - "Ooh, Ooh, Jerry's"

       When I began working at McShea over 24 years ago, I always went to the Jerry’s Subs and Pizza across the street from our office. A guy named Bill was the owner, and he would always greet me and make me feel at home. His staff, led by Jenn at the cash register, greeted everyone with warm smiles and friendly voices. McShea was just starting to get off the ground at this point, and we were all working extremely hard to find new business. I always looked forward to my trips to Jerry’s (and my favorite 6” tuna salad sub) because it offered me a respite from long hours of cold calling prospective clients.

       When things really started taking off at McShea, I stopped eating at Jerry’s as often. I spent more time eating at fancier restaurants, celebrating successful deals with my clients and my coworkers. It didn’t help that McShea moved our corporate headquarters to a nicer building on the other side of town.

       Fast forward quite a few years to 2009: the economy had tanked and it seemed like the good times had ended and might never come back. Struggling to drum up business in the midst of a terrible recession, I was reminded of the old days. One day I wandered back over to the Jerry’s where I had eaten so often. I was shocked to walk in and see Bill and Jenn behind the counter, and many of the other staff members from all those years ago. It felt like I had stepped backwards in time. I visited with them while I ate and learned that Bill had put two kids through college and had an 18-year-old who was a heck of a basketball player at a local high school.

       I left feeling grateful and refreshed. I had a feeling that Jerry’s might bring me good luck during the tough times, as it had all those years ago. Hey, I’m superstitious. I was a football coach; it’s in the job description. And I had experienced good luck at Jerry’s in the past. Once while I was eating lunch a newly-licensed teenage driver in her brand-new BMW lost control and crashed straight through the front of the restaurant. I jumped out of the way, and her car absolutely demolished the booth where I had been sitting. Miraculously (and luckily!) no one was hurt.

       Sure enough, as I started eating at Jerry’s again my luck turned around, to the point where I was McShea’s top-producing broker for the fourth quarter of last year.

      People like Bill, Jenn and the rest of the staff are what make this country great. Working at Jerry’s is the kind of job people often make fun of – or use to threaten their children. Did your parents ever tell you if you didn’t go to college you would end up asking people, “Do you want fries with that?” But these employees show up and do their jobs with a great attitude and a smile, all while working for a better life for their kids. They take pride in what they do and genuinely care about their customers. They are my idea of an American success story.

       I recommend you visit Bill, Jenn and the rest of the staff at the Jerry’s on Quince Orchard Road. I don’t know whether your luck will change, but at the very least you’ll get some great service and great food. (Try the tuna salad!)

Have a great weekend,

Ro

Delayed Weekend Words

Hi everyone,
     I apologize for not getting my Weekend Words post up on Friday. Unfortunately the recent snowstorm left several members of the Words of Encouragement staff (myself included!) without power for several days. But we're all back up and running now.
     Check back on Monday for our belated Weekend Words post.

Thanks,
Ro

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Younger Next Year

     We're a few weeks into the new year. Many of us made New Year's resolutions, and many of us have broken those resolutions by now. It seems like the perfect time for me to recommend a book that encourages people to live healthier lives - not just for now, but for the rest of their lives. The authors' target audience is men and women who are approaching middle age (like myself!), but the advice is applicable to people of all ages.

     Co-written by a doctor and one of his patients, this book explains the physical and mental changes we all go through as we age, and provides advice on how you can enhance your quality of life as these changes occur. The authors' goal is to help readers get and stay healthy so that they can enjoy long, active lives while also delaying the onset of age-related diseases.

     I have seen this book make a different in the lives of members of my own family. If you're looking to get healthier, regardless of your age, I think this book is well worth checking out.


Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D.

Check it out on Amazon - the version for men is here, and the version for women is here.

Weekend Words - Big Jake's Epiphany

      “Big Jake” was a teammate of mine at Virginia Tech. Jake had his epiphany as he was preparing for his final season at Virginia Tech; I had just finished my last season and was working on finishing my degree.

      Jake was a handsome young man who, at 6’ 7” and 280 lbs, constantly lived up to his nickname. His main concerns at this point in his life were crushing quarterbacks as a defensive tackle, consuming as much Budweiser as he could get his hands on and making the acquaintance of as many pretty young ladies as he could. Academics? Why bother? After his senior season Jake would be playing in the NFL on Sundays, making the big bucks. There was no stopping him – he was on a serious roll. 

 

      One night he got a phone call from his brother, “Junior,” also a football player at Virginia Tech. Junior ordered him to get down to Campus Club (a local dive bar) ASAP. Big Jake took his brother’s advice and headed into town immediately. Walking in, he saw what all the fuss was about: Ro “Boaty” Waldron was working the door at Campus Club, and was mopping the floors in his spare time. This is too good to be true, Jake thought. Man, are we going to have some fun at Boaty’s expense tonight!

      Big Jake and his brother spent the rest of the evening spilling food and beer on the floor for “Boaty” to mop up, laughing and making fun of him in front of their lady friends. 

      Later that night, back at his dorm after all the beer was finished and the laughter had died down, Big Jake had a startling thought: That was “Boaty” freaking Waldron with that mop in his hand! He was a big time player on last year’s Peach Bowl team, and he didn’t make it into the league? And now he’s mopping floors? The horrifying truth finally occurred to Jake: That could be ME next year! I better start studying!

      This epiphany led Jake to begin a major reversal of his trainwreck of an academic record, and he went on to graduate from Virginia Tech. It’s a good thing too, because his future in the league ended up pretty similar to mine – his tryouts with the Baltimore Colts and the Washington Federals of the USFL did not go as planned. 

      Armed with his degree, the big guy opened a State Farm Agency that rose to the top 5% of State Farm agencies nationwide.  

Have a great weekend,

Ro

A Local Legend

       My godfather, renowned local high school basketball coach Morgan Wootten, was featured recently in an article in the Washington Post. Morgan coached at DeMatha High School from 1956 until 2002. 

       Despite amassing a career record of 1,192-274 – the most wins as a head basketball coach at any level – Morgan doesn’t focus on the wins when talking about his players. “People would come to me and they’d say, ‘What kind of year did you have?’” Morgan recalled in the Post article. “I would say, ‘See me in about 15 to 20 years and I’ll tell you what kind of year we had.’” To him, the measure of his success as a coach was not how many games his players won, but how well they turned out and what they did with their lives. 

       By this measure also Morgan was an incredibly successful head coach – 18 of his players went on to play in the NBA, and he has had former players “go on to become doctors, lawyers, secret service agents and college basketball coaches.”[1] Almost 40 of those former players returned to DeMatha High School this past December to honor their former coach and help inaugurate the school’s new gymnasium. 

Read the full article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/05/AR2010120505061.html

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[1] Sandys, Toni L. “DeMatha Bids Farewell to Gym.” The Washington Post, 12-6-2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/05/AR2010120505061.html

Weekend Words - Women in the Workplace

       I’ve worked at McShea & Company for 24 years. At one of my first meetings at McShea there were three men and one attractive young blond woman in attendance. Having spent most of the previous 12 years of my life in the male-dominated, testosterone-laden, highly competitive world of college football, I was not expecting a woman in the meeting. Surely she’s only here to get coffee, I thought arrogantly. 

       Imagine my surprise when I found out the woman, Laurie Craft, was there to lead the meeting. To this day I remember how she took command and laid out a well-thought-out, extremely detailed plan to grow the McShea Management Company – of which she happened to be the president. She certainly made a believer out of me that day. She continued on with her outstanding leadership as she led McShea Management Co. from its modest beginnings more than twenty years ago to the present day, when the company manages over 8 million square feet of commercial real estate. 

      I’m thankful to Laurie for setting me straight that day. In the past 24 years I’ve had the opportunity to work with many women in our business and have learned to appreciate and respec the many contributions they make to the success of businesses across the region. 

      I may have once been a Neanderthal football coach but I’m nobody’s fool. I realized quickly that in business, as in coaching, it’s about putting the players in the game that give you the best chance to be successful. The only difference is, in this business that player might just be a woman. And, thanks in large part to Laurie, I’m just fine with that.

Have a great weekend, 

Ro

Abraham Lincoln: An American Success Story?

Excerpted from the book The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose by Matthew Kelly:

“If there was ever a tale of American leadership and perseverance, it is that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was born into poverty in 1809. Throughout his life he continually faced setbacks and defeats. He twice failed in business, lost eight elections, and suffered a nervous breakdown. Defeat and failure were often beckoning him, inviting him to quit, but he refused that invitation, and his story is one of extraordinary perseverance. This is a sketch of his life: 

In 1816, Lincoln’s family was forced out of their home, and he had to go to work to support them.

In 1818, his mother died.

In 1831, he failed in business.

In 1832, he ran for the Illinois House of Representatives and lost.

In 1832, he lost his job. Later that same year, he decided he wanted to go to law school, but his application was rejected.

In 1833, Lincoln borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business, but by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next seventeen years paying off that debt.

In 1834, he ran for state legislature again and lost.

In 1835, Lincoln was engaged to be married but his fiancée died and it broke his heart.

In 1836, Lincoln suffered a total nervous breakdown and was confined to his bed for six months.

In 1838, he sought to become Speaker of the state legislature and was defeated.

In 1840, he sought to become elector and was defeated.

In 1843, he ran for Congress and lost.

In 1846, he ran for Congress again; this time he won and finally made his way to Washington.

In 1848, Lincoln ran for reelection to Congress and lost.

In 1849, he sought the job of land officer but was rejected.

In 1854, he ran for the US Senate and lost.

In 1856, he sought the vice presidential nomination at his party’s national convention. He got fewer than one hundred votes and lost.

In 1858 he ran for the US Senate again and lost again. 

Then, in 1860, Lincoln decided to run for president...I mean, based on what? His track record? He won and went on to become one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States and one of the finest models of leadership in modern times. In a speech Lincoln said, “The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself, ‘It’s a slip and not a fall.’” 

Kelly also included this quote from legendary basketball star Michael Jordan:

“I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots in my career. I’ve lost more than three hundred games, and twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. Throughout my life and career I’ve failed, and failed, and failed again. And that’s why I succeed.”