Lessons From a Wild Ride

It has been a year since the world as we knew it came to a screeching halt.  Forced into isolation, virtual meetings and gatherings, physical distancing, face covering, and sickness like most have never seen in their lifetime.  It has truly impacted everyone at some level.  Unemployment, separation from loved ones, anxiety, depression, and tragically, loss of life.  I don’t know that anyone was prepared for the impact this pandemic. 

As I reflect on the past year, personally, it was certainly a roller coaster ride.  From the lows of having to close our gyms and lay off hundreds of team members, to the joys of re-opening gyms and being involved in crafting a playbook that became an industry standard.  The lows of company bankruptcy to the high of being promoted.  The lows of job eliminations to the highs of re-engaging in the industry that I love so deeply.  It has been a helluva ride and unlike some of my favorite rides at 6 Flags, it is certainly not one that I look forward jumping off and rushing back to get in line for the next go around. 

I feel that one of the most powerful things we can do in life, is to reflect.  From military and police operations to business ventures, and relationships, I believe reflecting or reviewing is critical to future success.  Though learning is a part of my daily personal development, I have made a specific commitment to learn from the events of 2020 and be prepared should we ever face another unprecedented incident that wreaks havoc on life as we know it.  I am sure that everyone had some similar and some different learnings, and I have compiled a list of my top 10 Key Learnings to share. 

1.      Create Multiple Income Streams

My wife and I were employed by a company for over 6 years.  We gave our lives to that company and it was incredibly good to us in return.  We moved across the country 3 times for this company and believed we would retire from there.  That company filed Chapter 11, went to auction, and was sold to another company.  The new ownership immediately made significant cuts, which eliminated both of our positions.  No matter how much security you feel you have with one company, it is critical to develop other sources of income.

2.      Build Relationships

One of the things I have always enjoyed is networking and building relationships with good people.  I was blessed to have a circle of solid friends who provided information on opportunities, collaboration, words of encouragement, and professional recommendations along the way.  There is no way to quantify this, however cultivating relationships with genuine people who care about you is something we should always be striving to do. 

3.      Seek to Help

During trying times, one of the most rewarding things we can do is look for ways we can help others.  I believe that being a blessing is not only rewarding internally, but it plants a seed that will eventually lead to being blessed.  Offering unexpected professional recommendations, one on one consulting for displaced team members going through interviews, starting a collaboration group, or just reaching out and checking on others was just a few ways of providing help that I found gratifying over the past year.

4.      Save Cash

One of the worst things that you can face, as an adult who has obligations is to have your primary source of income stop without warning.  I was extremely fortunate to have learned this lesson in the past and was prepared.  Had I not been prepared with 6 months minimum living expenses in savings; the outcome may have been quite different.  Start that savings account and make saving money a habit.

5.      Stay Updated

Your resume, LinkedIn, references.  This takes valuable time and money to complete, especially when you are behind because you have not kept it updated.  Work on this once per month, regardless of your employment status you will be prepared.  Update your LinkedIn, your resume, and gather any references you can.  Other benefits are that you may be approached with additional opportunities that you otherwise would have missed out on.

6.      Trust in Yourself

Joining a new company presented unique challenges.  I did not choose to leave my previous company, sort of like being broken up with when you were in what you thought was a happy relationship and then trying to date again.  After I realized that even though I am supporting a different brand, I can still be the leader I was before.  I can invest in my team and set a new standard.  I can still do what I did before and by trusting that, I have been able to drive significant change and if I ever move on, I will know that I left others better than when I joined, in some way.

7.      Evolve

If we learned anything during this pandemic, it is that we must be constantly evolving.  The way we shop, the way we learn, the way we dine out, exercise.  Whatever you are doing, you must find a way to be able to make it happen both in person and digitally.  Hybridization is going to be the key to success for many businesses in the future.    

8.      Taking Care of Ourselves

We are all aware of the many benefits of physical fitness.  When gyms were forced to close, we were left with whatever we had at our home.  Being prepared with “at home” exercise equipment offerings was critical to continuing my fitness routines during the shutdown.  Additionally, this pandemic has created a greater demand for at home fitness equipment and more digital fitness offerings than ever.  Yes, going to the gym is great, but if that is ever taken away again, we should all have our plan in place to maintain optimum physical fitness.

9.      Learning

One of the things I enjoyed, during the pandemic, was the opportunity to attend multiple virtual learning events.  Many free seminars with key leaders from our industry were available, as well as some amazing paid offerings.  I joined a Toast Masters for Public Speaking, attended the HALO Academy, and even participated on a panel with other industry operators.  Learning new skills, adding to your own personal toolbox, sharing your knowledge, and keeping updated on the pandemic, as well as ways others were dealing with issues was extremely valuable. 

10.   Social Media Presence

Like it or not, we are living in an era where social media is not optional if you want to remain relevant.  Setting aside time to build my personal brand, collaborate, engage, and learn from others was extremely beneficial during the past year and we all know it will continue to be.  Get engaged, start building your social presence, and don’t be afraid to seek advice from others whom you respect in this category. 

As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, I feel that reflection is a powerful tool that we can all use to improve in every aspect of our lives.  Of course we cannot control everything that happens and there will undoubtedly be other life altering incidents that we will all be forced to deal with.  Learning from the past is what this article is about, and even if none of these applied, to you, I hope that you will reflect on 2020 and plan for your success through whatever we may deal with next.   

Jay Graves is a proven leader, building successful teams throughout the past 30+ years. Jay has successfully led teams across multiple professions from military, police, fitness business owner/operator, corporate leader in single and multi-unit/multi-state markets. Jay began writing articles to share with his team leaders as part of his own personal development plan and continues to share his learnings with the desire to contribute to the development of leaders around the world. Jay is a speaker, author, and coach. He recently published his first book, “Line of Departure, Outstanding Starts Here”, which is available on Amazon. To learn more about Jay or to contact him visit www.jayfgraves.com, LinkedIn, or email jay@jayfgraves.com.