New Year’s Day is the traditional start of
the year for most people. For beverage
folks, it seems to come with the start of the
Spring season. Being a parent of two kids and a
husband of a teacher, my cycle tends to run with
the school year.
September starts a year of promise and
expectations, followed by hard work, increasing
knowledge and, hopefully, great achievement.
For me, the end of this school year has been
an especially poignant one. So allow me to
deviate from my usual beverage –centric writing
to share some personal thoughts.
Last week I was up in Cambridge to partake
in the joy of my daughter’s graduation
from Harvard. It will always be one of the
highlights of my life. To all of us who use work
as the measure of one’s success, keep a proper
perspective as to what really counts. If you can
incorporate business into the mix, then you are
ahead of the game. But make sure you have a
proper balance.
The weekend before that, I went to my 40th
high school reunion. It was an extraordinary event
bringing together over 185 classmates out of a
class of 400. Words cannot express the happiness
and excitement of seeing so many people who
had a major impact in your life. Barriers were
broken down and years dissipated right away.
Some had happy tales to tell, and others shared
in some hard and unfulfilled lives. Everyone was
real. If we could conduct ourselves in business
with the openness and honesty displayed with
true friends, we’d all be better off.
Within the framework of the reunion
weekend, my son and his teammates won the
New York City high school tennis championship.
Watching their celebration, and joy made me
realize why we all try to achieve success. Risk
and reward go hand in hand. You must take a
chance to realize your goals.
Last, I was recently diagnosed with prostate
cancer. Luckily, it was caught very early and I’m
assured that there will be 100 percent success
in treatment and recovery. Health is a most
precious blessing we are given. Never take it for
granted.
The reason I share this is as a precaution
to all of you to be proactive in taking care of
yourselves. There is no excuse not to be tested
for colon, prostate, breast and a myriad of other
illnesses that are easily treatable if caught early.
On both personal and organizational levels,
make sure you make the time and effort to
ensure your health, your family’s health, and the
health of your employees. Family, friends and
health are all that count, and my recent health
troubles have helped me realize that even more.
Count on it.