Seal Team Costco – MCFTM

,

Recently, my wife and I made a trip to Costco to grocery shop in hopes of not returning to the store for several weeks. The challenge is that we have 9 people living in our house right now. My wife, 5 kids and the in-laws make shopping in bulk a necessity. Going to Costco at this juncture of the virus feels like a seal team six operation. We plan for days, wear masks, gloves and try to pick a time that we believe is most opportune to attack the oversized palettes lining the walls. Prior to the outbreak, Costco trips were delightful. We would peruse the aisles to get what we needed but often ended up leaving with what we wanted. Brilliant placement and poor self-discipline would lead to us throwing palettes of fancy organic fill in the blanks on the regular.

But the recent trips to Costco have been different. My wife and I huddled in our 12- passenger van prior to deployment. Like Patton directing his troops, I stated prior to engagement, we are here to buy not to shop. As we broke the huddle, fully suited up we entered the retail pantheon. She grabbed her cart and I grabbed mine. We split the list and gave each other a look of determination and love all mixed into one.

There I was, alone with my cart and my list. The list in hand included itemized essentials. Meat, adult beverages, chips, salsa, cheese and sides for our dinners. Halfway through my mission I began to scan other members’ carts as well as my own. It dawned on me that the items in the carts were mostly luxury items not essentials. I like to think of myself as being tough and self-disciplined. However, in the midst of a worldwide pandemic my Costco cart is telling a different story.

As I approach the frozen food section it’s all coming into focus. This hardship is stripping away the convenience and luxury that I have come to demand. Wow! As I see my wife merging into the checkout lane behind me it’s now crystal clear. Everything I have ever needed is already in my cart. I have an amazing wife, a fantastic family, an awesome career and friends with whom I would go to battle.

What’s in your cart? Is it possible that we have become so self-indulgent that we are focusing on what is lost and losing sight of what we have? This week, I encourage you all to take inventory of the tremendous blessings in your cart. The what if’s and unknown nature of this epidemic is shaking the impatience, needy and presumptuous attitude right out of us. But if you take a good look at what is in your cart you will find items that cannot be shaken. Family, love, hard work and truth.

No doubt this week will have its ups and downs. Be sure to reach into your cart and be thankful that you have been given all the essentials you will need for your journey.

You were made for such a time as this,

Matt Davenport
C.E.O.

Seal Team Costco - Monarch
/by

MCFTM – MINE!

,

If you have ever been around children, you have heard them shout Mine! My wife and I have 5 kids and we have heard our fair share of these proclamations. Namely, around food, remote controls or iPads. What is that? At a young age, we put on display the sheer force of who we truly are. We panic when we think something is going wrong or is being taken from us so we proclaim, “Mine!” As you age, you learn that you can’t shout like this anymore, so you develop techniques that exude the same emotion without looking so immature. We cut people off on the freeway, we work the system to get to a place we think we deserve. Can’t you just hear it in your head, “Mine!” Ultimately, this “mine” mindset takes us to a place of loneliness and despair. 

Optimism and being in denial sit on a razor’s edge opposite each other. I don’t want to build a sandcastle of encouragement so it’s important that we be honest with one another. We are innately selfish and that leads to all sorts of bad life choices. I know your reading this and saying well…this is not encouraging. But in order to be encouraged you need to be honest and hit rock bottom. Rock bottom is a great foundation to rebuild and rediscover who you really are and who you are yet to become!

The opposite of the “mine” mentality is generosity. Mike Tyson once said, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” This pandemic has been a punch in the face, and I have a plan to get our mind out of the boxing ring and back on track. I call this process the path to generosity. First off, we must be thankful for what we have. If you can’t think of something to be thankful for, start with the fact you can read this letter. Second, being thankful allows you to forgive others that may have intentionally or unintentionally hurt you. One of the amazing things about forgiveness is it leads to freedom. We often don’t realize that when we forgive, we are setting a prisoner free and more often than not that prisoner is us! Now that we have freedom, we rediscover joy. Joy is not a temperamental emotion; it is a state of mind that changes everything. Joy allows you to see others differently. You move from “mine” to ours. We have landed at our final destination of Generosity. 

Generosity is the vaccine for our selfish nature. The trick is that the only lab producing this vaccine is you. As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I implore you to walk the path to Generosity. There are 5 stations on this path and some of them may require longer stops than others. There is no timeline for this journey. Simply keep walking. Enjoy the walk and understand that you are perfectly and wonderfully made for this moment.

Go for it,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.

MINE - MCFTM
/by

Adulting is Hard – MCFTM

,

I have been thinking a lot lately. Truth be told we all have been thinking a lot lately. When is the last time someone told you to do your best? Come on… think about it. If you’re like most it was somewhere around 8th grade when those encouraging but challenging words stopped. Those words were sincere and forced us to be introspective and examine whether our best was good enough in the first place. Why did we stop hearing that? Did adults get together years ago and decide your best would simply not cut it anymore once you’re old enough to get your permit? In high school, doing your best turned into doing better than others. College ratchets the sentiment up even more until finally you enter the workforce. Adulting is hard but nobody ever informed us it would require more than our best. Well, that’s all about to change!

Imagine sitting in your annual review and your boss says, did you do your best? What a strange but motivating meeting that would be. The truth is we don’t always give it our best but that does not reflect on us being worthless. You and I were made just right for exactly the task at hand. Sometimes our effort needs to catch up with our gifting but I’m here to say your best is good enough. You are good enough.

So, get after the week knowing you were perfectly prepared to take on the challenges of today! 

Do your best!
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.

Adulting is Hard
/by