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ICEBERG AHEAD
What happens to you when you identify an obstacle in your passageway. For most people, the vulnerability light bulb on the dashboard in their head goes off which is immediately followed by an attempt to change direction. This change in direction is intended to save us from sure disaster and give us the opportunity to steer the ship back to its original course. Needless to say, we make a double effort to make these changes smooth, subtle, and hardly noticeable to those traveling with us.
Recently, I was riding shotgun with my 15-year-old daughter as she works to accumulate enough hours to become a valid driver. We were driving down a reasonably trafficked road in a suburb near our house in Southern California. She elected to change lanes which at the time felt like we were avoiding a deer. The sudden change in direction reminded me that often in life we are required to pivot rather than turn on our blinker, check the mirrors and comfortably float to the neighboring lane.
Pivoting requires a fixed point. Think of a protractor, half of your body must be anchored and the other half agile. We create plans for all sorts of stuff: Study plans, exercise plans, college plans, retirement plans, vacation plans, financial plans, business plans, 3-year plans, 5-year plans, and finally plans to make more plans. Don’t get me wrong, plans are good. I believe planning is a way for us to place value on our daily sojourn. While plans are good, they are oftentimes impossible to execute as predetermined. A great plan should always include plenty of room for pivoting.
Pivoting almost always pushes us towards the events in life that are most memorable.
Pivoting requires three things:
Be anchored in who you are. Without an anchor, you will become part of somebody else’s plan.
Know where you are going. This is a life direction that is broad and exciting.
Be confident saying that you have no idea how you are going to get where you want to go. Get comfortable in a world of uncertainty.
Enjoy the Sudden Changes,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
GOT PURPOSE?
Life is pretty simple. It becomes more complex as we age but for the most part, we just want to be happy. Happiness is a fickle emotion that is impossible to bottle up or buy. Disneyland has apparently cornered the market as the happiest place on earth. Unfortunately, this bastion of happiness has been closed down for 6 months. This makes me wonder where the second happiest place on earth has been all these years and why are they not touting their new number 1 status?
Happiness has been and always will be ruthlessly unpredictable and undeniably disloyal. Happiness is a puzzle and it is made up of several pieces. Here are a few:
– Be difficult to offend
– Discover a place of belonging (Big Piece)
– Find fulfillment regardless of the task
– Dedicate your life to helping others
– Understand your purpose (Biggest Piece)
These are a few of the corner pieces that are crucial for assembling the happiness puzzle. Most people want to skip the first four and discover their life calling listening to a podcast. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The Declaration of Independence calls it a pursuit of happiness because that’s what it is – a pursuit.
As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I would urge you to survey your puzzle. What pieces are on the board but in the wrong place? What pieces are missing? At the end of the day, happiness and joy are knowing that your activity and production are what you do not who you are. Answering life’s great questions is always a pursuit.
Stay in the game because you will soon find out that you were born for such a time as this.
Have Fun,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
MERCY’S SHORE
The past 6 months have felt as though the anchors in our lives have been pulled up without notice. We have been collectively drifting while being pounded by waves, rain and wind. Our sails have been torn, our rudder damaged and our maps have been rendered useless by the saltwater. Yet, here you are today. You have not abandoned ship. You have not pulled the plug. You may have thought about waving the white flag, but you didn’t.
Today is a day that we take a deep breath and survey the vast seas around us. Today is a day we count our blessings rather than our curses. Today is the day we celebrate that we are healthy and strong. Today is the day we lift our heads, put on a clean shirt, and look for the shoreline.
The past 6 months have been the equivalent of dealing with a toddler throwing a never-ending temper tantrum. You have tried every trick in the book and the kid won’t stop. What’s left? 2020 is shaking all things we deemed certain. Here is what we can do.
Take control of what you can control and let go of what you can’t. Even that never-ending tantrum that is 2020 will wear itself out and fall asleep. We are on the precipice of reaching mercy’s shore. When we get there, we will look back at our tattered ship knowing we would never have been pushed to this new place without the storm.
Don’t Quit,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
Who Ordered a Medium?
Recently, it dawned on me that the size medium was created for people that can’t make a decision. What size drink would you like with that? Hmmm… I don’t want a small because that is not going to be enough and I will never finish a large, so I will take a medium. This conversation goes on in our heads at places like Starbucks but I’m becoming increasingly aware that these non-committal decisions surface in much bigger areas of our lives.
Forget fast food and shirt sizes. I’m talking about not seeing things clear enough to ask for and work for what we really want. Ordering a medium in life is the equivalent of chartering a boat, setting sail with the hopes of just landing somewhere different. Nothing precise, nowhere particular, just somewhere that is different from the longitude and latitude you currently inhabit.
This line of thinking excuses you from understanding that geography is not your issue. You are the issue. You have not yet set clear parameters on where you are, where you want to go and how you are going to get there. For the last 6 months, I have written about how the journey takes you places you never intended. That still holds true. However, if you set sail to escape rather than to conquer than you have a whole different type of voyage ahead. One that typically involves more geography change and no real progression.
As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I implore you to let the winds of change fill your sails. Run to the bow of the ship and proudly proclaim… I’ll take a large!
Anchors Away,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
A GOOD CRISIS
Rahm Emanuel used this expression during a time we now call the great recession of 2008. Long before Emanuel said it, Sir Winston Churchill stated, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Churchill uttered these words in the mid-1940s as we were approaching the end of World War ll.
I want to highlight both men because they said these words before the crisis had passed. The quote does an amazing job of creating a juxtaposition on the effects of crisis. In simple terms, never wasting a good crisis means that we are given a choice to allow the events of today to bully us or we choose to engage so that we become a warrior for the promise of tomorrow.
Believe it or not, the crisis that is 2020 will be over before we know it. You still have the opportunity to not let it go to waste. Will you be a victim, or will you allow this year to act as a springboard for the rest of your life? Ironic how 2020 vision is considered perfect. We are all sitting in a chair called September and we are being asked is this better or is this better. Like a good optometrist, the year 2020 has clarified our lives in so many different ways.
Family, friends, health and unity have been moved to the top of the chart and life is coming back into focus. Don’t let a good crisis go to waste. There, I said it, now you can add my name alongside Rahm Emmanuel and Sir Winston Churchill.
Thank you,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
It seems like yesterday, but it wasn’t. 12 years ago, Monarch was born from an experience that I wasn’t really pursuing. After college graduation, I worked at a landscape maintenance company for 9 years. It began with filing papers, later moving into sales, and eventually acting as the general manager for the company. Truth is, I really wanted to buy that company and develop it into a regional leader. As it turns out, the company was not for sale and it led to my departure in July of 2008.
Starting a landscape consulting company in August of that same year would be the equivalent of opening up a gym in August of 2020. Times were tough, on top of that we had a 3-year-old, a 3-month-old, and a sizeable mortgage without the money to pay for it. Early on in the adventure, my wife and I shared a car because we couldn’t afford 2. We cut tv and any and all of the luxuries that had become so commonplace. The problem was that we couldn’t cut back any further and we needed things like new tires for the minivan. In this instance, both her parents and mine chipped in for a new set. That was one of the many blessings we so undeservingly received during this tenuous time.
Like Apple, Monarch was started in a garage. I propped up a voting booth around my desk to hold back the kid’s toys on the other side. Often times, I would be in a full sweat typing emails all while hearing our guinea pigs make odd noises from the other side of the cardboard. To put it mildly, working out of the garage for the first 4 years was a character-building opportunity. Looking back, I realize that challenging times are fertile ground for the miraculous. It seems to me that only in desperation do we see things clearly. Trust me, my eyes were clear because I was highly aware of my personal and financial shortcomings. There were times that I was often unsure of how we were going to pay our bills and then out of nowhere new work would come in. It felt like farming, I was solely reliant on hard work, faith, and family.
The road has not been easy. In fact, the things in our life that have been the most difficult tend to be the most rewarding. Fast-forward to today, we have 5 kids, Monarch has 11 team members and a beautiful office in Dana Point. As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I want to encourage you that my plan was not the right plan. It took a very painful and personal process to push me in a direction that has become a true place of purpose and enjoyment. Even though Apple continues to outperform Monarch, I’m extremely grateful for all of those that have helped me along the way. It takes a village to produce anything worthwhile and lasting.
Thank you,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
Look Up
Almost 2 years ago, we planted several Coast Live Oak trees in our yard. We live out in a rural area that has enough space to support these native giants. These Oaks are iconic in Southern California because of the shear mass they can achieve over the course of hundreds of years. It’s awe-inspiring to stand under a 100-year oak tree and dream about what it has been witness to.
The climate in SoCal has been extremely hot and humid the past several weeks. The other day, I was on our back patio and found myself staring at these newly planted Oaks as if my glaring would will them to grow faster. I want the shade and privacy now! The irony is that the reason Coast Live Oaks can live so long is in part because they grow at a slower pace to allow for deep roots and even harder wood. If you have ever thrown a piece of oak in a fire you understand how much longer it will burn as compared to that bundle of Pine you bought at the grocery store. Hardwood is developed during hard times.
Right then and there it dawned on me that you can’t rush the type of growth that will last generations. The type of growth we need is slow, deliberate, and often leads us wondering if we are growing at all. Are we prepared to plant for the next generation? Planting for the future means that we don’t get to enjoy the shade during our time. What we do get to enjoy is the process of feeding, watering, and looking after these young trees to ensure that they grow in an environment that is suitable for 100 years, not the next 100 days.
As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I want to encourage you that we are in a season of planting and pruning. The digging, the watering, and the cutting is not terribly enjoyable, but it is all the while a great privilege. Remember to look up and admire the canopy you sit under because a previous generation did the same for you!
Grab a shovel,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
GOOD JUICE
Our 15th-month-old daughter recently walked over with a mask in hand grunting as to alarm me that I needed to have it on. It dawned on me that she sees the mask as an important part of my outfit. Like sunglasses, masks have become part of the uniform we carefully pick up before we leave the house.
Newton’s third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Wearing a mask makes it hard to read people face to face. We are forced to work overtime observing nuances in the eyes or body language in our everyday interactions. To Newton’s point, maybe these masks will make us better listeners. Maybe just maybe we will come out of this with superpowers that are able to detect even the slightest bit of pain in one another allowing us to become more supportive and sympathetic.
I believe we as a society are being pruned for the betterment of the next generation. Tree pruning is messy, dangerous, and sometimes expensive yet it is necessary to ensure the safety, beauty, and longevity of the tree being cut. As a nation, we have been fruitful for a long time but much of the fruit being produced today is sour and inedible. The only way to generate good-tasting produce for future generations is to cut back and cut out branches that were once deemed beneficial.
As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I’m asking all of us to consider the type and taste of the fruit you are bearing. Today’s note is not a political one it is a personal one. In order for us to mentally move beyond the troubles of today, we need to consider the opportunities of tomorrow. As the Greek proverb states, “Society grows great when old man plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
Onward and Upward,
Matt Davenport
C.E.O.
MISPLACED
I don’t describe myself as being overly handy. Don’t get me wrong, over the years I have hung pictures, shelves, put cribs and toys together but the experience is not a pleasant one for anyone in my vicinity. I become notably cranky and short-fused. Most recently, my wife and I were hanging a picture in the house and I felt my patience diminish almost immediately. I started off with, “Who moved my stud finder?”
The common denominator in my frustration always leads to blaming other people for things that are clearly my problem. Why is that? After some reflection, I’ve landed on the fact that I don’t put things away. It’s kind of like picking up a bag of salt and vinegar chips on one end of the grocery store and realizing you better not on the other side. Full disclosure, I look for a shelf within 5 feet of me and place those chips amongst the produce.
My point in all of this is that I think many of us have simply been misplaced. We have been picked and used by bosses, politicians, and relationships and never been put back where we belong. This disruption has not been all bad, in fact, looking back it was quite good for us. However, we are left with a sense that we don’t provide value or usefulness any longer.
Today, we have an opportunity to stand up and move in a direction that has long been pursuing us. We spend the majority of our lives taking bad advice from people that have an agenda. This agenda includes encouraging you to continue cramming yourself into a round hole when those who love and appreciate you see you as much more than a square peg. Right now, you have an opportunity to stop blaming others for your misplacement and realize you have enabled those lazy shoppers over the years.
Here’s how:
1- Stop blaming others
2- Listen to those that don’t benefit from your decisions
3- Ask the question, if I could have one prayer answered what would it be?
Over the years, this thought process has been quite helpful. When we own our station, clear the noise, and identify what is important, our windy road becomes purposeful, enjoyable, and straight.
Go for it!
Matt Davenport
In the Eye of the Hurricane
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have watched or listened to Lin- Manuel Miranda’s brilliant smash hit Hamilton. In the musical, Alexander Hamilton is in the midst of a personal crisis when he belts out the tune Hurricane.
In the eye of the hurricane
There is quiet
For just a moment
A yellow sky
The eye of the hurricane is described as the center of the storm. The zone of calm behaves differently over land and water. However, one fact remains, this respite from raging winds and rain can only be found in the center of the surrounding devastation and chaos. Like Hamilton, we are in the eye of the hurricane. We desperately want to free ourselves from this position because no movement feels like death. The opposite is true. We are all in the cleft of a rock being protected and looked after in the midst of the planet pivoting towards an unknown future.
The challenge we all face today can be wrapped up in one simple word, control. 2020 is stripping away the façade and showing us who is behind the curtain. It’s like someone asked us to get on the treadmill with these simple instructions; I’ll tell you when to stop. We would prefer someone to tell us you are going to run 10 miles, 100 miles, 1000 miles… anything. We need to know because we only trust our own ability to paddle ourselves out of the storm. I’m here to say that you are in the eye of the hurricane. The safest place for you and your family is exactly where you are. The winds are raging outside this eye and we must look around and trust that this tempest has purpose. I don’t pretend to know why all the events of today are going on. But I do know that we will one day look back and realize that it was all for something greater than our selves.
Keep Running,
Matt Davenport
Biscuits and Gravy
When you look back at your life can you identify a time where anxiety helped your situation? If you’re like me the answer is never. Anxiety is like the comfort food of the human condition. We know it doesn’t help us in the long run, but the high carb sentimental indulgence makes us feel better in the now.
What if we collectively decided to put aside the gravy and actually pursue something in the short term that will benefit us down the road? I’m not immune to anxiety or worry. In fact, nobody is. These emotions come from a place of yearning for security, safety, and success. Years ago, it became obvious to me that being optimistic about the future costs the same as being negative. Being an optimist doesn’t mean you believe everything will work out perfectly it simply means that it will work out like it supposed to work out. I’m ok with that. I’m not in control of anything other than the way in which I respond to a perceived good or bad experience. That’s just it, we don’t really know what is best for us until years have passed and we can appreciate the fact that the greatest disappointments of our life were actually get out of jail free cards.
I don’t pretend to have a crystal ball that predicts what’s next. From experience, I can tell you that there will be many good and bad things in our future. The good will be great and the bad times will make us feel like the good times are never coming back. As human beings, we are hard-wired to hold on to the negative thoughts from our past and transpose those insecurities to our future. I for one reject that notion and proclaim that the best is yet to come.
Today is a new day. Today has never existed before. All the negativity that is suffocating you from last week is knocking at your door hoping to ruin another one of your precious days on this planet. Don’t let it. If you are reading this, take a deep breath and shout at the top of your lungs – you are not the boss of me! You are an independent, unique, one of kind human being that has been gifted with the intellect to reject self-doubt and failure. Today is your day to turn the ship back into the storm and declare that you are a force to be reckoned with.
Full Speed Ahead,
Matt Davenport
What Can Possibly Go Wrong?
This is never going to end! These words have crossed my mind several times in 2020. What if? What then? Words of doubt eventually lead to anxiety. Accepting the fact that you are not in control quickly puts anxious thoughts into perspective.
Recently, my family was fortunate enough to take an RV trip. As we pushed off from Orange County, I felt reasonably confident we would get to all our destinations on time and intact. Besides the mountain of snacks and luggage, we packed our 5 kids and for good measure, my sister and brother in law saddled up for the exploration. Yes, you read that right, we had 9 people in an RV headed East in hopes of enjoying a perfectly flawless summer vacation. What could possibly go wrong?
In life, we make plans that, looking back, were entirely naive and maybe even delusional. Yet, we make them because we are optimistic and have a romantic notion about the winding road ahead. Somewhere along this twisted path we become control freaks and do everything in our power to drive in a straight line when the road clearly calls for power steering.
There we were having a blast and enjoying the scenery when an errant golf ball aggressively searched out and destroyed our windshield. This event was not in our bullet-point plans but proved to be a chance to learn how to patch up glass with duct tape and nail polish. We had another learning opportunity on the return trip when both back tires on the left side of the RV blew at 70 mph. Is this the result of the 2020 curse pursuing us as we drive or is this simply the way life goes? We make plans and we assume we are in control of them. Turns out we are not, and we never were.
Here’s the upside, the movies we watch and the books we read are not about people who lived a predictable and always favorable life. No, we are most deeply interested and invested in those who overcame. Those who were beat up and told they would never amount to much yet persevered. The stories my kids will tell of this fabled voyage will not be about the campsites we made it to on time, rather they will tell THEIR kids about the time dad was forced to use nail polish to hold our family adventure together.
Have Fun,
Matt Davenport
Pack a Parachute
Skydiving is a hobby that I have never really understood. Excited men and women have driven out to remote locations for decades in hopes of jumping out of a plane. Personally, I find flying in 700,000 lb. aircraft at 500 miles an hour 35,000 feet above the earth exhilarating enough. That being said, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane requires a well-packed parachute.
If life is like flying in a jumbo jet at supersonic speed, then 2020 has been the equivalent of jumping out of that jet. The past 4 months have allowed me to see more clearly just how stretched we all have become. We do our best to balance work, family, friendships, hobbies, exercise, kids’ sports, and self-improvement like a high wire act. Our one foot in front of the other routine requires an amazing amount of tension to support the show we work so desperately to put on. If you listen close, you will notice the music has stopped and all that is left is the sound of glass shattering in the background.
I’m not trying to be dramatic, but have you considered that the life we had before COVID was not sustainable. The life we previously referred to as normal was actually insane. We absolutely need tension to keep moving forward but sometimes we need to appreciate the fact that things may not work out as we intended. Our margin for error had become so razor-thin that it was almost inevitable for our sandy foundations to wash away with the tide.
So here is the encouraging part. The parachutes in our lives represent the opportunities for us to safely land and maybe even have some fun on the way out of a terrifying change in altitude. Let’s be honest, we think we are smart, and we chart out a course for our lives that we think we can control and enjoy. Wisdom tells us to pack a parachute because the best parts of our life happen when the turbulence is so rough that we don’t fear jumping out of the plane we look forward to it.
Enjoy the flight,
Matt Davenport
YOU ARE NOT DISPOSABLE
Some time ago, disposable cameras were all the rage. They were fun, primarily because there was a bit of suspense baked into the outcome. One would never quite know if they captured the right photo until weeks later when the camera roll was dropped off and then picked up at a tiny house in the middle of some random shopping center. Nowadays, everything is digital and quick. We are able to evaluate, edit, and retake a photo that may not quite have left the impression we had hoped to remember.
For a long time, disposable razors, sandwich bags, and other one-time use products were considered both convenient and cheap. Now we know more about the effects of these products and have made a giant swing back to carrying eco-friendly jugs of water, shopping bags made of burlap, and paper straws. I’m all for long term sustainable practices because it’s part of stewarding and protecting what we have been given. Personally, I prefer to simply skip the straw and not have to deal with the paper ones, but I appreciate the effort people are making. For most of us it takes time to look beyond the now and ultimately understand the importance of appreciating the original.
Disposable cheapens the product and ultimately debases the intrinsic value of that in which it is attached to. You may have recently been laid off and left feeling like a juice box casually thrown to the wayside. Over the course of time life has a way of beating you down to a point that you feel disposable. You spent years working and now what? Some executives made a business decision that has now affected your whole life and most likely your outlook and personal self-worth.
I’m here to tell you that you are not disposable! You cannot be made by the thousands and there will never be someone quite like you. Situations don’t dictate who you are they provide opportunities for who you are going to be. The reality is that all those tiny houses that used to develop film are gone. Change is inevitable, change is good and sometimes change that is forced upon us is life’s way of getting you back on the road you were initially intended to walk.
You are 1 of 1,
Matt Davenport
BROKE IS THE NEW RICH
In 1998, Stephen M. Pollan penned a bestseller titled Die Broke. Mr. Pollan interlaces several sound practices, but one really stuck out. Give what you have away while you are alive to enjoy watching others be blessed by your generosity. Why wait to give away what you have earned until after your gone. Where’s the fun in that? The reason this book was a bestseller is because it is so counterintuitive to our natural store up and hoard game plan.
Houses, garages, storage units full of our stuff feels like winning in the moment. Why is that? My bookshelf is full of books that I have read. Occasionally, I will gaze at that shelf with pride like they are all little trophies. Why would I hold onto these little accomplishments instead of passing them on in an attempt to bring joy to someone else? Honestly, it’s most likely because I’m proud of the time I invested and occasionally will use these books as references. But maybe I’ve been thinking about these little trophies all wrong. I have already paid and benefited from them and now I have the opportunity to share something that has added value to my life with somebody else.
The reason we accumulate is to establish the fact that we have made it. The secret voice in our head says, “that (fill in the blank) was wrong about me and didn’t see the raw potential that I had.” With chest puffed we secretly declare, look at me now. It’s amazing how much time we invest into proving others wrong. This chip on the shoulder mentality allows for you to acquire and accomplish but it will inevitably cost you everything. More specifically, everything of true value.
One cannot acquire relationships. True bonds with our spouses, kids, loved ones, coworkers, and friends cannot be purchased. In fact, anything of eternal value can’t be bought. Yet, we spend our whole life generating income in hopes of securing something that can’t be obtained with the money we worked so hard to procure.
This week, I encourage all of those reading to give something of value away to a person you care about. We must never take for granted our time together and we need to condition our selfish nature to look outward. Thinking of others is a habit and one that will change your life.
Finally, it is my belief that the way in which we share what we have is the wisest investment of our time. The final result of a life led by giving will be a life that is honored, revered, and read about in trophies on bookshelves like mine. Remember, nobody has ever regretted being generous!
Go for it,
Matt Davenport
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
Willie Nelson’s words spark the imagination. They take us to a place of daydreaming and embracing the possibilities of new frontiers. Interesting to look back and realize we have recently been places we have never been and seen things we may never see again. It doesn’t feel so romantic when we look back as much as when we think of the possibilities ahead of us.
Over the past several months I have encouraged everyone to appreciate how you arrived where you are today. Hindsight can be very uplifting when one looks at all the obstacles and hurdles we have made it up and over. We may have stumbled and skinned our knees, but we are here. Today, I want to do the opposite. Let’s dream of that open road again!
Ancient wisdom says that hope deferred makes a heart grow sick. Many of us are heart sick due to the fact that it feels we are in a never-ending news cycle of deeply disturbing information. If you stare at the spin cycle long enough the dizzying effects can become nauseating apathy. This apathy then develops into depression and self-loathing.
Let’s take a virtual Dramamine and set our sights on the future. The reality is we don’t know what is next. That is the beauty of Willie’s words. We will soon be goin’ places we have never been. I’m with you, I hope these places are filled with health, kindness, understanding, and gratitude. Willie finishes his legendary track with these words:
And our way is on the road again
I just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again, break free
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
Refill your tank, break free of doubt and let’s look forward to the open frontier that is our life.
Get your kicks,
Matt Davenport
