My parents always did their best for my brother and me. They wanted us to have fun and be kids. To have experiences.

Once a year, we'd take a winter "vacation" to the Holiday Inn & Suites in St. Cloud, MN, about 30-minutes away from Albany, where I grew up. We'd stay there for the weekend and we each got to bring a friend. This was roughly 35-40 years ago.

It was AWESOME. We'd get a room that opened up poolside and we'd be kids: playing in the pool, playing basketball, playing badminton.

When we'd get tired and hungry from running around, we'd order pizza from Godfathers.

IYKYK. We did it right.

It was nostalgic and brought back so many great memories to be doing a keynote at this same Holiday Inn & Suites yesterday morning for MASMS' Annual Conference.

Morning Keynote for MASMS in St. Cloud, MN.

I didn't realize this was the venue until I started driving from Minneapolis the day before. When I put the address in the GPS, I knew exactly where I was going. Didn't need directions.

The night before the keynote, I walked around the hotel, reliving the memories we had as children.

And as I worked out in the fitness center early that morning, it dawned on me: I'm pretty sure this used to be an arcade!

We spent a lot of quarters in that arcade, playing Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Air Hockey, you name it.

Life has a funny way of bringing you back to places you never imagined.

It brings you back to the same place, but as a different person, and almost always in a totally different context.

It was awesome then. It's still awesome now.

The awesome just looks different.

I try to do a better job of appreciating and having gratitude for these moments. Even if they seem ordinary, they're never guaranteed.

Because someday, they may be the good stuff you look back on and remember fondly.

Keep Outperforming,