Is it about the journey?

My mind was spinning when I walked into the room.

It was 2014, at the St. Cloud Convention Center in MN. I was doing an afternoon breakout session for the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference.

The room I walked into was the general assembly ballroom.

It was setup with roundtables. Probably 10 tables wide, 6 tables deep, and 8 people at each table.

At the front of the room was a stage with a podium. On one side, the American Flag. On the other side, the MN Flag.

My first thought when I looked at the 500-ish people eating lunch, staring at the speaker:

It looks really scary up there.

My second thought:

How in the heck do I get on THAT stage?

--

My breakout session that day was 30-40 people, max. I was talking about personal coping skills during high stress times.

It was one of my first speaking engagements. At that time, I was unsure of myself and treated speaking more as a hobby.

I was trying to figure it out.

(as we all are)

Fast forward to yesterday, 12 years later, at the Utah Association of Counties Legislative Conference in St. George, UT.

When I walked into the general assembly ballroom at the convention center that morning, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Total Deja Vu.

It looked EXACTLY like the ballroom I walked into in 2014. Same tables, stage, podium, flags (except swap MN for UT).

Even a similar audience, though they deal with different areas of government.

Want to guess who the keynote speaker was?

#HumbleBrag 😊

As someone who is normally onto-the-next, I get oddly reflective after these experiences.

It usually follows this 3-part progression:

First, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I still pinch myself that I'm the guy who gets to do this every day for a living.

Second, I think about all the people who helped me along the way.

No one Outperforms alone. Friends, mentors, peers - people who referred me and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.

Third, I remember that you can't cheat the process. Even if you could, and you got the result you wanted, you wouldn't appreciate it as much. Everything valuable and worthwhile takes time. Effort. Consistency.

Gratitude. People. Process. Whatever difference you're making (or looking to make), they're likely your biggest assets.

Keep Outperforming,