Hunting for Success

For my grandfather, sitting on the deck at his Pigeon Lake cottage was not just a pastime, it was a way of life. There was one particular morning on the deck that truly changed my life. Grandpa was worried about our dog, Laker. Laker had been logging 12- to 14-hour days for the past month hunting a squirrel. She would crane her neck to look into trees hoping to catch a glimpse of her prey. Grandpa was worried that Laker was going to get a permanent neck kink and, as a result, decided that we should shoot the squirrel.

With a pellet gun in one hand and a rum and coke in the other, Grandpa and I spent hours that day pulling the trigger. I think we used over six packets of pellets. After each miss, Grandpa would yell “egad!” or “oh crow!” or “dag nabbit!” Mom spent most of the day trying to ignore us. Then, in a sudden fateful moment, one pellet ricocheted off the flag pole and struck the squirrel with a killing blow! We gasped and hurried over to the squirrel. Looking down on it, Grandpa turned to me, and I noticed a small tear trickling down his cheek.

After the burial ceremony, Grandpa looked me in the eyes and said; “Jared, we Smith men were never good hunters. It’s a lonely sport, just not a fit with our personality. We’re people people. And you know what? If I look back at all the success I have had in business, I can’t really take any of the credit. It’s because of the people I have surrounded myself with. If you want to be incredible, surround yourself with incredible people.”

I didn’t know it at the time, but that was it — my life-changing moment. In the midst of the emotion and chaos of squirrel hunting, Grandpa had found a way to impart a wisdom that would eventually impact on every aspect of my life.

Look around you: your family, your friends, your staff, and especially your clients. Are they incredible? If not, it could be time to make some changes.