One morning each week, my alarm goes off much earlier than usual, and I leave the house early for work.
The best thing about getting going at that time is the great AM radio that you can dial in from across the country. There’s something about nighttime and the lack of competing signals crowding our airwaves, that stations from Boston to Denver come in early.
I listened to an extended program last week featuring some self-help guru, with people calling in to speak to him. He’d coach them all on the big changes they need to make immediately.
He said resolutions aren’t only for New Year’s Day. I didn’t do it this year, because I didn’t get around to it. Know why? I obviously didn’t have the foresight to resolve to be more timely about things. My wife will be the first one to tell you that from time to time, I’m on my own schedule, and it doesn’t match up with hers. Hers is actually written down, and she thinks that means hers is more official than mine. Mine is right up in my head. Usually, about 15 minutes after I was supposed to be somewhere, I jump out of my chair and yell something to the effect of, “Gee whiz, I’m tardy.” Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you I use other language. They’re lying.
Just for the heck of it, in light of this uplifting radio show, I’m going to try to be more prompt or to have things changed to different times to better accommodate my schedule. Instead of meeting at 7 p.m., meetings now will start at 7-ish, if they want me there.
Next, I’m going to try to be a better husband. I give my wife free reign. If she wants to rearrange the living room, I say go for it. “Hey dear,” she’ll say to me, “What do you think about peeling off the old wallpaper in the dining room and repainting the room, and then retiling the bathroom floor?” Proving that I am an excellent husband, I sat her down, brewed a fresh pot of coffee and said, “My darling, you have my full support in every endeavor you choose to undertake. I’m there for you.”
By now you are starting to realize that John McLoone is, indeed, already the complete package. He knows that. I mean, I know that. But you have to keep working hard, according to the experts. Therefore, I will continue to set the bar high for myself, as well as those around me. My children could verify that I used to come up with a few slogans from time to time. I tried to drum into them that 99% wasn’t good enough when they were in school. I know that because I’ve been well on the other side of 99%. I did research as a child on what it would be like to be a “C+” student, knowing that one day I would be a father and have to tell my children to do better. If my gang heard me say it once, they heard me say it 100 times: “You think a 96 is OK in math? What happens if only 96% of the planes everyday land safely. It may just be a simple math assignment, but people can die.”
I’m going to continue my path to excellence. Or, maybe I’ll give that self-help guy a call this week.