A few years ago, while celebrating an unnamed mid-20’s birthday, I began to think about what I can do each year on my birthday to really make an impact on the next year of my life.
I wanted to give myself a stamp of some sort – a crest to live by – for that following year. I read a few blogs, looked through some good books I had marked in, sorted through magazines, and finally decided that one of the most powerful things I could attach a year of my life to – was words. Simple words, but SO powerful. Words.
And thus it began. Each year since then, I’ve gone through a process of brainstorming, reading, writing, and then narrowing down to 1 or 2 words that I want to live my life around for the following year. And honestly, it’s been one of the most incredible things I’ve done for myself.
Think about it… there is nothing working against you. (And no one working against you either… Don’t share your word or words until after your next birthday). Ok, let’s just pretend that on your 32th birthday you chose the word “clarity.” You memorize a personal definition of what clarity means, you write the word down in several visible key places, and on your birthday you say a prayer (to whoever you chose) for clarity throughout your 33rd year of life.
Then, as the year progresses, and you make tough decision, or face challenges head on, or experience great moments, you can always come back to that word. Clarity.
Here’s how it works.
YOU: “I am so torn on which decision to make. I don’t know how I am going to decide what to do.” You need clarity. You know how good it feels to make a decision with it, and do what you know is right. Get yourself there. It is in your hands. Gain clarity about your options, and the affects of both. Then, make your decision.
Or.
YOU: “That was the most amazing weekend of my life! I can’t imagine someone more perfect for me.” Coming back to your word, clarity, will keep you grounded and focused, even in times of complete happiness.
See? Not that hard. And im telling you, the amount you learn about yourself when coming back to one word throughout an entire year of growth is nothing short of enlightening. And the best part – there is no right word, or wrong word. In fact, each year, you begin thinking of next year’s word a little earlier.
Hence this blog. A 2-parter.
I am less than a month away from my 29th birthday, and embarking on my 30th year of life. It’s time I start thinking of what next year’s word will be, but after my birthday has passed, id like to share with you my words of the past 4 years, including the one I am living right now and how important they’ve become. I also ask that you suggest words that inspire you, encourage you, or keep you true to yourself, because although I’ve already started thinking about options for next year, it certainly doesn’t hurt to get some outside perspective.
So, what do you say? I know it’s a little bit of a personal stretch for our blogs, but it’s character defining in my opinion, and has set me up for (almost) 4 years of continuous growth & self realization in ways I can’t explain.
-Ape
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Did you ever notice that the grass nearest the sprinkler, with the exception of an occasional leak or drip, gets the least attention and becomes a “Bare Spot”?
How ironic is it that something meant to nurture everything within its reach is unable to attend to the life closest to it.
If we are sprinklers and the grass is the people in our lives, who are the ones closest to us in the “Bare Spot”?
Our immediate family? Our best friends? Our most loyal employees? Our best customers? Our biggest fans?
If you were shopping for a sprinkler, wouldn’t you look to see if it left a “Bare Spot” before purchasing?
If you were exploring a friendship or considering joining a company or following a band, wouldn’t you be curious how they nurtured the people closest to them?
I am so guilty of this. Even as I am writing this, I am making a list of family, friends, employees and customers that are in my “Bare Spot”.
Let’s get out there and tend to the “Bare Spots” today.
- Andy
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Check out our kick-ass recap of Simple Man Cruise 2010!
Sixthman TV – Simple Man Cruise 2010 Recap
Have a great Friday everybody, catch ya on the flip side!
-Steve
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It’s now been more than a week and a half since we’ve returned home from Cayamo 2010, and we’re already itching to get back out there for Cayamo 2011.
How about you? We thought today would be a great day to highlight some of the articles and blogs that have popped up around the net since our return, and then ask you to contribute your own stories or share links to your own blogs. Sharing is caring, people!
From Paste Magazine: 7 Cayamo Artists Share Their Favorite Moments
From No Depression Magazine – “In all, to say I’d recommend springing for Cayamo next time it rolls around, would be an understatement.” Here is their day-by-day recap:
From Blurt Magazine: “While I’ve endeavored to describe Cayamo as best I can and in as much detail as possible for one who’s weird and wacky, in reality the only way to truly appreciate all it has to offer is to experience it for yourself.” Here is their day-by-day recap:
Have a story or two of your own from Cayamo 2010? Add it to the comments or post a link to your own blog where you discuss your experiences. We’d love to hear from you!
-Steve
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Sometimes people ask me for advice about different things like buying a bar, opening a restaurant, joining a band, founding a record label, becoming an artist manager or starting a clothing company. I haven’t done all those things but for some reason my response is always the same.
“Have you been able to spend time with anyone who is successful and happy doing what you are setting out to do?”
I remember opening a bar in 1995 with so much confidence and just one year later wishing I had talked to someone who ran a bar before investing my time and money into the venture.
In 1996, I was deciding if managing Sister Hazel was going to be the right move for me and I had the foresight to engage three other managers with successful bands. I asked them for a day to shadow them so I could experience what my days would be like. It not only gave me perspective, it allowed me to visualize the goal.
Since then, it has been second nature for me to get as close as possible to someone near the finish line to determine if that is a race I want to run.
If you do one thing before embarking on a new path, spend time with someone who is on their way or already crossed the finish line. And once you get them to go to lunch with you, ask them “What would you do differently if you could start from the beginning?”. For some reason, when you phrase it like that, people admit making mistakes. I am willing to bet you that the cost of the lunch will be the best money you can spend.
Good luck,
Andy
Quote of the week: “Your irresponsibility becomes someone else’s responsibility.”
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Check out this great recap video from Cayamo 2010:
Video: Cayamo 2010 Recap
We had an absolutely incredible time on Cayamo 2010 and we hope you did too. See you in 2011!
-Steve
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A few months ago we at Sixthman faced a couple of dilemmas:
- We love to thank our guests and the businesses we work with… we do little things here and there but we wanted to do something big. What could we do?
- Steve said it best so I have to give him credit: “We work for the coolest company in the world.” I hate to brag, but it’s true! So how do we show landlubbers what a great shindig we can put together without bringing everyone on a cruise?
Then we found one answer to both questions: let’s throw a party on solid ground, right here in our hometown!
On Friday, March 12 we are hosting an Open House at Sixthman Headquarters at 7 PM until we all get sleepy. Our address is 1040 Boulevard SE, Atlanta, GA 30312. If you are in the area, please join us. I don’t want to give everything away, but there will be music (of course!), food, a giveaway, and I can promise we’ll show you a good time. Sixthman loves to host, and we want you to be our guests.
Bring your friends and family on down – see where the magic happens and meet the Sixthman team. It is by no means required, but if you know you want to come please RSVP (rsvp@sixthman.net) so we can make sure we don’t run out of munchies and elixirs.
We are decorating the office as I type this, and we cannot wait for next Friday. SEE YOU THERE! I mean… HERE!
-Becki
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I don’t remember the exact date the Sixthman Blog was born, but it was right around today two years ago. Since starting this whole blog thing way back in early 2008, Sixthman has:
- Published 643 posts.
- Had 2,118 comments approved.
- Launched over half a dozen new events.
- Grown as a company in size by 50%.
- Had 11,011 downloads of the Sixthman Podcast (currently in the offseason).
- Launched Sixthman.TV.
Phew! Well, as most of you know, Sixthman has never been a company to play it safe or take it easy. I like to think that we’re the best at what we do because we’re constantly trying to innovate, reevaluate, and attempt new things and methods to take our cruises, our service, and our community to the next level.
After sitting down with Andy this past week, we decided it’s time for the blog to grow up a little. Initially it started as a place for you all to get to know the team members at Sixthman, to see the people who make the company tick…and then Sixthman.TV came along and pretty much took “character development” to a whole new level.
We then looked to the blog as a way to keep people updated on our events and cruises and such, except that we started using our Facebook Fan pages and Twitter pages for those quick news flashes, question & answers, and instant polls.
So we’ve made the decision to make a change on the Sixthman Blog format. Rather than five posts per week (which is tough to keep up with when you have a full time job!), we want to produce two KICK-ASS posts per week along with a Sixthman.TV video every Friday. Rather than scrambling to put together a post because we know we need to, we want to produce articles and content that is worth of the Sixthman name.
We pride ourselves on producing an experience that you can’t get anywhere else – that’s the approach we plan on taking with the Sixthman Blog.
Starting tomorrow, our new schedule will be as follows: a new article every Monday and Wednesday and then a new Sixthman.TV film every Friday.
It’s definitely a big change from our old ways, but it’s a change I’m incredibly excited about and can’t wait to try. Bear with us over the next few months as we get our wheels turning, but make sure you stick around because I’m confident you’ll like what you see.
Live loud.
-Steve
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photo: qwrrty
We have been working on a cross-training approach where we all manage different responsibilities allowing us to take any 15 people from the office on board to execute a cruise. That makes it possible for us to keep a 12 person team in the office to service our guests while the rest of the team is out at sea.
In a culture built on an “All for One & One for All” attitude where we all used to load up and head to Tampa, Miami, Los Angeles, Galveston or Ft. Lauderdale and hang a “Gone Fishing” sign on the office doors, this was a tough proposition for some of us. However, we all knew it was just a matter of time before we would have to “Divide & Conquer”.
So at the beginning of this season, we sat around and discussed who would stay home and who would go on each cruise. Just one problem….everyone wanted to be there to see it all come together and witness the fruits of the company’s labor. I let them know that we would all be sitting out on a few but I never thought about myself actually having to do it.
We decided Cayamo would be my practice run and that I would attend but have very few responsibilities. For anyone who has been on our cruises, you could imagine how difficult that would be for me. But I had to try so I invited my family and some friends to join me last week on Cayamo and I turned in my 2 way radio that I normally have glued to my hip and traded it for my swim trunks.
It was amazing. I swam in every pool, ate dinner in the restaurants each night, took a couple shore excursions and saw a ton of music. The Sixthman team did an amazing job of leading and executing Cayamo and I felt like they had given me the best gift they could give me. Being able to enjoy one of our events like a guest and have a vacation with my family has made me so grateful and appreciative of the character and caliber of the people on our team.
So thank you Sixthman and know that I am very proud of you all for having the courage to play different roles as we move into the future even when it means leading us back in Atlanta.
Sure, I feel a little vulnerable and expendable like we all do at times but mostly I feel liberated and excited about the potential we know have to grow into the future while improving our ability to execute.
I realize that being able to be there was a gift and that there will come a time very soon where I stay at the office to support you all while you take our guests out to sea and I am ready.
Andy