Know What Really Matters

Woke up. Fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Yes, there will be Beatles references in my blog. Always loved them and will love them always. And that comb? I haven’t needed one in years. I’m okay with that, because I know what really matters.

I want to share with you one of the greatest life lessons I have learned. I learned it on the job, so first a little background.

On the outskirts of Slatington PA, my beloved hometown, stood a chemical plant owned by Pfizer Inc. This plant was a least a century old. It was so old it was made of wood and held together with wooden pegs instead of nails. It was green and dark and dusty. We made green pigments that were sold to paint and tile companies. Put simply, the process took many liquids and powders, chemically processed them until they were a green liquid, then turned them into a green powder and shipped it out on trucks.

I worked there in my very early twenties. I was a young husband with a young child at home. I wanted to do a good job. One night I was working the night shift. It must have been 2 am. I blame it on sleep deprivation, but I opened the wrong valve on a tank and lost hundreds of gallons of product. I was terrified! What will happen to me? Will I get screamed at by the boss? Will I lose my job?  I immediately, and nervously, told my shift supervisor, Lawrence Grim.  He could tell how upset I was. Do you know what he said to me? He calmly said, “Denny, we’re not making blood here.”.

He was right. We weren’t making blood. Such a simple statement. Such a simple concept. Know what really matters. Know what is really important. I have used this lesson throughout my life. It helped me to stay positive when things looked bleak. It made me realize that 99% of our mistakes are fixable. It’s one of the main reasons I have been an optimist all of my life.

This old, wooden chemical plant burned to the ground in the late seventies, but I think of it often. It will come up in future blogs. Enjoy your day and remember to focus on what really matters.