One of my sons called yesterday and asked how things were going with the plantation. I told him that things were going very well. This weekend we conducted our 100th event, a beautiful wedding. Considering that we did not officially open until 11/11/11 and just finished final construction three weeks ago we feel that we are off to an excellent start. Our staff is getting into the groove and while we are not perfect, we are learning and improving each and every week and our customers are noticing and thanking us for our effort.
I also told him that our fish and wildlife programs are doing unbelievably well too. Everywhere I go Bobwhite quail pairs are whistling, big whitetails are abundant as are wild turkeys, songbirds and purple Martins are profuse, and I cannot drive in any direction without having to brake for the many fox squirrels scurrying around the grounds. Our fish biologist came by last week and shocked our lakes and the condition of our fishing ponds and lakes is awesome and loaded with fat bass, blue gills, shellcrackers, and other species.
The plantation itself has never looked better and the various beautification projects have really paid off. Just yesterday I toured 1000 acres of land that I recently purchased and while it was pretty before, it is beautiful now that we have cleaned it up.
So, by now you are probably wondering what the point of all this diatribe is. The point is that hard work does pay off. Our entire team has worked exceedingly hard for the past three years and now we are able to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I’ve met with several employees in the past few days, some of which have been with us from the start. It is VERY rewarding to all of us to ride down Honey Lake road with its gorgeous oak tree canopy, and black fences lining lush pastures, and/or walk through the resort grounds and see the majestic results of our labor in sparkling white buildings.
It has not always been pleasant to work at Honey Lake and indeed has too often been filled with stress and pressure, (mainly coming from me). I am not an easy person to work for because I’m intense and passionate about achieving my goals and I want to achieve them come hell or high water. I’m driven and sometimes end up driving my people…sigh…
One time I sat next to a psychiatrist on a coast to coast plane ride and by the time we landed in California she’d diagnosed me as being an overachiever who sets incredibly high goals for myself and will stop at nothing in achieving them. I thought she must have been a pretty good shrink to glean so much insight in that one flight. She is spot on target on that, but in my opinion missed it in intimating that it was a bad thing for me to be that way.
I decided long ago that life is no rehearsal. Our lives are brief and contrary to the Hindu belief system, we will not get another chance to relive them through reincarnation. My belief is that we might as well give it all we’ve got, and try to achieve everything we can achieve while we are alive and still kicking and breathing God’s fresh air.
If I die today I can honestly say that I have achieved a tremendous amount with my life; more than most folks achieve in numerous lifetimes and that is the way I want to go out. I try my utmost to live life to its fullest. Maybe I can rest later in heaven.
Frank Sinatra made a song famous with the lyrics: “Regrets I’ve got a few – but then again too few to mention – I did it my way”. I cannot make that claim. I have plenty of regrets and they all stem from trying to do it MY way instead of GOD’s way. I don’t apologize for being an overachiever; I just wish I would have lived all of it for the Lord those years…It’s not how much I achieved that is the problem; it is what I achieved.
If I had my life to live again, I would change that in a heartbeat. While I cannot change the past, I can affect the future and live each day that God allows me on this earth in trying my utmost to achieve His goals and not my own.
To steal an advertising slogan I would suggest that for sure we “Be all we can be”, but do it God’s way. In the end that is all that matters and that is just not me saying it… Solomon was the wisest man the world will ever know; here is his summary:
Eccl. 12:13
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.