Sweet Potato

Merril asked me to look up, “Does a possum eat sweet potato?”  In doing so I can across this article by Mark Rivenbark.  He had a quote at the start I really like “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy”. — Leo F. Buscaglia.
I like the way he writes.
So what does a sweet potato mean to a possum anyway? Well, a possum is a scavenger. They subsist on a diet of bugs, slugs, and roadkill. So having a nice juicy sweet potato for a meal is like winning the lottery.
Likewise, seemingly every successful person can point to particular moments along their road to success that stands out. It could be a meeting with a special mentor. Maybe it was an opportunity that they were ready to grab after years of preparation. These are sweet potato moments.
Over the years I’ve had many moments when I felt like that possum with his sweet potato. So maybe I have been unfairly enriched with my life and career.
There was the time I was tapped to go and start a new venture in a foreign country. After accepting the job, I went to check it out for a couple of weeks. Upon my return, I sat down with our CEO and after going over a few things I asked him, “What are you thinking my metrics for revenue and profitability should be next year”?
His response floored me. “Mark, I’ll be happy if you just cover your cost for the first couple of years. I know what kind of mountain you are about to climb so let’s not add any undue pressure to the situation”. It took me a few years of running various businesses to fully appreciate the gift my boss had given me.
He knew that I would work like a dog to make our venture a success so placing additional pressure on me would be counterproductive. Trust me, I have worked for a few people in the intervening years and some of them were not nearly as understanding.
There have been other times when I have experienced the unmatched taste of a sweet potato. Like the time I was tasked with rescuing a large account that had blacklisted our company. In this case, I knew the client well and the boss respected my abilities.
The problem was outlined but beyond that, no direction was given as to how to solve the matter. The best leaders understand that they simply need to lay out the issue and leave it to the person on the pointy end of the spear to solve it.
After a few years in the trenches, I have come to understand that the best reward is seeing the look of pure joy on the face of one of my team members as they savor their own sweet potato moment.
Because I was privileged to have some great mentors, I have had the pleasure to pay that forward on occasion. And I have watched some of my colleagues go on to have amazing careers.
If I was able to help them, even a little bit, on their career path that’s just another sweet potato for me to cherish.
So the next time you find yourself savoring the taste of success or a job well done…..think of all of the bugs, slugs and roadkill you had to eat along the way.
Then picture that possum with his sweet potato. Go on, I dare you!