Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is a journey, not the destination.”
I’m not sure I really agree with this statement. It is all about . . . BOTH!
I was reminded of this at the IFA (International Franchise Association) Convention in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago and the Academy Awards several days ago.
I’ve told this story before, but my first ‘official’ day in franchising was when I was 26. I had just moved to Ohio for a new job at Kinetico Water Treatment. It was 35 below and my car wouldn’t start. So, I hitchhiked to work. I was scared! I had a family and was moving them to Ohio in a couple of months. I couldn’t get fired on my first day.
That day wasn’t quite a journey!
Many years later, perhaps 20 years ago, I attended my first IFA convention. I had just been downsized from Midas and was looking for a job. I left with a few interviews lined up, and I found my next opportunity.
What I know is that being associated with the IFA for that long has changed my life in so many ways.
Last week MK and I returned from this year’s IFA event in Las Vegas. No doubt it was the best one I’ve ever attended. One of the keynote speakers was Drew Brees, future HOF quarterback. (Not eligible to enter until 2026)
He talked about when he was traded to New Orleans from San Diego. He was hurt. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to return to pro football. New Orleans welcomed him with open arms. His journey was tough – little did he know his destination in New Orleans . . . especially during Hurricane Katrina.
Brees’ foundation helped raise of $1.5 million to rebuild schools, parks, playgrounds and more that were damaged. Even after retirement Brees is proud to say that New Orleans is his home.
Last Sunday MK and I watched the Academy Awards. I wonder if Jamie Lee Curtis thought she’d ever win an Academy Award back in 1978 when she stared in Halloween. She was 20 then. 64 now when she won her first Oscar in her movie, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Still love her in True Lies!)
Both of her parents were nominated but they never won. Her destination is wonderful – I’m guessing the journey wasn’t always.
The destination is always about someone’s dreams. I know mine was. I’m sure Brees’ was as he rehabbed from his injury he was traded. It couldn’t have been easy for Jamie Lee to be an actor for that long and never even got a nomination for an Oscar.
What about this year’s winner of the Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Ke Huy Quan. I loved his speech.
30 years ago, he was in Indiana Jones as an 11-year-old kid. Not long before that he, and his family, were on a boat fleeing Viet Nam and ended up in a refugee camp for a year. They whole family, 9 kids and his parents, were admitted to the U.S. through a refugee resettlement program in 1979.
After a 20 year hiatus from his last role – some block buster movies including Encino Man – he returned to acting in 2021. His speech mentioned “stories like this happen in the movies. I can’t believe it is happening to me. This, this is the American dream.”
He finished his speech with, “Dreams are something you have to believe in. . . . please keep your dreams alive.”
Dreams. I wonder what kind of dreams that James Hong had in 1957 when he got hired in one of his first movies. Wonder if her had any idea that he would be in movie in 2022 at the age of 94.
I wonder what John Williams thought about in 1972 when he got his first Academy Award for the Best Music and Best Original Score for Fiddler on the Roof. Or when he was a Primetime Emmy Award nominee in 1962 for Original Music Composed for Television for Alcoa Premier – the same year he was nominated for his first Grammys for Checkmate.
Wonder what it was like being nominated for The Fablemans and in line, perhaps, to win his 26th Academy Award at the age of 91?
Ralph Waldo had it partially correct in my estimation. Yes, it is about the journey – but it is also about the dream. The goal. All the years of hard work. It is important, however, to reflect on your journey. Remember the stories so you can look back and more thoroughly enjoy your dream, your destination.
Sorry, Ralph Waldo, it really is more than JUST the journey!
