ACROSS THE BOARD

The curse of easy

In all of history, nothing good has ever come from “easy.” It seems most of mankind is in a constant search for “easy,” but it often leads to tempting shortcuts that only derail them from actually achieving it. It’s an interesting curse that tempts us all.

Easy money, easy life, easy relationship. What could be wrong with that? I started considering that recently when—as seems to have become source for many of my tales—a few buddies and I were talking over cigars and drinks by a fire. A friend with a long history of, let’s say, “adventures,” most of them highly confidential, remarked, “In all of history, nothing good has ever come from ‘easy.’ People should learn to embrace and celebrate hard times because nothing is a better teacher.”

In this small group I was in, there was no shortage of hard times, or the lessons from them. I thought back on my life, one that through age now has me look back on my hard times with a form of sideways gratitude, because I would not fully appreciate my life and family now had I not been through it all. As we shared examples that supported his argument, I threw a grenade into the otherwise calm dialog. “If that is true, and we can all share that we are grateful for our hardships, why do we make it so easy on our children?” I asked.

There is no right answer to this challenge, but equally we should not curse at the hard times. This great industry knows better than most that the “good times” are only a moment to take a breath before the next cycle hits where you fight for every penny of margin. The countless number of things that can impact our business and lives at a moment’s notice only goes unmentioned because it would be too depressing to discuss regularly. And yet, we persevere. We get up, fight for every inch, and if we’re lucky, get to go to bed that evening tired from our hardfought battles.

I’ve known a few people in my life who had it “easy.” While for brief seconds I’ll admit there was a slight tinge of jealousy, very quickly I saw how hollow their lives were. There was no purpose, no drive, no goals. They never lost, but technically never won either because there was never a fight.

Now, as we look across our landscape, we hear the constant criticism of all that could be better. What could have been more efficient, more organized with less error… easier. It seems that everyone is a critic who themselves has the “perfect plan” had they been in the role. I listen to this and instead of joining in, I smile in thinking

Patrick S. Adams

Publisher/President padams@526mediagroup.com back on the endless list of hardships I’ve had, things I could have done better, and things I know now that I wish I knew then.

As our industry goes through yet another roller-coaster slide, I know many sit back and ask why four-digit prices couldn’t hold on just a bit longer. My friend’s answer is, “because hard times create hard men, and you should be thankful that you’re one of them.” And his answer to my challenge about our kids? Well, I’ll spare you the details but in general, his explanation centered on them having us as parents and whether it be now or later, they will experience tough times too!

I share in his belief that “easy” is a curse and thankfully, most of my tough times these days don’t last so long that they break my hope and gratitude for all that I have. As we prepare to celebrate 100 years of service to this great industry next year, I consider all that the publications have witnessed in that time, reported and shared with many of your elders. We have a LOT planned next year that will equip us for another 100 years of service during the easy times, and especially the tough times.

I close with wishing you all just a moment or two of “easy times” as we finish out summer. But more than anything, take pride in all that you’ve created through the tough times. In the next couple of months, I’m going to ask just a few small favors of each of you to help us prepare for some amazing things next year. Stay tuned and as always, thank you for allowing us to serve you!