Aaron J. Crowley

Stone Industry Consultant

There is an intersection near our shop where a glaring contrast can be seen between two men who regularly stand on opposite corners holding signs in an attempt to get the attention of the drivers stuck in traffic.

One of them is really trying.  

He has headphones on and his sign is a cartoonish cardboard guitar.  He is rocking out!  If you’ve seen Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers then you have the picture of this guy on his concrete corner stage working up a serious sweat jumping, spinning, and furiously riffing up and down the neck of his seemingly real instrument. 

The cardboard guitar is actually a Little Caesars Pizza advertisement and without fail, he is out on that corner putting his whole heart and soul into his work…probably for minimum wage. And if they’re paying him twice that, they are still getting their money’s worth!

The other guy is trying too, I guess.  

He’s well-dressed and clean cut and so is his laminated sign.  But the message on the sign is the first glaring difference between him and the curbside-rocker.  It reads, “Need Bus Fare” in bold letters across the top followed by some print too small to read at a glance. 

Adding to the irony of this man in pressed slacks and dress shoes holding a laminated sign asking for bus fare, is his stoic, statue-like demeanor…he makes no emotional plea or attempt to engage the audience he hopes will help him.  I wonder what deep wounds lie behind this man’s behavior, and my point here is not to demean or denigrate another human being who is asking for help.

My point is to help us see that both inclinations reside in each of us… meaning we are capable of great passion and bursts of energy while simultaneously possessing a passivity that can diminish our true potential.

The question for the fabrication shop owner is this: which inclination will win out? In the day-to-day grind of solving problems and the long-term challenge of charting a course into the future; which will we choose?

Will we approach those situations with passion?  If so, we will take full responsibility in doing everything in our power to correct the flaws in our business-systems, people and selves and energetically pursuing a vision that will pull our organizations forward.

Or will the poison of passivity seep into our thinking and actions?  If so, we might confuse the expectation that someone will (or should) come along and fix those problems for us with the risky, sweat-inducing action that always and must precede true fulfillment and achievement. 

So as free people, in a free country, in a free-market that lets us choose everyday how hard we will work, let us choose today to lay down our laminated signs and pick up our cardboard guitars (or grinders) and rock out!

Aaron Crowley is a stone shop owner, author, speaker, and consultant to mid-size stone companies. Contact him at aaron@fabricatorsfriend.com.