Keep Shuffling Your Slippers

“How was your workout?”

Brooke asked me as I poured another massive cup of coffee.

I’m more of a night owl than an early bird, so adjusting that operating system to sneak in a workout before work has been a struggle.

“Well, I shuffled my slippers downstairs…”

Was all I could muster.

I felt as old as I sounded.

This weekend, one of our daughters saw a story on TikTok about a 19-year-old girl whose company made $87M in 2022. Making and selling slime.

The internet is an incredible thing.

“She started it last year, that was the first year of the business,” one of them said.

“No chance,” my ego and pride and defensiveness spoke up, masked as a bit of old man wisdom. “There’s no way she built an $87M business in less than a year.”

They read further about her.

Turns out, I was right, but it didn’t excuse my claim of certainty.

She’d been at it since 12 or 13.

Building a brand. Sharing her stories. Honing her craft.

Even then, her success is insane.

And to be celebrated.

If you surf around social or just consume headlines, you’ll be convinced that people are just waking up and mashing grand slams.

The highlight reels are intoxicating, but they’re just that.

Highlights.

I imagine if we followed Slime Queen Teen around, we’d get more insights into her grit, integrity, perseverance, sacrifice, determination, intelligence, and at times, slipper shuffling.

Doing the shit that isn’t social media worthy. Digging in when it was uncertain and not guaranteed.

Shuffling one foot in front of the other when failure felt possible, but forward felt possible also.

Celebrate the home run swings.

Delight in the wild tales of adventure and success.

Then get to shuffling your slippers, one tiny step at a time.

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