Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 71: The Importance of Memorial Day

The Importance of Memorial Day by Rick White, President 180BIZ

 Today it's Memorial Day. Now for me, Memorial Day’s meaning has kind of been lost. It always meant the beginning of summer. It was a big cookout and a neighborhood block party that we went to as kids. Our neighbor, Jack, had a pool party, a big cookout.  We had horseshoe tournaments with a big trophy. It was a big deal. And they had three big cookouts each year. One on Memorial Day, one on the 4^th of July, and one on Labor Day. So, I kind of missed out on what the real meaning of Memorial Day is.

We absolutely want to use this time to recognize and celebrate the beginning of summer. I think that's important. It's like the change of the guard. It's going from the growth in the greens of spring to the heat and beauty of summer. But I also think we need to step back and look at those people that have given their lives in service of this country. That's what this is all about. It's not about everyone that served. It is about the people that have served and given the ultimate sacrifice to help others.

I once asked a couple of soldiers why they joined the Army? And they said to serve my country. So, these are both guys that have seen combat.  I asked them if they went through what they went through to serve your country? And they said, hell no. They told me that they served and did what I had to do to protect their brother next to them. That is absolutely amazing, isn't it? They gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect their brother. They put the welfare of somebody else above their own. It’s human nature to go the other way when the bullets start flying. But these guys wouldn’t and didn’t.

I'm going to put a Rick White spin on this. I think Memorial Day should include those first responders that gave their lives in service of their community, their neighbors. That’s the firemen, the EMTs, the nurses, the doctors, the police. They put their lives behind serving everyone else. When you and I are running to our houses to get away from this virus or we did in the beginning because we were really scared and we should still be concerned for sure, but we ran to our houses, we protected ourselves, we protected our families. The first responders are people that put other people first. They are willing to take a bullet for someone else. We're talking about EMTs and firemen and policemen and doctors and nurses and even hospital staff. You know the custodial people that are cleaning the rooms up from people who had the Coronavirus. That's really important to realize that these people died serving their fellow man. I think they should be included in Memorial Day.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments. Do you think that's a good idea? And you don't have to just agree because I'm doing this. So that's the first part I want to take up is I believe that we should be celebrating the sacrifice that these first responders made the ultimate sacrifice in serving their neighbors in their community. Then my second part of this, the second part of this is does your team, do your people know that you got their backs? Do you have your people's back? Do you have the back of your wife or husband? Will you take a bullet for them?

 I understand it's easy to take a bullet. It's hard to do the little stuff. It's hard to put what they want before what you're doing.  It's hard. Why? How do I know that? Because I struggle with this every day. It's easy to take a bullet. It's easy to make a grand gesture. That's not what makes people feel safe. It's not what makes people feel like you got their back. It's by you consistently putting their wants and needs above yours. So how are you doing that at home? How are you doing that with your family? How are you doing that with your customers? How are you doing that with your team? How are you consistently putting their wants and needs above yours? And how am I getting so good about talking about this? Because I struggle with this. It's easy to do the big stuff, but it isn't the big stuff that makes them feel safe. It's the little stuff every day. The little stuff where it doesn't seem like it makes a difference. That's where it makes a difference.

So, what do you think? What have you done? What are you going to do to let your people know the people in your lives, not just your team, but the people in your lives? How are you going to let them know you got their back, that you are going to stay next to them no matter what, and be there to hold them up and to shore them up and to keep them safe no matter what. No matter the cost to you, that that is when people feel safe. That is when people feel cared for. That's when they know they got that you got their back.

I hope this makes sense. I got a great talk for tomorrow. I'm also going to ask; would you please share this video? Let's put it out there for all the first responders. Let's put it out there to remind people what it takes so that they know we're there for them. Thank you so much for being there. I love you guys. Take care. Have a great happy Memorial Day. Take care. God bless.