Christmas Doesn’t Just Show Up

Ho ho ho says Manny Clause for this edition.

Ever notice how word on the street makes it sound like Christmas shows up out of nowhere?

As if the tree magically appears, as if the lights untangle themselves, as if the gifts wrap themselves?

Haha

C’monnn now! We know because we’re going all the work most of the time, hey read me here, we know it’s joyful when you’re doing it for someone else.

For example, I pulled the dusty box with the Xmas tree out of the garage. My father in law wrestled with Xmas lights that absolutely did not want to cooperate and stick to a special type of coating on the outside of our house. My wife and kids hung the ornaments. They bake the cookies, I drink the milk (yeah yeah - bad joke. You caught it.)

We pick up the packages delivered to our doorstep, we go shopping, wrap and rewrap gifts if, like me, you’re terrible at wrapping period. And when your wife, like mine does, gets you glitter wrapping paper, oh now I’m pist off but I remember it’s not about me ;)

We build the new toy sets for our kids, I can go on and on…

Nobody is sitting there clapping for you with applause. No audience sitting there cheering you on while you put in the work, it’s work baby, glorious work!

Late nights, in fact I just flew across country from DC last night and now the next several days are JAMMED with shopping, events, family, preparation, kids going crazy, no quiet moments until the morning of Xmas before all hell breaks loose under the tree, you get a brief moment of silence and peace to take it all in…

Doing everything nobody sees but everyone understands so that other people can feel something later. And at some point usually when you’re standing on a ladder for the third time wondering why the star on top of the tree is still tilting sideways, it hits you!

This is what follow-up is all about, this is follow-through is ALLLLL about!

Christmas has a ton of different input points. Not one lottery ticket win and poof. It brings itself together because you’ve stacked hundred of small pieces that build up and produce something magical at the conclusion.

You didn’t decorate once and call it quits, buy one gift and hope it covers everyone, hang one strand of lights and expect magic - You keep showing up, adjusting, fixing what didn’t work the first time. The piece nobody talks about. Your focus on the outcome drives you.

But skip it? Heck nah!

No Christmas, no way.

Same thing with business.

People out here trying to cheat the process, wanting the morning without the nights, win without the work, yeses with no follow-up. They want Christmas morning vibes on December 2nd. News flash, that’s not how this works.

We didn’t do all this prep because someone sat there watching us with a timer in hand. It was done because we care about the outcome. The feelings, the smiles, the radiant joy and that’s the real purpose.

Our follow-up and follow through, it’s a responsibility! Much like that promise you make to those ones you love to ensure they have a Merry Christmas.

It’s doing the dang thang again…and again…and again…

So, when that moment finally comes and the lights are on, the room feels warm, the smiles are real, feels like magic - and you know the truth. There was no magic! It was follow-up. Follow-through. Finishing what you started.

Ho ho ho MERRRRRRRYYYYYYY CHRISTMAS, Follow Up Fam!!!!

Until next week!

Manny “That Follow Up Guy” Vargas