The Daily Grind

It seems every city has a coffee shop with that name or something close to it… but the daily grind means more than just a cup of coffee. I am sure all of us have at one time or another had someone say to us at the end of the weekend, “back to the grind tomorrow.”

I had someone say that to me last Sunday. As a great weekend was winding down, I stopped by a well know local market in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego where we live to pick up a few items and went to the check out line. This store has yet to add a self check out line, and likely never will, a topic for another day.

The checkout person was an affable local guy who was very pleasant, asked about the weekend, we chatted, had some common ground, and then he said, “back to the grind tomorrow?” I know it was just an expression and meant nothing more than what is typically a Monday verses Sunday and back to the routine type comment. I responded with a smile, “Well, sort of, not so much a grind luckily.” He gave a knowing nod that local surfers seem to have and said, “Cool.”

But it got me thinking about a few things. First, that I do not see Monday through Friday as a grind. Second, that did not happen by luck. Far from it. It took several things for Monday through Friday to not be a “grind.” Serious planning and a vision for Monday through Friday, discipline, commitment, clarity, delegation, continuous learning and support from many, some obvious and some not so obvious. The other thought was that for many it is a grind. Just listen to how people complain about their job, complain about the commute, complain about their co-workers, complain about their boss, complain about the (fill in the blank).

My message… if it is a grind for you then do something about it. Not later, right now. Today, not tomorrow. Make the decision to break free of the grind and here is where to start. Look at what you do everyday. Keep a list for a full week. Some of it is not a grind but, hopefully, done with zeal, anticipated with excitement and accomplished in expert fashion. Do more of that and less of the rest. Figure out the what first and we can talk about the how another time. Be accurate and honest as you do this.

No one gets wealthy working but rather you get wealthy, monetarily or otherwise, by doing what you do best and enjoy most. Think about it over a cup of coffee at your favorite coffee shop!

Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com