It was 11 August 2001.
My boss at E*TRADE had flown me out to New York for a few weeks to acclimate and see if I’d be willing to relocate from California.
We went up to the bar in the top of the World Trade Centre for drinks and team building.
As we left he drove me around the Towers and pointed out a small church.
“That is St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Can you believe it we have a church on this prime location?”
I saw a skinny white building surrounded by the huge skyscrapers. I told myself I would try to stop by one day for a service when I’m back in town.
Days after the 9-11 attacks I was back in New York to begin preparations for our quarterly earnings call.
I went to where the destroyed towers once stood.
I was there the last evening before it became a place for tourists to come and pay their respects. That night I could stand and go pretty much where I wanted and besides the recovery crews… I was alone in my thoughts and the smell of burning metal, chemicals and everything else is just as vivid today as that silent witness evening.
…
Yesterday I watched a documentary on St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church that was buried by the towers and which has now been rebuilt as a beautiful monument for everyone to enjoy next to the towers.
And they interviewed the daughter of one of the main guys in the church who defied not only the arch diocese over the years but multiple developers who wanted to buy the land the church stood on before 2001.
As she related what her father said..
“WE love this church and our community here. The answer to any price will always be no..”
It got me thinking
How many of us would say we love our business as much as that community loved their church.
How many of us would say no if we had the equivalent money in hand to walk away… today.
The problem is that if we don’t love our business…. No one else will.
If our baby is ugly…. It’s a monstrosity to everyone else.
If we would walk..no run away …. Who would be stupid enough to want to walk towards it?
If your business is something you’d run from, instead of toward… maybe it’s time to change that.
Not with more grind. But with clarity.