38 THE NAFCU JOURNAL March–April 2022 I would like to tell you a short story that will lead to sharing two of the most important things I’ve ever learned. In early August of 1992, I lived in Miami, Florida. I had a great little house just a few hundred yards from the shore. It was an old “Florida” style home with wood floors, walls made of coral rock, high beam ceilings and a small pool. It was truly a dream house. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew turned everything into a nightmare. With sustained winds of 165 mph, the hurricane devastated everything in its path. I had been out of the country on business and made it home just one day before the storm hit. I only had enough time to throw some clothes and a cooler of food into the back of my truck. I evacuated about 20 miles inland to a friend’s house. That night there were ten of us huddled in a bathroom when the roof came off. Every bit of furniture was sucked out into the darkness. When we emerged the next morning, it was a hellscape. Buildings collapsed, cars turned over, not a tree in sight. It took more than six hours to make my way back home. The trip was difficult and because of the debris on the road it was nearly impossible to determine where you were. The usual landmarks like street signs, houses, buildings and trees were gone. When I did find my place, it took three hours with a chainsaw to cut a path to the door. The stains on the walls indicated that about 11 feet of water had gone through the house. It was utterly destroyed. I ended up living in the back of my truck for about two months, then in an abandoned apartment with half the roof missing for another three months. Everything I owned in the world was gone. All the things I had spent years accumulating, a house, boat, wine collection, art… taken away, never to be returned. Although it did not feel like it at the time, I now realize this was one of the best things that ever happened to me because it taught me two life-altering lessons. 1. You have no choice. Amid all the chaos, I realized that no matter how sad, unfair and depressing the situation might seem, I had no choice but to deal with it. I then learned to discern between things I had control over and things that I did not. I could not control that there was no water, gas, ice or food available. I couldn’t control that traffic was backed up for miles because there were no traffic lights. I couldn’t control that the temperature was above 90° with about 90% humidity. So, I had to let go of focusing on those things and turn my attention to things that I could control. My attitude, priorities, being thankful that no one I knew was killed or hurt, being grateful that I had money in my bank account and insurance. When I looked at it from this perspective, I understood that compared to many others, I was fortunate. That was not the frame of mind that most people adopted. 2. It’s just stuff. When you lose everything, and there’s no way to get it back, you realize that life will go on. Much of the “stuff ” that I thought was important before the storm became irrelevant afterward. I ended up not replacing many things. It completely changed the way I look at material possessions. If my house burned to the ground today, as long as my wife and dogs were okay, it would not bother me at all. It’s just a house. I can build another. Lack of attachment eliminates the fear of loss. As you face adversity in your life, I hope these two lessons will be helpful to you. John Spence is widely recognized as one of the top business and leadership experts in the world. He has been working in the credit union industry for more than 20 years and serves as one of the lead instructors for NAFCU’s Management and Leadership Institute. To find out more about John, go to www.johnspence.com. LEADERSHIP DOWNLOAD IT’S JUST STUFF By John Spence
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