Thursday, March 08, 2007
Howard Schultz Got Me Back in the Gym
I'm not lying....he really did. Indirectly of course, but talk about motivation and release of stress.
So the last two months were rocky. Winter set in here in NYC and it was cold, frigid, frio, icy, slushy, gray, and full of post-Holiday fall-out at work. I'll leave it at that.
Fast-forward to the past week. EVERYTHING has turned a corner for the better, from me adapting to personal change, socializing, eating right, maximizing on my deliverables at work, etc. The only thing missing was me in the gym.
I now know why people can't get out of the "can't go" cycle (or the "I'll go tomorrow" cycle) especially when its dark, too cold, nasty etc outside. Why bother when today's The View is on and Heroes is REALLY getting good and Lost is finally back?
So yesterday, I'm in my store, not on the clock, in plain clothes talking with a friend and I get a tap on the shoulder: "Excuse me, are you Matt?" First thinking it was just an everyday customer, I turned to shake hands and was met with "Hi, I'm Howard." one....two.....three.....four....five.....and then it hit me HOWARD SCHULTZ, MR STARBUCKS HIMSELF IS IN MY STORE!!!! Talk about a flood of emotions (surprise, delight, horror, speechlessness etc etc) flooded through me as he continued to introduce me to Ken Lombard, President of Starbucks Entertainment and another gentleman whose name (I'm so sorry) I didn't catch because the roaring in my ears from nervousness set in.
It was a good visit, they pointed out a few things I could do to elevate the environment of the store (minor like a spill, and signage) but gave me some AWESOME feed back about the great environment my partners were creating in the store. The compliment came at the exact right time in my career....and my gym absenteism.
After he left, and I freaked out in the back room for a minute, I packed up my stuff and headed home with more energy (of the nervous variety) than I ever had experienced.
Off to the gym with me to calm down....and I went back this morning....thanks Howard!
So the last two months were rocky. Winter set in here in NYC and it was cold, frigid, frio, icy, slushy, gray, and full of post-Holiday fall-out at work. I'll leave it at that.
Fast-forward to the past week. EVERYTHING has turned a corner for the better, from me adapting to personal change, socializing, eating right, maximizing on my deliverables at work, etc. The only thing missing was me in the gym.
I now know why people can't get out of the "can't go" cycle (or the "I'll go tomorrow" cycle) especially when its dark, too cold, nasty etc outside. Why bother when today's The View is on and Heroes is REALLY getting good and Lost is finally back?
So yesterday, I'm in my store, not on the clock, in plain clothes talking with a friend and I get a tap on the shoulder: "Excuse me, are you Matt?" First thinking it was just an everyday customer, I turned to shake hands and was met with "Hi, I'm Howard." one....two.....three.....four....five.....and then it hit me HOWARD SCHULTZ, MR STARBUCKS HIMSELF IS IN MY STORE!!!! Talk about a flood of emotions (surprise, delight, horror, speechlessness etc etc) flooded through me as he continued to introduce me to Ken Lombard, President of Starbucks Entertainment and another gentleman whose name (I'm so sorry) I didn't catch because the roaring in my ears from nervousness set in.
It was a good visit, they pointed out a few things I could do to elevate the environment of the store (minor like a spill, and signage) but gave me some AWESOME feed back about the great environment my partners were creating in the store. The compliment came at the exact right time in my career....and my gym absenteism.
After he left, and I freaked out in the back room for a minute, I packed up my stuff and headed home with more energy (of the nervous variety) than I ever had experienced.
Off to the gym with me to calm down....and I went back this morning....thanks Howard!
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