A Grand Scavenger Hunt

Sometimes I feel like it is easy for us in business to get lost in all the tools we have developed over the years; to run leaner, be more efficient or maybe gather better data. We forget what business is about and where success with any longevity lies.

The older I grow, the deeper I feel there really is nothing that brings home what it means to be human quite like travel. I suppose it makes sense as we all are cosmic travelers on spaceship Earth.

Whether we find ourselves walking to the end of the driveway to get the mail, driving to work to earn a paycheck or flying thousands of miles to a far off destination for a break from it all, the purpose of the moment is the same, humans searching for connections.

Family connections.

Professional connections.

Human connections.

Here I am today, two thousand miles from home, wandering the space George Vanderbilt created for generations of his family, friends and today, my wife and I to enjoy.

Connections.

We had some time to kill, which as I get older, I don't really care to kill anything, especially time. With a hunger in our stomachs we happily found seating at the bar in Cedric's Tavern. The name of this bar belongs to Vanderbilt's gorgeous and quite large St. Bernard; Cedric. I can't think of a more fitting tribute to whom I am sure was the Goodest Dog!

The best Connections aren't things we can force, they are organic, moments of time where two or more share the same space and the Universe works Her magic.

Today it was the moment when we met Aaron tending the bar at Cedric's.

It turned out Aaron had spent significant time back in California where my wife and I live. Landmarks were shared, "I lived in Reseda at this time and worked at...I don't think it's there anymore but do you remember..." and so the light, welcoming conversation went as my wife ordered her IPA and I looked over the bourbon list.

What would Vanderbilt do?

I wasn't sure, so I ordered a splash of the Biltmore Single Malt.

As Aaron went to pour my drink he said, "you know, for the same price I can pour you a flight."

Aha! This is what Vanderbilt would do, share an option to try something he had carefully curated from all of his own experiences. 

I didn't hesitate and agreed to the flight, a three whiskey journey from CHEMIST's beautifully simple Biltmore Single Malt to a more complex Woodford Reserve and finally my favorite; Old Forester.

I'll save the review for Yelp and wherever else I can sing my praises of this experience with my wife and our new friend Aaron. The short, a conversation not only about each drink as I happily sipped one after the other, but an intimate moment in time as a common experiences were shared alongside a new one being created right there, in Cedric's place.

At the end of the day the product was phenomenal, I enjoyed some of the world's best bourbon followed by an incredible and unique Old Fashioned that Vanderbilt himself would be proud of and further capped with an amazing meal, most of which came from the land we had just spent the morning walking upon. It isn't the product I'll look fondly upon for the next years and decades to come, but the laughter and stories shared with our bartender, Aaron.

This is what makes travel so important. 

This is what makes business truly move.

It isn't just the places and the food, it comes with walking in other's footsteps, sharing in the tastes of others, it is the moments in Time when we learn more about others and ultimately ourselves. 

I have dozens of these stories and hope we are all lucky enough to be granted the time to discover many more stories like these.

When you come across the opportunity; at home, work or wherever you find yourself, I hope you choose taking the time to make these all important connections, every one of them. 

Business and Life is after all, a grand scavenger hunt for connections.

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