How Quickly Things Can Change

One week ago, my wife and I said to each other, "Can you believe how much things have changed over the last week?!?!"

It is now a week later and we could dramatically say the same thing with even more surprise and astonishment. HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE!!!

I vividly recall thinking this same thing as I was in Heidelberg, Germany on November 9, 1989. I was serving a mission at the time for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I remember that evening being in the home of some church members who had the TV on and watching events unfold as the citizens of East Germany and West Germany celebrated in jubilation as they sat on top of the Berlin Wall. Images of individuals with picks and sledgehammers flashed across the TV screen as German TV broadcasters commentated in near disbelief. A month, a week, or even a day before this event, nobody would have predicted this life-changing event could have taken place. How quickly things can change!

Less than two weeks ago, on March 9, 2020, I hosted a gathering of company founders and other professionals at a suite in the Vivint Smart Home Arena to watch the Utah Jazz play the Toronto Raptors. We had 24 people in the suite, mixing and mingling, having a wonderful time together. Little did we know this could be the final game of the season for the Utah Jazz, as two nights later on March 11th, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for COVID-19 (the "coronavirus"). Ironically, it was Gobert who mocked the NBA's coronavirus guidelines the night of the Jazz vs. Raptors game by going out of his way to touch reporters recorders and microphones in a post-game interview.

The March 11th Jazz vs. Thunder game was initially reported as "postponed" by the NBA. Only a few hours later the NBA announced it was suspending the season. My son posted on his Instagram account that day, "Rudy Gobert, NBA Defensive MVP: GOAT - Rudy shut down the entire NBA in one night!" He left that evening to go on a ski trip with his friends to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

That was only nine days ago! I had been at a conference with hundreds of people the day before and skiing at Park City as part of the event with friends and colleagues. At the time, I would not have guessed that only a few days later, every one of the ski resorts in Utah would be shut down for the season due to coronavirus concerns. And, all events for the immediate future would be cancelled.

It was at this point in time, my wife and I said, "Can you believe how much things have changed over the last week?!?!"

It is now a week later, and again we say the same thing. So, what has changed in just the last seven days?

• All church meetings have been cancelled and all 16 million members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have been instructed to hold church in their individual homes with their families. We even canceled our family gathering on Sunday with my parents and siblings and their families.
• My son returned home from his ski trip to Colorado and found out two days ago one of his friends on the trip tested positive for COVID-19. My son was tested yesterday and we are now awaiting the results.
• Schools have all been cancelled and moved to online instruction only, so my daughter is home all day with us.
• Offices are closed and my wife and I are both working exclusively from home.
• All travel plans have been cancelled including our Spring Break plans and my daughter's humanitarian trip to Thailand.
• The capital markets are down significantly and there are fears of business failures and mass layoffs.
• There was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that shook our home early Wednesday morning waking us up and causing anxiety with each aftershock as well.
• Cases of COVID-19 are growing exponentially and the entire world seems to be in commotion and turmoil.

So, what now? We will get through this, but I do wonder what we will be saying one week from now. Will it again be, "Can you believe how much things have changed over the last week?!?!"

I loved the article that my colleague Richard Sussman wrote the other day regarding lessons learned from his father who experienced the anxieties and turmoil of war during WWII in Germany. I leave you with a quote from Richard's article which you can find in full here.

My father taught my siblings and I from a young age that in times of adversity, to always remain calm, do not panic and look to how you can help your fellow neighbor while seeking opportunity to build a brighter future."

We will get through this. But it is an interesting reminder about how quickly things can change.