#216 - Life Is Like A Box Of....

[00:00:04] If you are an irrigation professional, old or new, who designs, installs, or maintains high-end residential, commercial, or municipal properties, and you want to use technology to improve your business, to get a leg up on your competition, even if you're an old-school irrigator from the days of hydraulic systems, this show is for you. Hey, my friends. Welcome back to another episode of The Sprinkler Nerd Show.

[00:00:33] So, today, actually, beginning yesterday, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I'm in New York City. I'm here at the Cities Alive, it's called, it's the Cities Alive, the Green Roots for Healthy Cities National Conference, and I was thinking about why I'm here as I was flying in. Why am I here? I'm not here because I have to be.

[00:01:02] Not here because somebody sent me here. Nobody sent me here. This isn't a job requirement. Not here because it's my job. Nobody told me, hey, Andy, you need to go to this conference. Instead, I'm here because I want to be here. I choose to be here. I'm excited to be here. I'm curious. I want to meet more innovative people. I want to learn something I don't know.

[00:01:31] I want to walk around and ask questions of people. I want to see what other people are working on in the green infrastructure space. I want something that makes me think differently. I want to find things, be exposed to things, to challenge what I think I already know.

[00:01:48] And standing here today, I realized, perhaps this is why I'm in irrigation. I've been on this journey for almost 25 years, and I think for a long time, I probably would have described it as something that just sort of happened.

[00:02:07] Yeah, I got into irrigation. Yeah, I ended up in irrigation. But in fact, I've been working in irrigation for 25 years very specifically and with great intent because I chose irrigation.

[00:02:24] And I keep choosing it. And today, I'm choosing it again. And I don't really know where this came from, but I had written a note. And sometimes when I need an inspiration for a podcast like this, I take notes, put it in my Evernote, save it for later. And I don't know why, it's kind of cheesy, but there's this line from Forrest Gump that I think you know. And if you don't know, when I say it, you'll probably be reminded of it. And it goes like this.

[00:02:51] Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. It's a great movie. I haven't seen in a long time. And for some reason, the other day, that line just popped into my head. And I made an association with it. It reminded me of something else. Two thoughts mashed together. And I wrote it down. And I've been thinking about that expression. And I don't agree with it.

[00:03:13] And I'll say it again. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. There's something about it I don't agree with because that makes life sound like something you reach into. Something you pull out. You don't have a choice. It's like you get to unwrap life.

[00:03:34] And I think to me, that feels way too passive in terms of, no, I'm in charge of my life. My life is what I get to choose it to be. Life is not like a box of chocolates where you never know what you're going to get. No, I know exactly what I'm going to get because if it's meant to be, it's up to me. I choose this life and I choose irrigation.

[00:03:56] And it makes it sound like life just happens to us. But that's not true. Life does not just happen to us. We happen to life. And I'm sure there are absolutely things that happen to us that we don't control or out of our control. But I don't think that's the same thing as saying we don't have choices. So maybe life isn't like a box of chocolates. Maybe life is like a box of choices. Choose wisely.

[00:04:25] That's my no right there. Life is like a box of choices. Choose wisely. And that little change totally flips everything for me because now I'm not waiting to see what I'm going to get. I'm participating. I'm choosing. And maybe that's what the last 25 years has actually been. Not one giant decision to spend my life in irrigation. It's more like thousands and thousands of little choices.

[00:04:52] I choose to ask questions. I choose to learn. I choose to follow my curiosity. I choose to work around people who knew things I didn't know. I chose technology. I chose e-commerce. I chose to be curious enough to wonder why systems don't run on soil moisture sensors 25 years ago. I chose to start a podcast about freaking sprinklers.

[00:05:17] And today I choose to get on the plane and come to New York City to hang out with a bunch of people who are thinking about green roofs, cities, plants, water, technology, what all of this might look like in the future. And it's not because I have to. It's because I want to know. And that's a choice. And enough little choices eventually become a life.

[00:05:45] So that's what I wanted to talk about and share today is it's choices. How we make them, how quickly we make them, who we ask for help before we make our choices, and what happens when we make the wrong choice. And maybe, and in some ways, maybe it's important to recognize that not choosing is also a choice.

[00:06:14] Because when I look back at these 25 years, I don't think irrigation happened to me. No, irrigation didn't happen to me. I chose it. And I'm still choosing it. So I want to leave you with something.

[00:06:31] Maybe sometime today or this weekend or next week, just sometime when you get back in your truck or when you're sitting at your desk or when you're walking a job site, you're driving home. Just when you have a moment, ask yourself one question. Am I choosing this? Ask yourself that question. Am I choosing this?

[00:06:59] In some ways, you can also not ask yourself, can I tolerate this? And not ask yourself, can I make it until Friday? And not ask yourself, is this what everyone expects me to do? Would I choose this? Listen to your answer. Listen to your gut. Listen to your inner self.

[00:07:28] Because if the answer is yes, then fucking choose it. Go all in. Leave it all on the line. Learn everything you can. Get better. Ask questions. Meet people. Be curious. Become the person in your market, your company, your industry that other people look at and wonder. Why the hell is that person so excited about this? And choose that. And if the answer is no, that's okay too.

[00:07:57] Because sitting right in front of you is another box. And it's not filled with chocolates. It's filled with choices. You might not know which one is right. You might make the wrong one. And you probably will make wrong choices. I've made so many wrong choices. But you can research. You can ask questions. You can find people who know things that you don't know. You can try something new. You can learn. You can adjust.

[00:08:27] And you can choose again. That's the part I think we forget. You can choose again. Tomorrow morning, you get another choice. Next week, you get another choice. Next year, you get another choice. Your last choice doesn't have to become your next choice. 25 years ago, when I started down this road. And today, standing here in New York City,

[00:08:54] I can say something that feels very different than, I've been in irrigation for 25 years. No, no, no. I can say, I chose irrigation. And I'm still choosing it. Not because I have to. Not because someone told me to. Not because it's simply what I've always done. I'm here because I'm still curious. I'm still learning. I'm here because I'm still finding problems I want to solve. I'm still here because I'm still meeting people I want to learn from.

[00:09:23] I'm still asking, why? Why is it this way? Why do you do it like that? And as long as that's true, I keep choosing it. And when it's not, I'll choose something else. Because this is my life. And those are my choices. And you've got yours. So maybe, bringing it back home, Forrest was right about one thing. You don't always know what you're going to get.

[00:09:51] But you do get to decide what you're going to do with it. Life isn't a box of chocolates. Life is a box of choices. So choose wisely. And don't forget, you can always choose again. I'm Andy, the Sprinkler Nerd. Stay curious, my friends. And I'll see you on the next episode.