I haven't been able to say ‘let’s go Up North!' on a Friday afternoon in almost twenty years. I grew up, lived, and worked in Michigan for the first 30 years of my life. There is this spot, I am not exactly sure where the line lands that divides “not up north “with actually being 100% in the up north area. But when you cross it, the music goes way up, the windows are all rolled down, and time slows down to a pace my smile can keep up with.
So, what has changed in the business community, the physical landscape, and within me since my last visit? How am I different than the 28-year-old free spirit, with unstoppable big dreams?
Well, I am now in Founder and Career Services instead of broadcast media, and that has changed the perks I get on the job. I traded a network of promoters, DJs, and label reps for a posse of recruiters. Way back when, I felt guilty for slowing down and not serving my employer free overtime because working in radio made me feel cool, not so much anymore. But experience taught me that some of my best ideas come from creating distance between myself and the room I’m trying to positively influence.
The blue of Grand Traverse Bay is still delicious for the eyes. Incomprehensibly beautiful, it honestly does not look real. Northern Michigan gets into your soul, maybe because it is familiar to me, or maybe it’s in the water, and the rocks, and I’m connected to it on a deeper level, or maybe it's proof of the majesty of God.
As a founder and leader whose learning everyday, there will always be another article to read, another AI tool to evaluate, another post telling us we are already behind. For all the technology we have built and all the speed we now pour into our days, doesn't creation still move exactly the way it always has? The sun still rises on its own schedule. God never seems to be in nearly the hurry that we are.
This trip reminded me that disconnecting is not irresponsible; it is actually quite necessary. We have become addicted to input and forgotten the value of reflection. We have confused having information with understanding.
And maybe that is the real challenge for all of us. How do we use technology without letting it set our pace?
When I leave Michigan this week, I will be taking more than the fudge, lilac-scented soaps, and Petoskey stones; I’ll be wearing a refined perspective about who I was, who I am, and the value of planning my next journey Up North.
We all need more Fridays like this.
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@Michigan Chamber @Pure Michigan @Traverse Connect @Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) @Detroit Regional Chamber @Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)