Welcome Home & Good Luck

Welcome Home & Good Luck

The PEOPLE make the place

Just shy of four years ago I moved to Las Vegas…for the second time. 

Anxious, nervous, and scared to the say the least, I remember my mom telling me, “…this will be great…you can be just as successful here as you can anywhere else…you’ll get out of it what you put into it.” {funny...my Dad gave me the same pep talk just this morning...}

(You see, I was afraid to move back to Las Vegas…because I really wanted to be back at Disney instead.)

Four years, several meaningful relationships (that will last a lifetime), a few life events, a couple deaths, countless laughs, too many lessons learned to count, and one tiny little Vegas hotel opening later…I’m moving on to the next challenge…the next chapter. 

I’m going back to work where my professional career began, the Walt Disney Company.

In Las Vegas, it’s quite customary to end an interaction with someone (whether you work in the industry or not) with, “Good Luck…”; given the world famous nature of the town.

At Disney Vacation Club, it’s quite commonplace to overhear Cast Members or DVC Members greet each other with, “Welcome Home”, a phrase they’ve made world famous over the years.

I love diving into the threads that connect our memories, our lessons learned, and life's ever so dynamic, changing seasons.   

So these past couple weeks, working through this transition, I’ve heard both, “Good Luck” and “Welcome Home” over and over again.

It strikes me as ironic because four years ago I was flat out scared to death of living and working in a city I have grown to call home - Fabulous Las Vegas.  However, several folks are welcoming me home to a place I’ve never lived which will undoubtedly feel unnatural and uncomfortable; especially at first.

And now I’m experiencing the same nerves and anxiety about going to work at a place that should feel like home, having worked for the company before at the start of my career.  (Albeit a different line of business, and I’ll be at Disneyland rather than Walt Disney World this time around, but you see my point…)

Here’s the quick application I’d like to share with the OneMoreStep community and one I’ll remind myself of, to calm my nerves during yet another career transition: 

Wherever we find ourselves…regardless of the stage in our careers or lives…no matter how scary or unfamiliar the territory (literally or figuratively) we can ALWAYS MAKE IT FEEL LIKE HOME. 

It just takes a little courage, stepping out of our comfort zones to not only meet new people, but also pour our hearts and souls into making magic for them…that’s literally all it takes.

Pretty soon we find ourselves focusing less on our own anxieties and more on making them laugh, smile, and feel comfortable. 

Then the magic happens, and we begin to feel more welcome the more welcome we make others feel…and the beauty is that we can do this in any city, in any job, at any time, from now until it’s our time to go…

That’s how this blog was born, and sharing thoughts and stories on this blog has been the outlet I never knew I needed, to help me get over my worries, fears, and anxieties…because when I jump into a writing project, I’m thinking more about you than I am about myself. 

Thanks for letting me share, and thank you, Mom & Dad, for encouraging me then and for encouraging me now.  Thanks to my employer in Vegas for letting me work on the OneMoreStep project along with my day job. 

Thank you to my coworkers and the folks with whom I’ve worked so closely since late 2010…you know who you are, and please know that I love you all very much.

Thanks to my girlfriend for loving, listening, and helping me understand how to do the same.

As for the future of this blog, I’m not quite sure of the rules at my next place of employment, but there’s only one way to find out…I’ll go OneMoreStep until they tell me to stop.  (I've never been a fan of rules.)

Two for the road:

A few years ago, one of my mentors here in Vegas told me, “there’s no such thing as luck…but instead, “luck” is where preparation meets opportunity.”

So the irony continues…spending these last four years in Las Vegas, of all places, I’ve learned the two most important things we can do in life, no matter where we find ourselves:

1.     Love God

2.     Love People

3.     Repeat

When we focus on those two things, therein lies the preparation that makes anywhere feel like home…we feel welcome, we feel good, and at that point it’s no coincidence that a little luck comes our way...

Welcome Home & Good Luck!

See ya real soon…

Taylor

Many people say I'm crazy for repeatedly going through the pain and voluntary punishment of opening hotels and working on new projects...maybe I am a little crazy.  But maybe this slide show video (can be viewed on a laptop or computer...but not on mobile) I received as a gift from a colleague will tell the story better than I ever could...it's not about the sexy projects anymore as much as it's all about the beautiful PEOPLE and meaningful RELATIONSHIPS we're blessed with along the way.