Cabomonium, It’s Pondemonium on Quaaludes

With a name like Cabomonium, it’s gotta be good! (Eat your heart out Smuckers!) Pondemonium on Quaaludes is how I succinctly describe the Cabomonium experience. The Aquascape team and a small group of highly dedicated, and passionate, water feature professionals together in one of the coolest, most beautiful places on the planet! If that isn’t a recipe for fun and success I don’t know what is?!

I figured out a long time ago that life is short and you should “work” to live it to the fullest. Cabomonium is one of the ways I do that. Time with some of the most important people in the world to me, my Teammates, their spouses who support them, and our top customers. Every year I hear from people that say “This is the year they are going to make it to our winter retreat 900 miles south of the border.” Few do. But for the few who do, here’s what they find. One-on-one networking time a plenty. And best of all, it’s on a beach, by the pool, or at a Mexican bar. Like how often in your “work” life do you get to do just that? And that is, just the point, of Cabomonium.

If there’s one thing I’ve become acutely aware of after being in business for 23 years, it’s this little thing called burnout. I’ve lost more once good customers, and friends, to this cause than any other. Life is hard on its own. Throw in being a small business owner having to perform day in and day out, while only getting to eat what you yourself kill and it gets significantly harder. Good! By being an entrepreneur you get to be the top dog in a universe of your own creation. But life can get lonely at the top. And the daily grind, and non-stop action, of running pedal to the metal can wear down the best of us. I see it all the time sadly enough. The fire in the belly, doused by the reality of mounting bills, the flicker in the eye dimmed by diminishing returns that come to all who toil at their trade long enough. And then it happens. Just when you need to stoke those fires that burned so hot in your belly when you started your venture, you dig down and find only fumes. If you’re lucky you close shop and hope you stumble onto something, anything that can fulfill you again. If you’re not so lucky you go into cruise control with your business and very often your life. Having lost purpose, bitterness and anger replace what once was drive and optimism. Depressing huh?! That’s why Aquascape puts so much emphasis on encouraging you to go to not only Cabomonium every winter, but Pondemonium every summer. Both events are your chance to fill your tank to start the year, and refill it, so you finish strong!

The best thing I ever heard from a Cabomonium attendee I was hounding to come was this: “I was all ready to come down to Cabomonium and get fired up like I do every year at Pondemonium. Instead I’ve never been more relaxed in my life!” AMEN! You can’t go through life full throttle, even the best of us will burnout. The truly best business owners get this. The best fathers, coaches, and top performers, in any field intuitively get this as well and structure their life accordingly. Are you structuring your life similarly? If so mark your calendars NOW for the third week of August and the second week of January. Those are your refueling stops that will allow you to run the rest of your race to the red line. After all you aren’t really living life if you’re running below the red line. Here’s to seeing you in Chicago in August and Cabo next January!

Carpe Diem,

The Pond Guy