Painting On a River

We’re down to the last two posts of 2016! It’s amazing how much faster time seems to go by the older we get, but I get a sense from most people I know this year couldn’t come to an end soon enough. Perhaps it was the negativity or uncertainty of the election, or other issues closer to home, but I remain cautiously optimistic for the New Year. 

I learned a new saying from a client the other day that I’ve repeated several times now. And the more I think about it. The more I like it.

He likes to use the phrase, “painting on a river.” In his context he is referring to the difficulty of business planning when faced with multiple uncertainties beyond our control.

Over the last few weeks I’ve met with several of our retainer accounts in preparation for 2017, and this expression keeps working its way into the conversation.

Thinking about the river and the passing of time, it occurs to me one’s perception is based on the culmination of one’s experience.

I distinctly remember when I learned the term “baggage” in my high school literature class. It was a reference to the way your personal experience affects the way you interpret what you read.

Over the years I’ve often marveled at the way our perception evolves over time. I know I’ve written about it in this blog several times, and I remain fascinated how much a decade or two can influence your view of the world.

While it’s true people say some things never change, I’m not so sure. I was just reading an article the other day how the 24-hour day changes over time due to the influence of the moon. It may be milliseconds of change over the millennia, but change it does.

So what’s the point of this week’s missive? You can decide on your own. I just think it’s cool the river keeps flowing. Sometimes it trickles. Sometimes the river runs over its banks. But the river is not the only thing that changes. So does our perception, and in turn, what we choose to paint.

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.