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Ever bitten off more than you can chew?

Or considering ice cream, more than you can swallow – sounds like a recipe for a brain freeze. I had, and took advantage of, a chance to chat with Mr. Tony Moravec during our Friday evening seminar and it left me with an opportunity to ponder the title of this blog.

In the “early years”, Tony founded Blairex Laboratories whose primary products were OTC pharmaceuticals. Through good business sense, taking advantage of growth opportunities, and genuine hard work, the company has expanded four-fold with a strong, diverse line of products from saline to Boudreaux’s Butt Paste® line of baby products. When casually asked “How did you do it?” his response was simply “Bite off more than you can chew, and chew like hell.” Hmmm, sounds familiar.

Since our meeting, I’ve reflected on his response and have come to the conclusion that while to some degree this is the world I and many of us live in, the downside may not be worth risk. Said another way, what opportunities are there to work smarter and not harder? Enter a networking and learning opportunity such as the ALP. A variety of experiences and expertise surely has potential for all to minimize time spent reinventing the wheel, thus making those “bites” more manageable.

I look forward to adjusting to Tony’s current approach of living life like eating an ice cream cone – taking it one lick at time. Is it better to burn out, or fade away? For you 80’s fans, we’ll see if you know what song those lyrics are from. As for myself, burn out isn’t an option. Fading away, in the context of what Tony has accomplished would be just fine. So here’s to ice cream- especially if it’s from Smith Dairy!

By Greg Janzow