I had the pleasure and honor of having a brief but powerful and candid conversation with Re-recording Mixer legend Joe Earle back at the CAS Awards early this month and very recently I've been inspired to share with you how my thought construct has changed since then.
For starters I'll share what he told me after he and I connected when I talked about the importance of family relationships. "Gregg, I can summarize it like this. When you're at home, make sure you're at home, fully connected. And when you're at work, be at work. Make sure the two don't intertwine."
The following is the result of my thoughts on what he said weeks later when it dawned on me how much of my own family interactions I was missing out on.
When it comes to long distance trips, I HATE stopping at rest stops. I love the idea of making good time, and whatever discomfort I feel along the way (needing to use the restroom or eat a full meal) I suppress because in my mind, nothing is more important than achieving the goal.
Over the years, I was forced to learn to stop as I picked up more passengers; my wife and eventually all four of our children, all of whom were not even remotely interested in my steadfast goal of keeping time with zero stops.
One particular long-distance trip, with my family in tow, I was "making good time" but began to see double. Mind you, it's maybe 3am and raining. For those of you long distance drivers out there, you know that in-between sleep and awake moment that occurs that can be incredibly scary.
To this day, I can't account for maybe 2 and a half minutes of that drive, and remember perking up absolutely terrified, not knowing if the lane assist kept me from driving into a ditch at 70 MPH or if it was the hand of God Himself. I pulled over at the next rest stop, told my family I'd be back and went into the men's bathroom and cried like a baby in the only clean stall there.
Think of your path to success as a long drive on a major highway. Think of the length of the drive as your lifespan and the destination as success in all it's glory. The entertainment industry is unforgiving as unlike other industries, the "drive" can be longer than most and without the appropriate rest stops--like your child's first steps or first basketball game, your spouse or partner's anniversary or birthday, or just mental health days or recharging.
On the road trip of your career, take those rest stops. It can be a side hustle in an economy like this or it can be quality time with family or time carved out to see a therapist on a regular basis. It might be your physical health and personal trainer might be the order of the day.
Either way, those rest stops count, not just for your loved ones, but for you. Today on road trips with family, I still like to keep good time, but I also make time for pit stops so the family can recharge. I might rush them back into the vehicle, but I found those trips to be more fruitful than the ones when I'd push, ignoring fatigue, my bladder or my stomach.
I think back to my conversation with Joe, and the pause before he said what he said was far louder than when he actually spoke. I knew without needing to know details that he was speaking to me from a very real place, giving a fair warning to keep work and family life separate. Mind you, he gave me some solid advice and leads on the next steps to take in my career, but his recommendation of the family rest stop was by far the best advice anyone's given me to date.