Pressure Wash News Winter issue

EDITOR’S
NOTE
Failure is not
Necessarily a Negative
Remember the Budweiser commercial
that caused an uproar following the
2016 presidential election?
Not long after President Donald
Trump first introduced his proposed ban
on travelers from seven Muslim-majority
countries, the beer giant unveiled a Super
Bowl ad profiling the difficult journey
that immigrant co-founder Adolphus
Busch made in 1857 from Hamburg,
Germany to St. Louis, Missouri in his
quest to establish the now-famous brand.
In the 60-second commercial, Busch
encounters not just physical difficulty on
his journey to meet Budweiser co-founder
Eberhard Anheuser and discuss the product’s
launch; he also encounters significant
anti-German immigrant hostility
along the way.
While a convincing portrait of
the adversity Busch faced to follow his
dream, the timing of the commercial
arguably created less inspiration than it
did controversy. Calls for a boycott of the
great American beer were fierce among
incensed Trump supporters.
To me, it’s a shame that the commercial’s
message of perseverance got overshadowed
by the politics of the moment.
Because to me, the story serves as a great
lesson for the very “middle America” the
beer commercial targets.
In life, adversity is the norm. Nothing
worth doing ever comes about without
obstacles along the way. But like Busch,
you have to see the adversity you face
in pursuit of your dreams as the fuel to
accelerate the growth you seek.
Start today to view adversity not as a
Winner, winner, chicken dinner: Hail the winners of Flight 2 in the annual CETA/PWNA golf scramble, held this year in Charleston, South Carolina,
location of the joint annual conference held by the two associations. From left to right is Greg Rossmann, midwestern regional manager for Cat Pumps in
Minneapolis, MN; yours truly, Drew Ruble, editor of Pressure Wash News in Franklin, TN; Al Bonifas, owner of All Spray Ltd. Pressure Cleaning
Equipment Pumps and Supplies in Swanton, OH; and Mike Turner, president at Etowah Chemical Sales & Service in Gadsden, AL. Atta boys!
negative but as a means to accelerate
growth. You have to fundamentally
learn and believe that a bump in the
road, a lost sale, a project gone sideways,
is not a catastrophic event but rather
is evidence that you are just that much
closer to dialing in the right solution and
achieving your goal.
That has to be your mindset if you are
going to be successful in business. You’ve
got to flip the script.
When you feel that adversity coming
on, don’t ask ‘why is this happening?’
Instead ask ‘what is this trying to teach
me?’ That’s the mindset you need. You
have to run towards your struggle, not
run away from the conflict.
Here’s a boxing metaphor that’s
helpful when facing adversity. Boxers are
taught to “lean into a punch” instead of
veering away from it because you actually
give your opponent more power by trying
to avert an incoming blow. That’s contrary
to what you might think instinctively; but
the concept equally applies in dealing
with everyday business struggles.
Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were
better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish
for more skill. Don’t wish for less challenges,
wish for more wisdom. Use your
adversity to accelerate your growth.
Drew Ruble
drewruble@gmail.com
VOL. 2, NO. 1 | WINTER 2020 | PRESSURE WASH NEWS | 3